restaurant recommendations for Vegas

[TLHB70]

DH and I fly out Sunday morning for a quick trip to Vegas. He has a work convention and I get to go along. We are staying at the Signature at MGM Grand. We arrive in Vegas around noon Sunday. We fly out around 1 PM Wednesday. So we will not have long. We have a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon booked for Monday. DH has to go to the convention on Tuesday. We have show tickets for Tuesday night. So really our time is limited. We just do not know what restaurants we should try. There are so many that I have read excellent things about. Do any of you have any MUST HAVE restaurants there? What is the dress code at these places? Do I need to pack dresses? We have never been to Vegas before so I am not sure about what to pack.
Thanks for you input!


(BTW, we get home Wednesday from Vegas and then the family flies out Saturday for WDW! It will be an awesome two weeks! )

 

[eeyore65]

I just got back on Sunday. At MGM, I loved L'Atelier de Joel Rubochon. It was amazing. We also enjoyed brunch at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. My very fav restaurant is Bouchon at the Venetian. I love it for dinner and the most amazing breakfast I have ever eaten. (french pastries - yummmy!)

 

[JessicaR]

Il Mulino at Caesar's is one of my favorite meals in Vegas.
http://www.ilmulino.com/

Alize has incredible food with a view to match! It's at the top of The Palms.
http://www.andrelv.com/alize/

Mon Ami Gabi at Paris - Ask for a table in the center window. It overlooks the Bellagio Fountains. Loved the service and the food and especially the view.
http://www.monamigabi.com/

Mix at THEhotel is a Alain Ducasse restaurant. It is a total experience that I would love to do again! It has a French flair but lots of food options. So beautiful!
http://www.mandalaybay.com/thehotel/mix.aspx

Enjoy your trip! Come back and tell us all about it please. I need a Vegas fix soon.

 

[TLHB70]

Thank you both so much for the recommendations.
What about dress for these? What should I pack to wear? I know that I need casual clothes for touring. I don't know about restaurants.
Also, do I need to make reservations now for these places?
JessicaR, I haven't checked all of the links yet. I will do that on lunch break.
Thanks again!!!!
I am so excited!

 

[Mahnahmahnah]

Thank you both so much for the recommendations.
What about dress for these? What should I pack to wear? I know that I need casual clothes for touring. I don't know about restaurants.
Also, do I need to make reservations now for these places?
JessicaR, I haven't checked all of the links yet. I will do that on lunch break.
Thanks again!!!!
I am so excited!

You will definetley want to dress for those restaurants!

I agree with Jessica's recommendations. You may have trouble getting in without resseys though so call now! It depends on how busy it is out there. I can recommend more casual fare also:

Burger Bar at Mandalay Place (in between Mandalay Bay and Luxor)
Rumjungle at Mandalay Bay has Jamaican style food, their drinks are amazing and so is the eye candy!
Red Square at Mandalay Bay has Russian food that is really good (lobster mashed potatoes!) and every Vodka you can ever imagine, also the bar is an "ice bar", very cool.
Green Valley Ranch (off the srtip if you can get there) has loads of restaurants in "The District", nice to walk with shops and stuff
Mirage has Cravings Buffet - I love this buffet, as they lots of different types of foods you don't normally see at a buffet

Have fun!!!

 

[JessicaR]

I would make advance reservations. Have a look at opentable.com and see what comes up!

Attire is from one extreme to another and anything in between. Unless a restaurant specifically has a dress code and most do not, I would wear evening casual. You can dress up though and NOT be out of place at all. You will see it all in Vegas and then some. I like to dress up but my husband is usually in slacks with a dress shirt or polo shirt. So, you do not have to wear dresses at all unless you would like to.

 

[JessicaR]

You will definetley want to dress for those restaurants!

I agree with Jessica's recommendations. You may have trouble getting in without resseys though so call now! It depends on how busy it is out there. I can recommend more casual fare also:

Burger Bar at Mandalay Place (in between Mandalay Bay and Luxor)
Rumjungle at Mandalay Bay has Jamaican style food, their drinks are amazing and so is the eye candy!
Red Square at Mandalay Bay has Russian food that is really good (lobster mashed potatoes!) and every Vodka you can ever imagine, also the bar is an "ice bar", very cool.
Green Valley Ranch (off the srtip if you can get there) has loads of restaurants in "The District", nice to walk with shops and stuff
Mirage has Cravings Buffet - I love this buffet, as they lots of different types of foods you don't normally see at a buffet

Have fun!!!

We had a ball at Red Square! Loved that Ice bar and all those different concoctions. We stopped in for a drink and left many hours later. Good food too! Mu husband wants to try the Cravings Buffet at Mirage but we never have. Glad you like it! We'll have to try it now.

 

[Amirah95]

Emeril's at MGM and Bouchon at the Venetian...I've been to both and they are very very good. You have to make ressies well in advance to get in. Both are fine dining.

 

[merekc]

In the past, we have always made it a point to hit Smith and Wollenski's (sp?). IT has been fantastic every time we have gone, however, it is a huge splurge for us.

Last time my DH went (without me) he went to Emeril's Delmonico. He thought this was even better than S and W.

Hope this helps. Both are very pricey.

 

[My2Cinderellas]

We like to eat at nice places - no chain restaurants (except Margaritaville - there isn't one within 1000 miles of us, so it doesn't count) you can find anywhere, but not the super high end really unique places. I would love to eat at those, but the budget says otherwise...

Most places business casual works fine, some of the fine dining places have dress/jacket requirements. I take dresses and DH wears khakis/collared shirt. I've never made reservations ahead of time, but we are usually there during the week.

Our traditional first stop is at Margaritaville - something about drinks and bar food to get us in the vacation spirit...

I can also vouch for the margaritas at Diego's restaurant in MGM The food was good, too. Very different than the typical tex-mex we get around here, which was a nice change.

We also ate lunch at the New Orleans Fish House before checking out last trip. Looks like it is just called Emeril's now. I had this amazing soup, butternut squash with fried bacon garnish. I wanted one last good meal before heading back to the airport for a reality check.

Mesa Grill at Caesar's was wonderful. everything tasted so good, and had a unique twist. We keep saying we need to go back, but haven't yet.

Joe's Stone Crab at Forum Shops, it was ok, nothing spectacular and not worth the prices IMO. I also got violently ill later on about 3am, so it's off the list for the future...

I've eaten at a couple of the Wolfgang Puck places, Postrio in the Venetian shops area was really good. Spago in the Forum Shops was ok too, everything was fine, and what I expected, but no wow factor. Then again, it was the first meal after the Joe's Stone Crab experience, so a basic chicken and roast potatoes dish was just what I needed.

We are going in a month, so I need to start looking for ideas again too. We'll be at the Mandalay for a conference, so places down at that end would be nice.

 

[Mahnahmahnah]

We had a ball at Red Square! Loved that Ice bar and all those different concoctions. We stopped in for a drink and left many hours later. Good food too! Mu husband wants to try the Cravings Buffet at Mirage but we never have. Glad you like it! We'll have to try it now.

Did you have the Tangerine Vodka? That was my favorite!!! Cravings is awesome! They had a Portugese station, I was in heaven!

We are going in a month, so I need to start looking for ideas again too. We'll be at the Mandalay for a conference, so places down at that end would be nice.

I just love to dress up because it's Vegas! You are allowed to be slutty there, too, if you so desire!

Mandalay Bay is our place. We never stay any place else. My DH and I used to live there so we have hit up just about every restaurant on the strip and beyond.
I also recommend China Grill in Mandalay. It turns into a club later. The cafe in Mandalay, Raffles is also great for breakfast or lunch. We ate there every day last trip.they gave us a $300 comp for it. Also get a pretzel in NYNY! Yum! And the Dueling Piano Bar in NYNY is fun, too. There is way too much to do there! Almost as bad as Disney.

 

[Pakey]

I am in Las Vegas 2-3 times per year and my favorite places to eat are:

1. Picasso at Bellagio. I try to eat here every trip and the food has never disappointed me. Reservations are a must. Dress code is enforced. I have never had even one dish here that I did not love. The service and atmosphere are top notch.

2. Mesa Grill at Caesar's. This is a nice restaurant but a bit more relaxed. I've had some dishes that I love and some that I wasn't crazy about but the tamales with goat cheese keep me coming back.

3. Bouchon at Venetian. Love the breakfast there. The fresh made to order beignets with chocolate sauce are worth the time.

4. B&B at Venetian. This is Mario Batalli's place and the menu is very eclectic and provides an opportunity to try things you wouldn't find elsewhere.

 

[Piecey]

Canaelleto (spelling on that?) in the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian (It's in St. Marks Square) is DELICIOUS

DH and I are going to go back just to eat here, haha.

 

[Amirah95]

I just love to dress up because it's Vegas! You are allowed to be slutty there, too, if you so desire!

 

[MoniqueU]

We like the SW steakhouse at the Wynn. Wynn is our favorite casino.

We also like Valentino at Venetian.

And for just grub food the Victorian Room at what used to be Barbary Coast.

It is still warm in Vegas so I would wear a nice sundress type outfit with maybe a sweater if A/C bugs you.

My favorite place for drinks is Parasol Up on the patio at the Wynn.

 

[Mahnahmahnah]

Right?

I've seen some unbelievable outfits there. One girl had on just a bra type thing and what looked like underpants.

The best place to see that stuff is the Palms, you'll see them on the lines for Rain and Skin (clubs).
Oh yes - I love the Palms. I love Ghostbar for drinks, and you must stand on that glass floor after a couple of drinks.

 

[TLHB70]

Wow. Thank you all so much for the helpful information. I just need to have DH look over these. There are so many places and so little time.
I do know that we want one fine dining experience our last night, before the show. I look forward to dressing up for that, in a nice dress. The other nights I would prefer to wear a dressy pant suit if possible.
Will I be ok in shorts and tshirts for the tour? I have been looking at the weather and it looks like short temperatures.

 

[LadyyRedd]

We loved the restaurant at the top of the Stratosphere. It's a bit pricey, but the food was so excellent.

http://www.stratospherehotel.com/dining/top_of_the_world.cfm

Plus we got to go to the viewing areas of the top of the Stratosphere for free, since we were restaurant patrons. I think it's normally $12 per person.

Kimya

 

[TLHB70]

3. Bouchon at Venetian. Love the breakfast there. The fresh made to order beignets with chocolate sauce are worth the time.

Oh my! This is definitely a must for me! It just seems sooooooo yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Amirah95]

Right?

I've seen some unbelievable outfits there. One girl had on just a bra type thing and what looked like underpants.

The best place to see that stuff is the Palms, you'll see them on the lines for Rain and Skin (clubs).
Oh yes - I love the Palms. I love Ghostbar for drinks, and you must stand on that glass floor after a couple of drinks.

I love Palms. I love love love Palms. If I could wear that bra top and underbottom thing I would in a minute out there!