Royally Flushed

Morels French Steakhouse at The Palazzo made our list of favorites.

Doing a “Best Restaurants in Las Vegas” list is sort of like doing the “Sexiest Man Alive” issue of People magazine.  We’ve probably missed a couple of hotties; you might think a few are past their prime; and we may even have you shaking your head in a “What-the-hell-were-they-thinking-picking-Zac-Efron?” kind of way but, hey, it’s our list and we’re sticking to it.  (At least until our next trip to Vegas later this month….)

And while you can go to innumerable websites and find scrolls and scrolls of Las Vegas restaurant listings, we’re going to give you a workable, two-page printable list of our favorite Las Vegas restaurants — mostly on the Strip — conveniently arranged into different categories.  We’ve even included the 36 links you need to check them out for hours, phone numbers and all the info you may need.

Steakhouses:  SW Steakhouse at Wynn Las Vegas     BOA Steakhouse at the Forum Shoppes at Caesars Palace     CUT at The Shops at the Palazzo     Morels French Steakhouse at The Palazzo     Delmonico Steakhouse at The Venetian     Craftsteak at MGM Grand     Strip House at Planet Hollywood     N9NE at The Palms     Prime at The Bellagio     Charlie Palmer Steak at The Four Seasons Las Vegas

Seafood:  RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay (either upstairs or the more casual downstairs)     AquaKnox at the Venetian     Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare at Wynn Las Vegas     Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House at MGM Grand     Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab at The Forum Shoppes at Caesars Palace     Michael Mina at The Bellagio     SeaBlue at the MGM Grand

Sushi:  Koi at Planet Hollywood     Social House at Treasure Island     Nobu at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino     Sushi Roku at The Forum Shoppes at Caesars Palace     Yellowtail Sushi Restaurant & Bar at The Bellagio     Shibuya at MGM Grand

Chef-Driven, Food-as-High-Art, Titanium Card Preferred Fine Dining: Alex at Wynn Las Vegas     Restaurant Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace     Bouchon Bistro (Thomas Keller) at The Venetian      L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand     Picasso (Julian Serrano) at The Bellagio

Staff Favorites:  Olives at The Bellagio     Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay     Mon Ami Gabi at Paris     David Burke at The Venetian    Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace     Rosemary’s Restaurant (Off-Strip and completely worth the cab ride!)     The Grill at Valentino at The Venetian     Mix at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay

Wynn Dining

The alluring pastry case at Payard Patisserie at Caesars Palace.

Making a visit to Payard’s exquisite bakery at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas takes on Holy Grail-like overtones because this place is NOT easy to find.  My advice — save yourself a lot of time and shoe leather and just ask any hotel employee to point you in the right direction.  (It’s at the back of the resort near the Café Lago buffet.  Look for the caramel-toned lighting and chocolate-colored curlicues facing the walkway.)

Once you do find it, you’ll be presented with two options for dining - either the casual counter-service-only café or the adjacent tiny jewel box of a restaurant.  The timing may decide for you since the café is open from 6:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. while the bakery counter serves from 6:30 a.m. until 11 p.m.  Either way, you can rest assured that the fabulous pastries and desserts are on both menus.

And fabulous is not an overstatement when it comes to Monsieur Payard’s artistic pastries and sweets.  Winner of numerous “Best Pastry Chef” awards, Francois Payard proves his culinary mettle in every buttery croissant, velvety mousse and perfectly-constructed tart and gâteau on the menu.   Our favorites include the lush Maple Cheesecake with Blueberry Compote, the classic multi-layered Raspberry Napoleon and the sophisticated Vienne with its masterful blending of dark chocolate, orange and caramel. 

Dessert flavors extend to the decor at Payard with its caramel-toned lighting.

Since man cannot live by dessert alone (well, you could but probably shouldn’t) Payard Patisserie offers breakfast fare including omelets and quiches plus a lunch/light dinner menu of sandwiches and salads including a Tuna Nicoise salad that will remind you why this is one of France’s most beloved dishes.  For a heartier appetite, the Roast Beef Panini on authentic ciabatta with caramelized onions is robustly flavored while the accompanying house-made spicy potato chips are addictive. 

In addition to the café and bakery, there is a retail store stocked with boxes of luxurious handmade truffles and candies as well as Payard’s signature gift baskets to take home.

Where:  Caesars Palace

Hours:  Breakfast: 6:30am to 11:30am
              Lunch: 11:30am to 3pm
Pastry Counter: 6:30am to 11:00pm
Retail Store: Tue-Fri 6:30am to 11:00pm
Retail Store: Sat-Mon 6:00am to 11:00pm

Reservations: Tel.  877-346-4642

Chef Todd English's "Olives" at The Bellagio is a great bet for lunch.

Don’t be fooled by the location or first impression of Olives at The Bellagio, Las Vegas.  It’s open to the walkway through the tony shopping arcade and at first glance appears trendy-casual. And while it is marketed as one of the resort’s casual eateries, Olives at The Bellagio is actually a paragon of culinary consistency and excellence.

Once inside, it’s also pretty nifty looking with rich, dark hues, luxurious furnishings and over-sized arched windows leading out to a lovely patio overlooking the fountain.

The briskly professional staff sweeps to the table with water, menus and the most seductive bread service ever. An artisinal assortment is accompanied by both mellow, satiny black and green olive tapenades and glistening, giant whole olives. Warning — don’t overdo — the dishes that follow are equally spectacular.  (more…)

Bouchon Las Vegas at The Venetian serves French bistro favorites with quality and precision.

Our favorite restaurant reviewer visits Bouchon at The Venetian –

Bouchon is an odd but worthy bird. Perched far away from the hubbub of The Venetian’s casino and shops, this brain-child of chef Thomas Keller is a shining example of “The Disneyland Effect”. That phenomenon is the re-working of a familiar entity, like New Orleans’s French Quarter, which ends up far grander, glossier and more polished than the real thing ever was.

In this case, the restaurant designer has taken the notion of a Parisian bistro and blown it up into an idealized, sanitized, over-sized and utterly beguiling stage set. Minus the nicotine stained walls and crusty old waiters, Bouchon is all the right stuff writ large — (more…)

The Mirage's juicy entry into The Strip's upscale burger joints - BLT Burger - wins praise from our reviewer.

This is the first in our series of restaurant reviews where we’ll tell you if a place — new or old, glam or down-home — is worth your cash.  We’re so lucky here at RoyallyFlushed to have highly-experienced, well-respected guest writers who contribute terrific articles like this one.  C.C.

On the Strip, even fast food is flashy. Witness BLT Burger at The Mirage. Its part of Chef Laurent Tourondel’s high-profile restaurant group and if that long, shallow space feels familiar, well, it used to be the resort’s white tiger habitat.

Open to a busy corridor and with an ever-present wait line outside peering in, diners can feel much like the tigers must have. The darkish interior, dominated by a huge black and white photomural of the barren Nevada desert, is eerily cave-like. Customers with less than 20/20 vision must scamper outside to read the menu. No need to hurry back, though, while service is chipper, its tortoise slow.

Once things get going, it’s happy-time. This is rightfully uncomplicated food, but the ingredients are top-notch and everything is meticulously prepared.  For a purist delight, it’s hard to beat the American Kobe burger. Not cheap at $22, but the intensely beefy taste and texture coupled with a good bun makes it worth every penny. A Mediterranean-spiced lamb burger with puckery yogurt sauce is a fun walk on the wild side and the rare tuna burger is, well, so meaty you might just consider going for the less expensive regular burger.

If you’re not a carnivore, that’s okay, decent salads are available or, you could fill up on super-appealing sides like the addictive fried pickle slices, crispy sweet potato fries and sturdily-crusted onion rings.

Or, just skip straight to some of the most stupendous ice cream shakes ever shakerized. Granted, there are weird options. If you want such a thing, there is a “Twinkie Boy” for instance (don’t ask). But the chocolate is true flavored and the strawberry tastes like real right-out-of-the-patch strawberries rather than artificial flavoring. Better still, there are alcohol-fortified options (plus a full and inventive cocktail list).

BLT Burger doesn’t have quite the retro-cool vibe that Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay does, but it’s a great option for soaking up last night’s hangover or getting a good start on tomorrow’s.

Location:  The Mirage

Hours:  Sunday, Tuesday, & Wednesday:11:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
              Monday, Thursday - Saturday:11:00 a.m. - 4:00 a.m.

Dress:  Casual

Info:  702.792.7888