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| - First, and it's a big first: The menu has been changed. It is NO LONGER TURKISH AND MEDITERRANEAN. And we didn't know until we were seated and looked at the menu.
We were greeted very warmly by the owner, whose name happens to be Ibo. The main dining room is just beautiful: perfect lighting, candles on tables that are covered with white tablecloths over skirts, large banquettes around the perimeter, attractive and heavy menus. But alas, there was virtually no Turkish food, except for the usual hummus and babaganoush for appetizers, kofta for beef, and a chicken dish that was called Istanbul Chicken, but had nothing remotely related to Istanbul.
When I asked our waiter about this, he explained that the owner had made a business decision to change because Turkish wasn't bringing the customers, who were unused to such cuisine, and decided to make it a steakhouse. But the lighted sign above the restaurant is the original one, so IMO, it's a losing proposition for the owner: those thinking this is Turkish won't come because it's "strange", and those of us who know and love Turkish food won't return because it's not!
I asked for a wine list, and was dismayed to see that it crossed the $7 barrier - there was not a glass of wine less than $8 or $8.50, and most were more. We were two couples, and the other couple decided to forgo the wine. My husband and I told the waiter that we weren't going to pay $8.50 for a glass of Riesling, and started to hand him back the menu. He then offered to charge us $7 a glass. I didn't know you could bargain for wine!
We munched on excellent bread while waiting for our entrees. Choosing the entrees wasn't easy, since we hadn't been expecting to be choosing from steak and Italian dishes, but we settled on two Istanbul chicken, kofte with kasseri cheese, and rainbow trout. Entrees were served with lentil soup or salad, and garlic mashed and fresh vegetables. We all had the salad, comprised of mixed greens, some shredded carrot and chopped tomatoes, with a choice of three ordinary dressings. The salad was very fresh and a good-sized portion.
When the waiter brought the entrees, he told my friend to be careful, because she might find bones in her "fileted" trout. It was full of bones, and she had to send it back. Both men ordered the chicken with the butter sauce on the side. This dish consisted of thick slices of chicken that had been rolled around a spinach and carrot filling. There wasn't enough of the filling, and because the chicken hadn't been heated in the sauce, it was quite dry. My friend had substituted the same chicken for her bony trout; she forgot to specify the butter on the side and the waiter didn't think to ask, so hers came covered with the sauce. It may have been chock-full of calories, but was much moister.
My Kofte was a large portion of five patties (each slightly larger than you'd find on a slider) of the ground beef. It was tasty, but bland, and lacking the necessary black pepper that distinguishes it from an ordinary burger. But I had forgotten that kasseri cheese is the equivalent of parmesan, so it also added a lot of salt, too much for my taste, though many others wouldn't think so.
The big disappointment with the dishes were the sides: the mashed and the veggies were cold. We told this to the owner, who had stopped to check our table. He apologized profusely and returned a few moments later with a plate filled with four scoops of hot mashed potatoes and lots of the same nice vegetables, but well-heated.
Only when I went to the lounge, which is completely separate from the main dining room, did I see a scrolling sign over the bar indicating that this is "Ibo's Steak House." What a shame! Las Vegas, which has quite a few Mediterranean restaurants, really could have used a good Turkish one. Ibo's, if ever it was one, is no longer.
In summation, the ambience is very beautiful. The outdoor patio is quite large and would be oh so inviting if the weather were warmer. The lounge and bar is attractive, also filled with tables and banquettes, and is equipped to provide live music, which there wasn't on our Saturday night visit. I don't know if they ever have it. The owner is friendly and very eager to please. But without the ethnic differentiation, this is just a lovely setting with good to mediocre food, and nothing else to distinguish it from hundreds of others in Vegas. Except for what has to be a huge rent, due to the sheer size of the place, that will probably render this review obsolete within a few months.
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