if you get the chance, Joel Robuchon at MGM is my pick for the best restaurant in town of course you can't get out of there without dropping 4 figures per couple, but it's worth it
Don't get me wrong. I don't hate Wicked Spoon. I have it in Tier 2. Tier 1: Bellagio, Wynn Tier 2: Aria, Cosmo Tier 3: Mirage, Planet Hollywood, Rio Tier 4: Everything Else I haven't tried the new one at Caesar's (Bachana or some ancient Rome reference), but it's supposed to be top notch. Their old one was a Tier 4 crapper. And I'll give Wicked Spoon another shot (will be there in a couple of weeks) b/c I have food credit at Cosmo. As for Hash House, it's just giant portions. Like IHOP on steriods, with better quality and more variety (like duck). I like it personally, and it's a great thing to bring first-timers to b/c of the shock value. It's not the greatest flavors ever though. Wichcraft is excellent. My fam has a condo down the hall behind the spa...used to eat Wichcraft for breakfast/lunch like everyday.
Well, isn't it the only Michelin 3 star restaurant in the US? If you love fine dining and french food, then it's the benchmark. Rubechon L'atelier is next door and has great food too at much better prices. And Bellagio's Picasso is excellent for fine dining and their menus are only in the $125 range per person.
it's the only 3 star in Vegas. There are some two star and I believe 1 stars there are probably 10 other 3 star restaurants in the US.
Sometimes I feel the entire existence of uppity nerds is to look at the latest Food& wine mag, pick the top 2 restaurants, then steadfastly claim there's nothing like it and the foie was just "superb". world class. and yes, I managed to afford an entire 3 course meal there 5 years ago so I will praise it til the day I die. it's quite trashy behavior but .. c'est neux monie. like a virgin - touched for the very first time. And I guess that's the vegas draw, the working class man can pretend he's at the eiffel tower, or the riviera, or some place authentic crawling with trashy ho's with hierarchical price tags attached to their vagina's. it's fun when you're 19,20 and 21... but then you're 22, and you realize the sadness and trashiness that makes up the heart of vegas excitement and naivety... and start steering towards less gimmicky vacation spots. Michelin stopped ranking Las Vegas restaurants after 2008/09. It is widely acknowledged among st high rollers and celebrity news anchors who wind up face down, ass up in my bedroom that Picasso is the gold standard for taste/texture, michael mina for lobster and Yellow Tail for design. robouchon is a hack. It's all bellagio baby. The Bellagio IS the place to be, unless you're a 5"10 220 lb beefcake looking for trashy car models with inflatable t*** and chiseled abs. But when you're rolling with Honey B, his elegantness , it's all cookies and cream. Sorry i had to leave merican r****do mode and regulando, but a playa does as a playa did.
I don't understand anything Honey Bear wrote, except that perhaps he likes Bellagio? Anyhow, yes, Picasso at Bellagio is great fine dining and at much cheaper price than Robuchon's 2 joints at the MGM. FranchiseBlade, merry Christmas and hope you're getting good pics of the Bellagio atrium and enjoying your time out there.
Last Sunday was the first time I've watched the Texans at a sportsbook (Bellagio). Needless to say, I will never be watching the Texans at a Las Vegas book ever again. Plus, my buddy from Austin who I met over there has claimed that he will burn the Wal-Mart Texans shirt he wore that day (which was the first time he ever wore it). We're both sincerely sorry that we broke tradition and will make sure to return to previous routines for this week's game against the Colts.
Having a hard time deciding on ONE restaurant for a nice dinner for my birthday...ahhh. Is the Eiffel Tower restaurant worth it? My friend recommended Mon Ami Gabi. I love Sugar Factory Brassiere. Tons of food for $. Would rather to try out a newer restaurant, though. We will be watching the Texans game at the sports bar at NYNY. They better win!
Mon Ami Gabi is better than the Eiffel Tower restaurant, in my opinion. You could also try Alize at the Palms if you're looking for some fancy food.
Lady_Di, on the newer side I think Gordon Ramsey's new steak joint is at the Paris too, since you're other options are there. Also boomboom, Bellagio is like one of the older not-so-nice sportsbooks around. Give it another place (like Venetian, Aria, or MGM) a shot and the Texans will win.
It probably won't help that much, but I have a $20 gift certificate to Mon Ami Gabi that's yours if you want it. I'm usually on the strip all day, everyday.
Great summary. Hash House was huge portions. The day before I ate breakfast at Central by Michael Richards. The breakfast was only adequate, and not huge portions at all. For the same price I got two giant breakfasts at Hash House that could have fed 4. If anyone is going to Vegas and thinking about Hash House, then try and share one breakfast. There will be more than enough to do that. The best meal I had as far as price, service, and food quality was Joe's. The stone crab place from Miami that's in the Forum shops near Caesars. The best King Crab legs I've ever had. They split an order of Hash Browns (doesn't sound like a high end dining menu, but it is) and Mashed potatoes, so that we got half of each. The seafood platter there was amazing, the steak was done perfectly and incredibly flavorful. I don't even really care for Key Lime Pie, but I had it there, and it was absolutely amazing. I'd been there before, and loved it. This time it seemed even better which was hard to do. Another place I ate at Caesars before was Old Homestead. It's the New York steakhouse and it's fantastic. Some of those entrees are big enough to share as well. They also have the most amazing bacon ever. It sounds strange, but order it as an appetizer and enjoy. The table can split the three pieces they give you because they are each the size of a small steak. The bacon fat is never chewy like normal bacon, and somehow melts in your mouth. If your not eating there for dinner and going to another restaurant anywhere close, stop by, sit at the bar, and just order the bacon for an appetizer. Their table bread mix is also really good there. Then go to your other restaurant for dinner. You will never find bacon like they serve anywhere else, so do yourself a favor and do whatever you have to do to get an order.
I think there are better experts than me when it comes to Vegas. But I do go occasionally, and just got back last Friday from a trip there. It depends on how much of a budget. There are certain hotels that will have more expensive tables. During the holidays many blackjack tables will be minimum $25 with maybe a $15 table that pays 6:5 odds on blackjacks. Those are at the major hotels. Going downtown and you can get you cheaper tables. Wherever you play, join their player's club. Get the cards and use them. Many hotels are owned by one group, so the cards may work at several hotels. The MGM group owns the MGM, Bellagio, The Mirage, The Monte Carlo, I think New York, New York, and maybe Aria. The Harrah's group owns Harrahs, The Q Quad(used to be Imperial Palace) Caesars, Planet Hollywood, Paris, and maybe a few others. Their rewards club gets you discounts at restaurants, and some shopping. Generally speaking the nicer hotels will have more expensive tables. Caesars tables were a little higher than the Bellagio tables. One thing we did was go to the Monte Carlo at 11:00 AM and take the craps tutorial. It was very helpful for me, and the guy who runs the tutorial will let you know that even though the table minimum might say $10 on the sign to let them know you were in the tutorial and you can play for $5 minimum. I did that and it worked out well for me. The tutorial is free. Also if you are on the Total Rewards card charge meals, and shop purchases to your room. Then you'll get points on your card for those purchases. Always let the person at the restaurants and shops know that you want points for your purchases. The MGM card doesn't work exactly the same. Maybe try one nice meal a day, or every two days depending on your budget. Maybe just one really nice meal for your whole trip if you are really scrapped. There are plenty of great food options out there. For other meals eat cheaply at the cheaper hotels that have a food court or something like that. Be careful because even food court type options at Caesars or Bellagio might still cost more than other places. Pick what you want to do. Shows can be fun, but are also costly. If shows are big on your to do list, pick one, and enjoy it. See if there are discount ticket options from the various discount ticket places there. If shows aren't big on your list then spend that money on nice dining, or gambling. If clubs are what you want, follow some of the other tips already in this thread. Casino tables are generally cheaper on weekdays. Tuesday they might still be jacked up with New Years prices. So Wednesday, and Thus. should be cheaper. Some restaurants have different dinner and lunch and dinner menus, and the lunch menu will be a little cheaper for still really high quality food. There are certain buffet deals which will give you 24 hours (basically dinner to dinner) buffets for one price of $47 or $67 if you want the premium buffets added. But be prepared to wait in line if you want to use this. The Buffet lines can be long. You also may be really full, so you'll have to be sure you can eat a lot if you want to get your money's worth. Then start at the dinner buffet one night, and use the buffets for every meal including the next dinner. The Caesars and Bellagio buffet lines can often be 3 hours or more. There are ways to sometimes avoid the lines but it might cost extra money. Only do that if you are really into buffets. You can always slip the clerk a discreet $20 while handing your drivers license at check in for a room upgrade. Good luck. Enjoy your trip.
Thanks man! Several people have told me about this, does it really work? Do I have to say anything, I don't want to look like an idiot. Looking like an idiot on the internet is fine, but in front of the gf...ouch.
Good to hear that you had a great time. I'm up for trying different restaurants, so I guess I'll be heading over to Joe's soon. I pass by it all the time. FB gave you a wealth of knowledge on have to maximize your gambling budget and get more value for how you spend. Along those lines, try to gamble at one place per day to get max comp value in the future, but that's only if you're a degen like me. If you're just touristy gambling, then it don't matter. Can you be more specific about your question? Do you mean cheap eats? Behind the east side of the strip there's a place called Ellis Island Casino and Brewery (and Motel) at Koval and Flamingo. Their steak special is is like $8 for a steak, side, salad, bread, and microbeer or rootbeer. Do you mean cheap entertainment? Bellagio fountains. Bellagio atrium. Mirage Volcano. Walk through interesting casinos and malls like The Cosmo, The Wynn/Encore, The Venetian/Palazzo, The Bellagio, The Aria/City Center, Caesar's Palace/Forum Shops. All of this is free. There's also the M&M and Coca Cola store across the street from The Monte Carlo. You can try all these weird Coke flavors from around the world. Do you mean cheap thrills? The downtown zip line is fun for $20 I think. It's not too dangerous and fun enough to do once. And scary crack ho's are on Tropicana blvd, but I'd stay away from them.
