Encore restaurants
Aug 31, 2009 | 2:03 am
#31
In memoriam
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: YVR
Programs: Hilton*D, Marriott*LG, Hyatt*G
Posts: 6,267
luxury, I know your standards from some of your other posts and I agree that DB LV is certainly disappointing given that it has a Michelin star. The service is stupidly unprofessional/informal for such a place. HOWEVER, I am not sure it is overpriced, and I have had good experiences there dining at the bar.
Even though service is overly familiar and food is not really of Michelin star quality (Would this place be * in Paris?) one can have a reasonable meal there for about $100/per person and they are pouring a 2005 Bordeaux by the glass for about $18 which is really about the best value you are going to get in the Wynn/Encore neighborhood.
Have you been to the lounge at Guy Savoy yet? There was another thread where you asked me about that place which certainly features outstanding food and service, with great value on food (but very high wine/champagne prices)
Even though service is overly familiar and food is not really of Michelin star quality (Would this place be * in Paris?) one can have a reasonable meal there for about $100/per person and they are pouring a 2005 Bordeaux by the glass for about $18 which is really about the best value you are going to get in the Wynn/Encore neighborhood.
Have you been to the lounge at Guy Savoy yet? There was another thread where you asked me about that place which certainly features outstanding food and service, with great value on food (but very high wine/champagne prices)
This trip, coming up in just under 3 weeks, we intend to try Guy Savoy for our big splurgy meal. I certainly will post my thoughts for sure!!
Sep 21, 2009 | 1:16 pm
#33
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 170
Well, I am back from the trip that inspired me to start this thread and get all your feedback. Thanks again for that--it was very helpful. Thought I'd post a report on my dinners.
Thursday night we ate at Daniel Boulud. I know some people had spoken of subpar service at this place. We couldn't have had a better experience. There were three of us, we sat outside on the patio next to the Lake of Dreams. One word about that--that thing is stupid. The "shows" were so dumb. Why do I want to see an inflatable frog singing "what a wonderful world"? Just dumb. But dinner was fantastic. We started with a cheese plate--I think this was my favorite way to start a dinner in Vegas. The three of us had a great time over 30-40 minutes matching up cheese with the fruit, nuts and honey that accompany them. The waiter couldn't have been better--we gave him the choice of cheeses for us and he asked us several questions about what we did and didn't like and then put together what we considered a fabulous selection. For dinner, I had a special they had that night which was a Thai snapper that had just been flown in that morning with a potato crust. Absolutely loved it. I'm not going to remember everyone's specifc dish, but my friends had the sea bass (I think it's the loup de mar) and the chicken. We also had a great bottle of white wine suggested--ended up drinking two of them as it was so good. Service was excellent which I know is in contrast to what others have said--maybe we just got a good night.
Friday night we hit Botero. Liked this place a lot as well. Had a caesar salad and we split a dish of different sashimi style fish. I think there were four different preparations of sashimi fish on there. For dinner, they cooked us an extra big piece of chateaubriand so the three of us could split it and we got a bunch of sides. We got the foie gras on the side which was very well done. The potatos au gratin were very good, the spinach was also very good. The best though were the risotto stuffed zuchinni flowers. I love zucchini flowers but have only had them in Italy so was happy to see them on there. Service was good, but not great. We always like to get the waitstaff's opinions on things and while she tried her best, my impression was that she wasn't particularly knowledgable about the different options yet. Maybe she was new. Definitely worth a trip though.
Saturday night we ate at Bartolotta. We had hoped to get a cabana on the lake outside, but on a Saturday night, they had all been given to high rollers, but we did outside on the veranda which was very nice. Our waitress was very nice, but not particularly helpful--another one that I thought might have been new and just didn't know all the dishes yet. But the guy that came over to show us the fish was great. We had one member of our party that didn't like seafood so he just got the gnocchi, but myself and my other friend decided to go for the experience and try the fish right out of the mediterranean. We talked to the guy that brought the fish over and he helped us pick out one (the Orata) and a sauce to go with it. He had the goat cheese ravioli as an appetizer and they were very good. Then the fish came--it was roasted whole with potatos and zucchini that were also very good. The waitress skinned and deboned the fish for us and split up the filets for my friend and I and added the sauce. I think this was probably the highlight of my trip--while the production of doing it all in front of us is great, the fish was just fantastic. One of my favorite meals ever. The guy that we had talked to gave us a perfect recommendation for our tastes. The wine person (I can never remember what they are called) picked up a great red for us--I can't remember the name of it now--some italian vintage. It was just about as perfect a dinner as you could want.
So all in all, I think we went 3 for 3. Some of the waitstaff weren't particularly helpful, but nobody was rude--I think they were just new. They all tried very hard. So it wasn't something that turned us off. The ones that we got that were very good, particularly our waiter at Boulod and the fish dude at Bartolotta were fantastic. I'd recommend all three places.
Thursday night we ate at Daniel Boulud. I know some people had spoken of subpar service at this place. We couldn't have had a better experience. There were three of us, we sat outside on the patio next to the Lake of Dreams. One word about that--that thing is stupid. The "shows" were so dumb. Why do I want to see an inflatable frog singing "what a wonderful world"? Just dumb. But dinner was fantastic. We started with a cheese plate--I think this was my favorite way to start a dinner in Vegas. The three of us had a great time over 30-40 minutes matching up cheese with the fruit, nuts and honey that accompany them. The waiter couldn't have been better--we gave him the choice of cheeses for us and he asked us several questions about what we did and didn't like and then put together what we considered a fabulous selection. For dinner, I had a special they had that night which was a Thai snapper that had just been flown in that morning with a potato crust. Absolutely loved it. I'm not going to remember everyone's specifc dish, but my friends had the sea bass (I think it's the loup de mar) and the chicken. We also had a great bottle of white wine suggested--ended up drinking two of them as it was so good. Service was excellent which I know is in contrast to what others have said--maybe we just got a good night.
Friday night we hit Botero. Liked this place a lot as well. Had a caesar salad and we split a dish of different sashimi style fish. I think there were four different preparations of sashimi fish on there. For dinner, they cooked us an extra big piece of chateaubriand so the three of us could split it and we got a bunch of sides. We got the foie gras on the side which was very well done. The potatos au gratin were very good, the spinach was also very good. The best though were the risotto stuffed zuchinni flowers. I love zucchini flowers but have only had them in Italy so was happy to see them on there. Service was good, but not great. We always like to get the waitstaff's opinions on things and while she tried her best, my impression was that she wasn't particularly knowledgable about the different options yet. Maybe she was new. Definitely worth a trip though.
Saturday night we ate at Bartolotta. We had hoped to get a cabana on the lake outside, but on a Saturday night, they had all been given to high rollers, but we did outside on the veranda which was very nice. Our waitress was very nice, but not particularly helpful--another one that I thought might have been new and just didn't know all the dishes yet. But the guy that came over to show us the fish was great. We had one member of our party that didn't like seafood so he just got the gnocchi, but myself and my other friend decided to go for the experience and try the fish right out of the mediterranean. We talked to the guy that brought the fish over and he helped us pick out one (the Orata) and a sauce to go with it. He had the goat cheese ravioli as an appetizer and they were very good. Then the fish came--it was roasted whole with potatos and zucchini that were also very good. The waitress skinned and deboned the fish for us and split up the filets for my friend and I and added the sauce. I think this was probably the highlight of my trip--while the production of doing it all in front of us is great, the fish was just fantastic. One of my favorite meals ever. The guy that we had talked to gave us a perfect recommendation for our tastes. The wine person (I can never remember what they are called) picked up a great red for us--I can't remember the name of it now--some italian vintage. It was just about as perfect a dinner as you could want.
So all in all, I think we went 3 for 3. Some of the waitstaff weren't particularly helpful, but nobody was rude--I think they were just new. They all tried very hard. So it wasn't something that turned us off. The ones that we got that were very good, particularly our waiter at Boulod and the fish dude at Bartolotta were fantastic. I'd recommend all three places.