The Best Restaurants in Las Vegas
In just a couple of years, Las Vegas has seen the opening of some of the best restaurants in the country. I haven't come close to eating at every place in town, but I have managed to eat at many of the top spots. Here are my choices for the top three.
The Winner: Joël Robuchon
The Chef of the Century has set up shop in Las Vegas, and created a masterpiece. The atmosphere is elegant without being stuffy, and the service is nearly flawless. Of course, the most important thing is the food. And what food it is! The sixteen course tasting menu is a stunning representation of what Robuchon has to offer. The food is not only excellent, but frequently surprising - "surprising" in the sense that I expected not to like a dish (e.g., "I don't eat that"), but found it to be delicious. Presentation is also a strong point; each dish is displayed like a work of art, in a way that no other restaurant in Las Vegas comes close to matching.
Second Place: Guy Savoy
While first place was an easy choice for me, second place was more difficult to determine. Guy Savoy gets the nod by a nose. Guy Savoy is another French legend who has recently opened a restaurant in Las Vegas. The atmosphere has a more modern feel than Robuchon, but the food is slightly more traditional. The ten course Menu Prestige is an impressive display of the kitchen's talents. However, to me it falls short of Robuchon. The service at Robuchon is a little smoother and a little less obtrusive, and the food at Robuchon has more surprises (in the good sense of the word). Still, Guy Savoy is a very fine restaurant indeed.
Third Place: Alex
When it opened in early 2005, Alex probably was the finest restaurant in town. Among the three restaurants listed here, only Alex is run by its named chef. Alex Stratta, formerly of Renoir, presides over the kitchen on a daily basis. Service is about on a par with Guy Savoy, although not quite as personable. The food is also about on a par, but Guy Savoy gets the nod due to its even greater use of luxury ingredients like truffles and caviar. But Alex fans need not feel bad. The prices at Alex are only about half that at either Guy Savoy or Joël Robuchon, making Alex a relative bargain in the super luxury category.
Honorable Mention: Bar Charlie (at Restaurant Charlie)
Bar Charlie offers 8 and 14 course kaiseki style meals at a food bar. If there were such a thing as objective food ratings, I'd have to say that Bar Charlie isn't quite as good as Joël Robuchon, Guy Savoy or Alex. However, I enjoyed the experience immensely: the food matched my personal preferences very well; I like the food bar concept; since the restaurant was very new and uncrowded, I got very attentive service. If I could somehow fold that into an overall "fondness" rating, I'd rate Restaurant Charlie second, behind only Joël Robuchon.