Vegas - Restaurant - HELP!
 

Ok fodorites - I have a real challenge for you all. I have been going crazy trying to pick a restaurant for an upcoming trip to Vegas, because there are a lot of different factors to consider.
This trip is me, my fiance, his two sisters, my brother, and a friend of ours. We are all in our early to mid '20s. My fiance and I are big foodies, but the rest of them are NOT (Which kills me of course.) His sisters also are not going to want to spend too much money (and neither will we since this is our present to them for their graduation and we will be paying for lots of things along the way).
One night we are going to do a dinner buffet, another night Isla (mexican) at Treasure Island after Mystere. We do not want steak because we get a lot of that in Chicago, and probably French food would be a bad idea because they won't appreciate it. I've thought of Italian, among other things, but every time I pick a place I then read horrible reviews and want to switch.
We'd like a fun atmosphere if possible, good quality food that's not TOO gourmet sounding, and a reasonable price around $40-60 pp if POSSIBLE. (feel free to tell me that this is impossible to get everything I want). We also would prefer not to go to a chain like Grand Lux that we have in Chicago.
Sorry this is so long..thanks for the help in advance!

I liked Canaletto in the Venetian: http://www.venetian.com/canaletto.aspx

Olive at the Bellagio is a little more casual. Still great food and you can do 60pp with app/entre/dessert but not alcohol or app/entre/share dessert with a glass of wine or a beer.

I think Olives is a great idea. We had one of the best meals anywhere there and were shocked at the value at the same time. It's wonderful enough foodwise to please you, and not the least bit intimidating to the others. (which can easily be a problem in the "fancier" places of Vegas). In other words, it's very "comfortable" while many other places just seem to be tring too hard.
Bouchon might be another choice -- what non-Foodie wouldn't think their frites are the BEST?

not to mention that if you ask for "terrace seats", you can watch the bellagio water show up close adn personal as you are having your meal.

I highly recommend Ventano's. It is fabulous! It is in Henderson, not far from the District (Green Valley).
http://www.ventanoitalian.com/
There are pretty views of the Strip lights at night. Nice atmosphere, well worth the drive, plus you can then head over to The District (2-4 minutes from there) after to stroll around.

I like Canaletto too, and with six people you might be able to reserve one of those little balcony private table areas that overlook the "canal".

Thanks for all the help so far...I should mention we won't have a car so would like to stay on the strip..keep the suggestions coming thanks!

I agree with Neo, Bouchon was fabulous and moules and frites were to die for....gorgeous bistro atmosphere too. I loved it. Plus you can get a larger carafe of excellent wine for a decent price.

i really like mon ami gabi and i think it would fit most of your requirments. not sure if it qualifies as a chain tho!

I know this is not on the strip, but it might be worth the taxi ride, plus it's across the street from the Hard Rock Hotel, which I would think you'd like to visit.

It's the Hofbrauhaus, it's a German stand-alone restaurant, it was reasonable and I thought the food was pretty good, big portions you can share and a very lively atmosphere (lots of big groups w/parties going on). It's not upscale gourmet (I'm a foodie too), but I thought they did the German food pretty well.

i agree that Olives at Bellagio has a great menu, you will need reservations if you are there over a week-end, can't remember if you mentioned that. i do not think they reserve the patio tables ahead of time, but you should ask. Mon Ami Gabi at Paris hotel has always been our family's favorite, but unless you want a steak filet (and theirs is awesome)i find their menu to be not as good as Olives. if you want to sit outside at Mon Ami Gabi, you will need reservations & again i don't know if you can reserve the outside tables. sitting outside in Vegas in summer is really hot, so that can be a factor.

i also enjoy Rao's at Ceasers...its Italian, original restaurant is in Harlem. they have a lovely patio for outside dining. think alot of these restaurants have menus online to view & see prices too.

Canaletto is very nice - as is the San Marco Enoteca next door (a bit more casual) They have great pizza and pasta. Olives is also nice especially if you can get a patio table (hard to get)...

For a bit more trendy but with wonderful food take a look at Tao - there are many dishes you can share or order on your own and the atmosphere might be a nice alternative with a great energy - you should be able to do it for under $50 per person...I think eating there makes it so you can even get into the club if there isn't an event going on...

Any of the restaurants in the Wynn are worth the time. Same for Bellagio.

May I suggest you and your boyfriend go to dinner alone one night if others do not want to spend the money. I'd take the time to do a meal alone and go to a great restaurant. One night away would be fine in my opinion. You don't need to be with everyone 24/7.

Or do dinner and meet them for dessert. Or have a drink and leave for dinner.

Vegas has too many great places to miss out on completely.

Piccassos is my fave!

Mon Ami Gabi is excellent. I would also recommend Tao at the Venetian for some interesting scenery and food

We were in Las Vegas last week and consider ourselves foodies. Mon Ami Gabi was my favorite meal on the strip and least expensive. I had the Hanger Steak and frites for $19.95, a huge bowl of French onion soup for $10 and sauteed garlic spinach for 2 for around $6.
Fiamma was also very good- the lobster gnocchi was amazing. Entre portions are huge.
Slightly off the strip and the best Thai food outside of Thailand(I've been 6 times) is Lotus of Siam. The $9 lunch buffet is well worth the short cab ride if you like Thai. I am not a buffet fan, but this was really wonderful. Don't be turned off by the rundown strip mall.

Nicci, no offense, but if your favorite meal in all of Vegas was steak and frites, onion soup, and sauteed spinach, you might want to keep it quiet. You could easily lose your "foodie" status with that admission!

:D

One of my favorite places for group dinner is Cafe BaBaReeba, although I do think it's a chain restaurant. It's located right on the Strip, and in current weather conditions, you can sit outside on the patio. It's right across from the Wynn at the Fashion Show Mall, on the Strip level.

Spanish tapas, which should satisfy the foodie in you and your fiance, but appeal to everyone else because if they don't like something, someone else will eat it! Definitely within your desired price range, fun atmosphere, decent people-watching, good food.

Mon Ami Gabi is a GREAT location. It is French food, but you can go pretty mainstream if necessary. That's on Strip level at the Paris and even better for people and Bellagio fountain watching.

RumJungle at Mandalay Bay might be fun. Brazilian-style food (meat-lover's paradise) and LOTS of activity - it becomes a club pretty early in the night. Not sure about the food, though, because I've never eaten there.

Burger Bar at Mandalay Place (between Mandalay and Luxor) is a burger fiesta - you pick your bun, your beef, your toppings, your fries - and would be good for a more casual dinner.

If it's special occasion you're looking for, check out pricing at the Top of the World restaurant at the Stratosphere. The hotel/casino is way too cheesy for my taste, but the view from the top is great... and the restaurant revolves. It's pricier, but different. And I think the food is actually supposed to be pretty good. I've had their catered food at a cocktail party and it was better than decent.

One more, for a great view... the Voodoo Lounge/Cafe on top of the Rio. It might be a good change of pace - the Rio's kind of cheesy, too, but fun, with their Parade in the Sky and shows. Plus, the view from the Voodoo is supposed to be one of the best. Food is NOLA style, in keeping with the casino's Mardi Gras theme. This one turns into a club later as well.

Have fun!

NeoPatrick: Thanks for your concern, but I feel my foodie status is very safe. There's really no need to make such comments. We ate other top restaurants, but I didn't think they fit the request and this truly was my best meal on the strip which was a great surprise since it was the least expensive.
I felt my response answered their question perfectly regarding Mon Ami Gabi "We'd like a fun atmosphere if possible, good quality food that's not TOO gourmet sounding, and a reasonable price around $40-60 pp if POSSIBLE. (feel free to tell me that this is impossible to get everything I want). We also would prefer not to go to a chain like Grand Lux that we have in Chicago.

Nicci, no need to be defensive. You liked the meal, that's fine. It's just funny hearing someone talking about being a foodie and expecting to hear about towering molecular tastings of exotic ingredients and instead finding the best you found in Vegas was steak and frites. Surely you can see the humor in that, right? I admire your honesty. Not many foodies would admit to such a thing. That's all.

We enjoy an off-strip Italian restaurant called Casa D'Amore. It's a mile or two east on Tropicana and from the outside it looks like a NY diner--concrete and not architecturally interesting. But inside it's a lot of fun. Lots of locals go and we've been there when they have gradation parties and other celebrations. It is within your price range, the food is good, and they have different singers that start earlier in the evening (7ish I think) than most other entertainment. Best of all, they will pick you up and transport you in their limo. Again, not glamorous, but good food, friendly service and lots of fun.

noun Slang. a person keenly interested in food, esp. in eating or cooking.

(She said "foodie", Patrick, not stuck-up snotty holier-than-thou foodie with attitude.)

Don't know if I'm a foodie, though DD and I enjoyed a good dinner at Mon Ami Gabi 3 years ago. She's more of a foodie than I. We had the real deal casual french bistro in NYC, at Montparnasse this past fall. It was better, though MAG is still a good choice.

I guess I'm not a foodie either, because Mon Ami Gabi is consistently one of our favorite Vegas restaurants.

They pretty much do everything right, from warm ambiance to well-trained waitstaff to killer views of the Bellagio fountains to, of course, the food.

And yes...we have been to some of the above-mentioned restaurants--although I really liked Olives, Mon Ami Gabi is still my overall favorite.

I guess some of us have different interpretations of "foodie" than others. I always think it is much more than just someone who likes food.
I googled and these were just the very first two definitions that came up:

"A person who takes pleasure in the preparation, presentation, and eating of food. The term is sometimes used in a pejorative sense to describe someone who is always searching for new, exotic taste sensations."

and

"a person having an avid interest in the latest food fads."

Those were the type definitions I was thinking of when I heard the word foodie and prompted my comment. If you thought of those definitions, you'd see where I was coming from.

And by no means was I trying to put down Nicci or Mon Ami Gabi -- in fact, quite the contrary!

Wow! Thanks for the support on the Foodie topic...including NeoPatrick. I haven't been on this site in a couple of days.
For me, the term Foodie is more of a lifestyle than just a dining experience. I love to cook and travel, so learning about new foods while walking through a foreign market or taking a cooking class in a local's home is part of the adventure for me. I have a passion in discovering unique ingredients and new ways to prepare the common ones. At home in Atlanta, I go to wine and cheese tastings regularly, shop at local farmers markets and specialty gourmet shops, focus on organic and sustainable practices and plenty of dining out in all types of restaurants. A couple of my favorite food memories are eating a wonderful bowl of noodles on a street corner in Bangkok for about a dollar(including a soda), parilla style steak in Salta, Argentina for five dollars and pumpkin soup while visiting a soup kitchen at a township in Cape Town, South Africa for 1/2 a penny. One the other hand, I had one of my most disappointing meals at a 3 star Michelin restaurant on the Amalfi coast in Italy.

This is a very interesting discussion my question has brought about! I often call myself a "foodie" but never really stopped to think about what it meant. I know it means that I would want to go to a French bistro like Mon Ami Gabi, while my non - foodie siblings would not...but anyway, thanks for all the help - I made a reservation at Canaletto, and I'll let you all know how it is when I get back!

i was first to bring up mon ami and i consider myself a foodie too!! but didn't realize i would start such a big discussion......
keep it in mind as a "just in case!" even non foodies will like it

Just returned from the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago. Was surrounded by foodies, of all definitions. The most hysterical thing of the week was that I attended 3 awards ceremonies and every single one of them served me filet mignon. You would think the NRA could come up with something more gourmet than a filet mignon wedding menu dinner 3 nights in a row, at 3 different venues. Amazing. And these people were serving the top 'foodies' in the country - Danny Meyer, Drew Nieporent, Charlie Trotter, Michael Batterberry, etc.