gengar

I haven't been to Mesa Grill in years, but for good reason as the food was lackluster and service awful. Michael Mina isn't as good as it once was, but has exceptional signature dishes and definitely still one of my preferred spots in Vegas.

kklems

Thanks everyone for the reports. Maybe I will keep looking for another spot. Read a fair amount of Yelp reviews which seemed to favor the place. (at least for a celebrity restaurant) I guess the huge amount of available times on opentable should have been a clue.

Non-NonRev

Available tables doesn't necessarily mean bad - some of these Vegas restaurants are really big, capacity wise. And many do lots of walk-in business- not everyone reserves.

Another thing to be careful of is, when considering places that serve moderate to strongly spiced food, a lot of Vegas diners have unadventureous palates - they may go in expecting sweet BBQ sauce on everything.

Non-NonRev

Chef Pierre Gagnaire will be cooking at his Mandarin Oriental Hotel restaurant Twist from June 21 to June 25.

MikeLaw

Ugh! I check out on the 21st. I've been hoping to catch him in house one of these trips.

kklems

Ok back from
Vegas:
First night e by Andrés. Awesome,
Very enjoyable experience and the food was really good. Loved all but a couple
Of dishes. The only annoying thing was two of the random table members had bet on the GS bb game and were heming and hawing about going back at 830
But the server that handles
The drinks promptly took care of it. (Not the restaurants fault and they handled
It well. Maybe a Vegas only issues)

Second night we were staying at LV Ren and I found a living social deal for Envy steakhouse so we are there. Not very impressed. Spinach salad was over dressed and my MR steak was more like blue rare. The server promptly took it back and it came out MR but to me it is inexcusable for a house to not properly cook a steak. My wife's filet was cooked correctly. For sides we got the wild mushrooms and the lobster mac n chesese. Neither were anything special. Place was dead (3 tables) but the service team was very good.

Last night we decided to try Joel Robochon. We went back and forth pre-dinner about the full tasting menu versus a partial but in end we went with the full. While all the dishes were good only a co,uple were really extraordinary. The beef course was some of the best beef I have ever tasted (and I live in the Midwest- beef country). I was
Most disappointed in seafood course. I had read so many positive reviews of the langoustine ravioli and it was just ok. Both preparations of the cod had a bit of fishy taste to them. (Fish that is less than fresh off the boat). Service 5/5, food 4/5 value 3/5. I have not eaten a 3* Michelin restaurant before so I don't have anything to compare it to. Definetly an experience I would not do again in LV. Kind of a once in a lifetime.

One other minor complaint was when I was seated they asked if we wanted still or sparkling water. I said still (I know sparkling would incur a cost). They brought another bottle during the meal. On my tab there was a charge for two bottles of water at $10 each. (All the tables had bottles on them as well)Seems to me when you order a $445 tasting menu a couple bottles of water would be reasonable(if nothing else to clear the palate between courses). Just get like I was being gouged.

An interesting fact from the e chefs was that he said Michelin is no longer giving stars for LV restaurants and they are planning to start doing regions versus cities. The chefs were very open about happenings, future plans, like and dislikes of other LV spots.

I would go back to e by Andrés in a heartbeat to try a new menu. Envy not so much and Robochon was a one time deal but a pleasant experience ( and
I keep thinking about that beef yummmmmy).

Forgive any typos as I am posting from
My phone