I tried the weekend brunch, have posted somewhere in this forum about it, didn't find anything I liked much except the peeled shrimp. YMMV.

I thought brunch was okay - lots of pastries from the Patisserie, reasonable breakfast meats, pretty good seafood. But, it's just a buffet.

There is a great selection of restaurants at Aria. Sirio was good. There were lots of other places I would have liked to try, like Julian Serrano.

Recommend Julian Seranno. Proper Spanish (not Mexican) tapas and paella.

Was disappointed by Steakhouse. Famous chef does not equal great food or good service.

Has anyone been to either Mastro's or the Todd English place (I think it's P.U.B. or something like that) in Crystals?

A poster in another thread said Maestros was good. Their Orange County (CA) location is my favorite steakhouse.

American Fish (Michael Mina) is superb.

QL

Mastro's is my favourite steak house, too!! The location in Crystals is actually a Mastro's Ocean Club, but they have the same great steaks. I can't recommend this place enough!!

Aria buffett is average. But did not try Fr or Sat when they have "gourmet" items and all the wine you could drink.

I was hoping for some reviews of the Gourmet Buffet on Friday/Saturdays as I have an offer from Aria for a discounted room rate and two free buffets. I know the buffets are free but still don't want to go to a lousy free meal. I would rather then stay elsewhere and pay to have a good meal.

Have eaten at Sage (twice), Julian Serrano, Pub, and American Fish. Sage is outstanding and well worth the price. PUB is fun, and the food was quite tasty. American Fish we had rather low expectations of and it was actually very good and a really nice room; ask for a booth if you can get it. Wasn't wild about Julian Serrano, except for the gazpacho.

I have eaten at the following places, none of which I was paying for so I cannot tell you much about price value.

Chinese restuarant: very, very good. I had the duck. My partner had a shrimp dish which looked very good (I don�t eat shrimp.) The fried rice was excellent. Other dishes around looked good.

Thai restaurant: major disappointment. Go to Lotus of Siam, save a lot of money and get much better food.

Italian restaurant: first rate service and very good food. I thought the portions were small, but I usually think this in Italian restaurants. Our party had a variety of entrees and everyone was very happy.

In Crystals:

Maestros: Very good. I ordered fish both times and enjoyed it immensely.

Besos: This is the steak place by Eva Longoria. I am not a steakhouse sort of guy, but I thought my steak was excellent. Again, five different entrees by different members of the party, and everyone was happy. Good side dishes, too, although everything is ala carte.

Serrano's is nice food and not outrageously priced--although several of them are small portions.

I've eaten at two places in Aria:

P.U.B. by Todd English - a nice gastro-pub with a good beer selection. The Spotted Pig it isn't, but it's a nice addition to Las Vegas. Very loud. Good for a group of guys out for a night on the town.

Sirio Restorante - all the dishes were lovely, and the charcuterie sampler app was to die for... my aunt, who has traveled in Italy extensively, said it was some of the best prosciutto she's had in her life. Waiter was very attentive and helpful.

So I ended up booking a room at Aria instead of Venetian. I was wondering how strict is Aria's policy about more than 2 people in the room (it would be 4 in total in my case)? Any suggestions/advice on circumventing it?

I think all hotels have a policy of more than 2 ppl in a room, but I don't believe it's an issue in Vegas.