Vegas dining without breaking the bank
 

I'd like to eat at all the fabulous restaurants talked about in the forum, but $300 per person is outrageous! Can anyone recommend a nice dinner option that will only cost me about $100per person. Otherwise I see myself eating at a lot of buffets.

for some reason this won't post under Nevada, anyone know how to fix this?

Try the fine dining as (late) lunches, then just snack for dinner?

It posted on the United States Forum. There is no Nevada Forum. Nevada is only for the search engine. It is under Nevada when doing a search. ((b))

I've been thinking the same thing. We've more than spent our travel budget this year, and have an upcoming 5 weeks in California that is going to really do us in. Spending a lot of money on a couple shows in Vegas, so I'm not looking to do the $300 to $500 for two dinners each -- and there are a LOT of those in Vegas these days.

Here are a couple that seem more upscale than the usual budget places that I've noted thanks to some very good press they've gotten. I'd appreciate it if anyone has any comments. Both should come in around or under $100 for TWO including drinks -- or maybe I'm just dreaming:

Red 8 Asian Bistro at Wynn.

Diego at MGM.

And one we love, but probably just over the $100 mark, Oratanique between Bally's and Paris.

We're also thinking about the $36 three course plus included Bloody Mary or Mimosa brunch at Commander's Palace at the Aladdin.

We don't do buffets.

With your budget of $200 for two, there are a lot more options, even with a decent bottle of wine or a couple of drinks each.

We do not eat in buffets (I can serve myself at home is my theory !!) but you can eat at some of the nicer places for Lunch instead of Dinner.

I am pretty convinced either everyone who posts on Fodors is a millionaire or else they just like to let others think they are.

Of course you can spend $300-$200-$100/whatever a person to eat, but you can also NOT spend it -- that is the fun of Vegas.

Every hotel has a number of places to eat from fast food to coffee shops to deli's to restuarants with mid-range prices as well as their high-end places. You can eat moderately one night and splurge the next too.

Koala: I've always wondered how many courses people ordered and how many bottles of wine they had when they say they paid $300/person.
My husband and I did some fabulous dining in December in Vegas and our dinners would come to around $190 total (for 2 appetizers, 2 entrees (usually meat), 2 desserts, 1 glass of wine and a soda).
We went to dinner at Le Cirque at the Bellagio, Andre's French Restaurant, and the Eiffel Tower Restaurant.

Lori: LOL re: "I am pretty convinced either everyone who posts on Fodors is a millionaire or else they just like to let others think they are."

There have been times I thought the latter part of your sentence. ;)

We just ate at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School for lunch in West Vegas that was outstanding..
The Cafe Bleu serves dinner as well and has a full bar and the food for 2 with app's, entree, dessert, and espresso with 2 glasses of wine per person was about $35 and that included a 20% tip!
Had a wonderful time and it was about 10 minutes from the Wynn.
vegasculinary.com

caribtraveler, I'm more like you on the prices. But I'm curious how your bill could have been under $200 at Le Cirque which has a MINIMUM three course tasting at $98 per person. Even if you didn't add the wine or soda, I think the bill would have to be at least $250 with tax and tip. Are you sure you didn't mean Circo, the "cheaper" cousin of Le Cirque at Bellagio?

Impossible to confuse that circus decor with anywhere else!
But you're good Neopolitan! :-)
I had to go look at my trip report to figure out what was the deal. We actually did not pay for our appetizers (forgot about that). We originally did not order any because nothing appealed to us. But our waiter brought us some anyway (2 lobster salad), compliments of the chef. So we only paid for 2 entrees, 2 desserts, 1 glass of wine and 1 soda. Total including 20% tip was $190.

But wait, are you saying that Le Cirque has a mandatory minimum of 3 courses? That was not the case when we were there.

That was my impression yes. They call it a three course tasting, but I'd call it a three course prix fixe with a number of choices. But in any case you said you had two each of three courses. I was really under the impression that at Le Cirque you can ONLY do either the 3 course or the 5 course. Perhaps I'm wrong. Can anyone verify if there is a simple ala carte menu at Le Cirque?

I'd like to know. Both of us are reaching the point where three courses are simply too much for us. I generally prefer a starter and a main -- no dessert. Lee HAS to have dessert, but would prefer to bypass a starter. It would be nice if that were more possible at some of these places, but it seems more and more you are caught in their three course "trap".

Ooops. Didn't realize you had posted twice in a row and missed your first one. Actually Circo has very much a circus decor too, perhaps more than Le Cirque. Circo is on the main floor but also overlooks the fountains. Le Cirque is in the "basement", so to speak.

i know some of you will snicker at my response (as i did too before trying it myself), but the circus circus steakhouse offers a great meal at reasonable prices...juicy, tender steaks that were aged 21 days in their own aging room

i got the idea from other fodorites who gave glowing reports

It definitely was Le Cirque.
http://bellagio.com/pages/din_cirque.asp
Click on dining details, it says they offer a la carte and the 3 and 5 course option you mentioned.
I know what you mean about the 3-course meal. It can be a lot.

Daniel Boulud Brasserie (Wynn Las Vegas). The food here is fairly simple, but very good. You shouldn't have any trouble staying within budget. There's even a prix fixe special before 7pm for $50.

Lotus of Siam. This place is about a mile off the strip, but if you like Thai food, it's well worth it. It's located in a not too fancy shopping center, and its decor is no better, but don't let that fool you. Make sure to order the special Thai dishes, and you'll have a great meal - at $50 per person or less.

Rosemary's. Consider this place only if you have a car, and don't mind driving for almost 30 minutes. If you go, you'll be rewarded with a top notch meal well below your budget.

I know you have stated you hate buffets and I have to agree totally. My husband thinks they are GREAT! We did go to Bellagios Sat.night gourmet buffet. Much to my surprise I still rave about it to friends. It was totally awesome, and really did enjoy it very much. Also did the Wynns which was about the same. They ran $35pp plux tax and tips. I woudl suggest one of them-- just give it a try! I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

We haven't been to LV in a couple of years, but I can hardly believe that $300 pp is routinely charged for dinner.

We're from NY - and even in NY, $300 is not the average. And with all due respect, the food in LV can hardly be compared to other cities in the world, i.e., Paris, where you can eat very well and stay far below $600 for 2! Outrageous.

about the millionaire comment...LOL, but actually they're probably not all that wealthy- just adventurous, good budgeters, with travelling as a priority- after all, it's a bit startling to realize my parents could have done most things/vacations mentioned here....that is, if they hadn't had three kids that they chose to send through private school, as well as no desire to follow my dad's job to a big city (and they certainly aren't millionaires)

and this is my "deep" thinking for the day.....:)

I'll say it anyway at the risk of sounding cheap. The lowest price restaurants are downtown. Not as glamorous but great food. They are not buffets either.

We ate at Bouchon in the Venetian for $200.16, for a group of 4 during the evening meal.

Why do I remember the exact amount? Well the Venetian had comped the group $200 for dinner that evening because of a lodging snafu and we did real well staying within that range.

In fact when we paid the bill, I asked the waiter if we paid 20% tip on our cost (16 cents) would that be three cents? It was humorous at the time.

Shame on you. When tipping one should always round up. That means the tip should have been 4 cents, not 3 cents! LOL

I just looked at the menu for Bouchon. It could be the most typical meal at the most typical brasserie in Paris -- looks so authentic and sounds very good.

Oh, I very much enjoyed Bouchon--I ate at the bar so the bartenders were fabulous.

Another place I liked that was maybe $100 for 3 courses was Olives in the Bellagio.

You might try Hugo's Cellar at the 4 Queens downtown. It's an old fashioned Vegas restaurant with terrific service and not a nouvelle cuisine dish in site. Our bill was less than $100 per persons, but it has been 2-3 years since we ate there, however. They don't post current prices with their menu at www.hugoscellar.com. I know you said you didn't like buffets, but the quality of the food at the Wynn buffet is fabulous, recommended by Rachel Ray no less. I think it's as good or better than the Bellagio buffet, plus less expensive and a much more attractive (and quieter) setting. Picasso's at Bellagio has a $95.00 four course prix fix that is terrific, but with drinks and tip you are over $100 per person.

There are literally TONS, TONS of nice places that are WAY less than $300/person!!

Try Smith and Wollensky for the best steaks in town (near the MGM) and would be under 100$ per person. The Nine Fine Irishmen has a very nice menu for about $30 a person and has some great private outdoor seating on the second floor or casual seating on the first. The Mandalay has some very nice restaurants as well. What are you looking for ?

We LOVED the French restaurant at the Eiffel Tower in Vegas. It can be a bit pricey & as I remember side dishes were a la carte, but I think for two people & a bottle of wine we spent maybe $120-$150... And the food was awesome - very romantic and awesome view. It's cool too b/c when you go up the elevator you can see the entire kitchen.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. Those prices sound a little more reasonable, maybe I will try the lunch thing, but I will be at a conference, so won't be able to do that most days. We love all kinds of food, prefer trying different international foods, so all the french suggestions were great. Probably not likely to go to a steak place, as I get plenty of that here. We will unfortunately be staying at the Hilton at the north end due to it's location near the convention center and the price deal for the conference. Anyone been to any of the restaurants there? Thanks. Keep the suggestions coming.

Why spend that much? There's a wonderful Fillipino restaurant in Polo Towers. Also, Diamond Bakery in Chinatown has yummy Chinese baked goods, both sweets and real food. Also, several places in chintown have Bubble Tea. Try mango, it's my favorite.Also, the $1 shrimp cocktails are worth it. the shrimp is not Louisisana-seasoned, but is still good and has a wonderful sauce full of horseradish to go with it. I had 3 cocktails every time I came across them.

I'm still trying to decide where to go for dinner on a Sunday night when we have no show. I'd like to spend well under $200 for the two of us, yet looking for something pretty nice and a place we haven't been. We've never been to the Rio, and thought we might head over there. In doing a search here I never found a single negative about the Voodoo Lounge. Does that fit the bill for us?

I can't believe anyone in their right mind would pay $300 PER PERSON in Las Vegas.

Surely you're old enough to know that different people have different tastes and different priorities, Dohlice.

I know people who have paid a couple thousand dollars each for football tickets --for a game that was being shown on TV for free. And I know people who wear watches that cost $10,000 and more even though a WalMart Timex will give them the same time. The list could go on and on. But you know what? I say if they appreciate those things and enjoy them, and they can afford them, then more power to them.

If you don't appreciate $300 meals then of course you wouldn't do that. And you would be "out of your mind" to spend that money for something you couldn't appreciate. But to say anyone who does isn't in his right mind is more than a bit narrow minded.

Little Buddha (at the Palms, off the strip near the Rio) was fabulous and reasonably priced. Yummy sushi and asian-inspired appetizers. Entrees sounded good but we skipped right to dessert which was awesome!

Great atmosphere too (if you don't mind it being dark).

Also ate at S&W for steaks, with no resie on a Saturday night we walked right in! Can't do that very many places on the strip... Olives is good as well.

Neopolitan~ I highly recommend Rosemary's, though when we dined there, there was the other branch in the Rio. The Voodoo Lounge is fun and the view is great.. Mon Ami Gabi seems hit or miss. I liked Canelletto at the Venetian.
True, money spent on anything is a personal issue and really no one should judge(unless it's a child's welfare or a legal issue).. my late mom was one who appreciated the talents of a good chef(often asking to speak with him, much to my embarrassment back then), and always read reviews and liked to try the "in spots".
My dad was a small town meat and potatoes guy who was happy at a Denny's,lol.
I have friends with huge homes and they are miserable because they can't go anywhere due to their mortgages and so forth. Other people live simply and travel wherever they are inclined, drive the dependable older model cars, etc.
Maybe some here would like to impress, but I think this forum is so diverse, that many tastes and budgets are represented.
Human nature and a keyboard can create some interesting moments, but it's all good if intentions are well meant. cheers, J.((D))