Tag Archives: Wynn Hotel

All Posts, Food, Travel

Top Ten Restaurants in Las Vegas

I’ve been going to Las Vegas with different groups of people, such as friends, family, and co-workers in the past years (why I like to go to Vegas). After trying so many restaurants on the strip, I came up with my top ten list of restaurants in Las Vegas. Depending on who I am going with, my top restaurant list might vary. Below is a list ideal for trips to Vegas with anyone who enjoy great dinner.

It is in no particular order. I will go into details in my future posts.

  1. Allegro at Wynn
  2. Bardot Brasserie at Aria
  3. Harvest at Bellagio
  4. Joel Robuchon at MGM Grand
  5. Le Cirque at Bellagio
  6. The Mansion at The Mansion
  7. Michael Mina at Bellagio
  8. Picasso at Bellagio
  9. Sinatra at Encore
  10. SW Steakhouse at Wynn

Las Vegas has way more great restaurants than I could fit into my list. There are three more I would have considered to add to my top ten list, except that they were closed in the past few years, mainly for economic reasons. They are: Restaurant Charlie by Charlie Trotter, David Burke, and Switch. I will explain why I like them later.

LasVegas Restaurant AquaKnox
American Red Snapper from AquaKnox at Venetian
LasVegas Restaurant Allegro at Wynn
Osso Buco D’agnello from Allegro at Wynn
All Posts, Food, Travel

Five of My Favorite Places for Brunch in Vegas

I love Las Vegas. When I am in Vegas I often eat breakfast, which is something I don’t normally do at home. Here are five of my favorite places to eat breakfast in Las Vegas.

1. The Mansion at MGM Grand

The Mansion is a semi-secret, very exclusive invitation-only restaurant. I was offered the chance to eat breakfast at The Mansion when I stayed at the Skylofts at MGM Grand. The Mansion was unbelievable!

2. Tableau at Wynn Hotel

Tableau is a fantastic restaurant at the Wynn hotel. The breakfast menu is incredible and I love some of their unique items including White Chocolate and Orange French Toast.

3. Bardot Brasserie

Bardot Brasserie is a French restaurant, by Michael Mina. Bardot Brasserie opens for brunch only on Saturday and Sunday. Among all the amazing food it offers, the French Toast is a must-have. It’s made with brioche bread and vanilla mascarpone, toped with the almond brittle, and orgeat syrup on the side.

4. Zen Kitchen at Waldorf Astoria

Zen Kitchen at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel was an unexpected surprise. One morning when I was at the Mandarin Oriental I wasn’t feeling like going out and so I ate there and I was pleased. The restaurant was casual but elegant and everything on the breakfast menu was great!

5.  Bouchon at Venetian

The Bouchon at the Venetian was a bit hard to find, at the fourth floor overlooking the pool area. The restaurant is mostly French inspired but the breakfast items are all fantastic!

Fiave Favorite Breakfast Places in VegasFiave Favorite Breakfast Places in Vegas

All Posts, Holidays, Travel

2015 Chinese New Year’s in Las Vegas

I went to Las Vegas in February 2015 with three of my Chinese friends during the two weeks of Chinese New Year’s celebration. One my friends and I stayed at the Aria Hotel. The other two girls stayed at a different hotel.

I’ve been to Vegas many times, but not too often during Chinese New Year’s. I noticed that most of the nicer Vegas hotels had Chinese themed decor. But other Las Vegas hotels, like the Excalibur and the Luxor, did not have any Chinese themed decorations.

MGM Grand Lobby
MGM Grand Lobby

This fact reinforced the idea that there’s a somewhat clear distinction between the very best hotels in Las Vegas — those that adapt to different seasons — and those non-elite hotels that more or less remain static all throughout the year.

Aria Lobby
Aria Lobby

For example, at the nice Aria and the Wynn hotels, I saw many red lanterns and Chinese dragon decorations. And at the Bellagio, MGM Grand, and Encore resorts, I saw decorations for the ram animal, because this is the Chinese year of the ram.

Aria Special Check-In
Aria Special Check-In
Ram for Chinese New Year
Ram for Chinese New Year

Also, at the Aria (even though I didn’t get to take a photograph), I noticed that the employee name badges they wore had their name in English plus the Chinese characters for the ram animal.

BellagioConservatory

I have no major conclusion, but if you’re going to Las Vegas, in my opinion, it’s worth it to spend a little bit more to stay at a top end hotel (Wynn, Encore, Bellagio, Venetian, Palazzo, and Aria) and get a lot of extras that can make your visit more special.

Bellagio Conservatory Botanical Gardens
Bellagio Conservatory Botanical Gardens
All Posts, Food, Travel

Breakfast at the Tableau Restaurant in Las Vegas

Las Vegas has some of the best hotels and restaurants in the world. But I’ve always been sort of surprised that there aren’t too many super nice places to eat breakfast in Las Vegas. Las Vegas isn’t really much of an early-morning city.

There are plenty of places to eat breakfast in Vegas but most of them are either buffets or very casual cafe-style restaurants. Probably my favorite restaurant to eat breakfast at is the Tableau restaurant in the Wynn hotel. Tableau has a great menu, great service, and great ambience.

The menu has the basic breakfast items such as eggs with bacon or sausage, and pancakes. But Tableau also has some special items. I love Tableau’s orange and chocolate French toast. And the special Tableau breakfast potatoes are like little potato pancakes.

Tableau4

Breakfast at Tableau, Las Vegas

The presentation at Tableau is always just right. The jams come in elegant little ceramic containers, and there are cute little salt and pepper dispensers. The service at Tableau is a perfect balance of semi-formal and casual.

If you are a breakfast person, the next time you are in Las Vegas, consider making a reservation at the Tableau restaurant in the Wynn hotel.

For more restaurants in Las Vegas, read “Five of My Favorite Places for Breakfast in Vegas” and “Top Ten Restaurants in Las Vegas“

All Posts, Travel

My Favorite Regular Las Vegas Hotels

Some time ago I posted a blog that describes my favorite upscale / luxury suites in Las Vegas. But I don’t always get to stay in upscale rooms; I sometime stay in what I’ll call ordinary hotel rooms (even though Las Vegas is far from ordinary).

So, here are my current top 10 places to stay in Las Vegas, assuming I’m not going to stay at a luxury suite of some sort.

Wynn_Encore_Hotels

  1. Encore – I love the Encore Hotel. It’s at the north end of the Strip which means I can’t walk to a lot of venues, but other than that, Encore is just about perfect. It’s hard to describe, but the Encore just feels right. The prices here are a bit higher than most hotels, but well worth it in my opinion.

  2. Wynn – The Wynn and the Encore are practically the same — the two hotels are connected and many times are referred to as Wynn/Encore collectively. I love the Wynn, especially the restaurants, which I think, as a group, are the best of any hotel in Vegas.

  3. Bellagio – The Bellagio has a different feel than the Wynn and Encore — it’s hard to describe, but the Bellagio is a bit more conservative in some ways, mostly the décor I think. I’ve noticed that staying at the Bellagio either before or after staying at the Wynn/Encore makes the experience at all three hotels seem even better.

  4. Palazzo – The Palazzo has great rooms — essentially all suites. And the Palazzo is directly connected to the Venetian which has a lot of great restaurants and shopping.

  5. Aria – The Aria doesn’t seem to have one characteristic that makes it really stand out, but the property is good in a lot of ways. Nice location near the center of the Strip, nice rooms, good restaurants, and one of my all-time favorite bakeries (Jean Philippe).

  7. The Venetian – Every time I stay at the Venetian I recall one of my all-time favorite shows, The Phantom of the Opera. I like the rooms at the Venetian (all 700+ square feet), and the shopping arcade with restaurants by the indoor canal.

  8. Cosmopolitan – The Cosmopolitan is a nice hotel, but clearly a notch below the hotels I’ve listed above. The Cosmopolitan tries a bit too hard to be trendy, but it’s still a good hotel, and much better than older properties like the Luxor and the Tropicana.

  9. The MGM Grand – the MGM is maybe one of the best values in Vegas. On the downside, MGM is near the very south end of the Strip which makes it impractical to walk to many other places. But the MGM has a lot going for it, and I’ve often stayed there.

  10. Mandalay Bay – The Mandalay Bay is a good hotel, but not in the same league with my top five Vegas hotels. Mandalay has good (but not great) restaurants, good (but not great rooms), good (but not great) service, and so on.

Palazzo Hotel at Las Vegas
Palazzo Hotel at Las Vegas

 

 

All Posts, Travel

The Sky Suites at Aria Hotel in Las Vegas

Where did you stay the last time you went to Las Vegas? I go to Vegas quite often and have some favorite hotels. But I also enjoy trying new places. On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I stayed at the Sky Suites at Aria hotel.

Many hotels in Las Vegas has special sections, for example, MGM Grand has Skyloft suites and Wynn has Tower Suites. When I arrived in Las Vegas I had arranged to be picked up by the Sky Suites limo. The driver took me to a private entrance separate from the main Aria entrance. From there the doorman showed me to the private Sky Suites lobby area, where I checked in to the room.

Overall, I’d rate the Aria Sky Suites with eight out of ten. I especially liked the complimentary refreshments throughout the day; it was at least as good as any of the other special suites I stayed in Las Vegas. The hotel design and the décor was modern and sophisticated, but I slightly prefer the Wynn/Encore and Bellagio suites.

From a value point of view, the Aria Sky Suites offers slightly larger rooms and a slightly lower rate compared to my favorite specialty suites, the Wynn/Encore, MGM Skyloft, Bellagio suites, and the Palazzo. The Sky Suites at Aria are really nice, but the Tower Suites at Wynn/Encore are still my favorites. However, the next time you are in Las Vegas consider the Sky Suites at Aria.

Aria Sky Suites - One Bedroom Aria Suite
Aria Sky Suites – One Bedroom Aria Suite
Aria Sky Suites - Bedroom
Aria Sky Suites – Bedroom
Aria Sky Suites Private Lounge
Aria Sky Suites Private Lounge
Aria Sky Suites Complimentary Refreshments
Aria Sky Suites Complimentary Refreshments
All Posts, Food, Travel

Allegro at Wynn in Las Vegas

Allegro at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas used to named Stratta and was classified as a casual Italian restaurant. After Chef Enzo Febrravo joined the Wynn he changed the name to Allegro, which debuted on Monday, August 6, 2012.

When I made a dinner reservation for Thursday, August 19, I expected Allegro to be a similar casual Italian restaurant like Stratta used to be. But I was surprised at how great and unique the food was at the new restaurant.

My friend and I had Osso Buco D’agnello, made with a bone-in lamb shank, vegetable stew, and Pappardelle pasta (freshly made), and Baked Lasagna Napoletana, made with Sunday meat ragu sauce, meatballs, and smoked mozzarella cheese. The stew with the lamb dish was tasty and the pasta was chewy. The lasagna was the best lasagna I ever had!

We told our server how much we loved the new Allegro food compared to the old restaurant. He came back with the manager and the Chef Enzo Febrravo to talk to us. The chef told us that he wants his restaurant to be unique with authentic Italian flavor. His dishes are crafted with an at-home cooking style.

I had such a great experience on my first visit to Allegro. I went back there again three days later with a different group of friends. I was surprised that the manager and the chef recognized me (given that they were packed with guests every night). The chef came to our table to greet us and offered his special sampling menu. We sat there, enjoyed our drinks, and were overwhelmed with appetizers, special dishes, and desserts. Everything was so great. My friends loved the food and the special treatment.

Although Allegro is categorized as casual dining at the Wynn hotel, it’s on my top ten best fine dining restaurant list and I will definitely go back to again. The next time you go to Vegas I encourage you to check out the Allegro restaurant at the Wynn.

Osso Buco D’agnello at Allegro, Wynn
Osso Buco D’agnello at Allegro, Wynn
Baked Lasagna Napoletana at Allegro, Wynn
Baked Lasagna Napoletana at Allegro, Wynn
Special Fish Dish by Chef at Allegro
Special Fish Dish by Chef at Allegro, Wynn
Desserts at Allegro, Wynn
Desserts at Allegro, Wynn