Joël Robuchon at the Mansion, MGM Grand
3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Las Vegas, NV
Tropicana Avenue
702-891-7925
The waiter sets a clear glass cup on a gold-leaf saucer in front of me. Inside is a cool white cream, its surface smooth as glass and decorated with a circle of precise green dots the size of pinpricks. It looks mysterious and inviting. I dip in my spoon and take a bite -- that silken cream carries the earthy flavor of cauliflower, beneath it is a chilled gelée that tastes like the sea, and below that, a thick layer of caviar that bursts against the tongue. All that, all at once, how incredibly sensual.
It's unmistakably the touch of Joël Robuchon, the three-star Michelin chef who closed his Paris restaurant and retired almost a decade ago at the height of his fame.
And yet here I am, in the most unlikely place on the planet having one of the greatest French meals I've ever had in this country. And Robuchon's name is above the door.
-- S. Irene Virbila
Times Restaurant Critic
Dec. 28, 2005
Hours: Nightly, 5:30-10:30 p.m.
Venue Details
| Cuisine |
French
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| Rating |
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| Ambience |
Elegant and luxurious French restaurant with a small, cozy bar, main dining room that seats 38 and a smaller garden room for 12. Decorated with glittering Swarovski chandeliers, Lalique vases and a palette of aubergine, black and lavender.
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| Best dishes |
Duo of potatoes and truffles, asparagus with osetra caviar, cauliflower crème with caviar gelée, cabbage with foie gras, "crispy egg," frog's leg fritter, guinea hen for two, Brittany lobster.
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| Best table |
A corner banquette in the dining room, or a table in the smaller garden room.
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| Desserts |
Passion fruit soufflé, sugar bubble with orange mascarpone custard, le chaud chocolat.
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| Of Note |
Private dining room that seats 10.
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| Prices |
Sixteen-course tasting menu, $325; 6-course tasting menu, $165. A la carte menu: appetizers, $35-$150; main courses, $80-$120; desserts, $18.
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| Service |
French and formal, with none of the attitude.
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| Wine list |
A compendium of mostly Bordeaux and Burgundy, with wines from the Rhône, California and Spain mixed in, at breathtaking markups. Bringing wines in from outside isnot allowed.
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