Thanks to religiously watching Top Chef for the last eleven seasons, I'm just not a fan of Julian Serrano. In the most recent season, he built a Spanish menu against his the awesome Dominique Crenn, and every one of his dishes looked so boring that nobody was rooting for his team.
Fast forward to visiting Las Vegas with the idea of gorging myself on everything tasty that the city has to offer ... and I decided to visit Julian's eponymous restaurant for kicks (and to prove to myself that I was right in judging him from what I've seen on Top Chef). And you know what? I was wrong. I give this restaurant a solid 3.5 stars and appreciate what Serrano is doing to heighten Las Vegas' culinary caliber.
I think the decor is fun; trendy, whimsical and colorful. Kind of like tapas :)
If you're getting tapas, it's important to get around three things per person and share, so that you get the max out of your experience. Here are the highlights:
-- heirloom tomato salad
-- coca vegetarian
-- yellowtail tiradito
-- stuffed piquillo peppers
Why wasn't it rated higher? One of our items was "lost" off the check, and we waited for 20-30 minutes even after letting them know. Second, while some of the food is great, other items like the chicken croquetas were downright dogs.
Nonetheless, I'm happy that JS had vindicated himself in my eyes ... I'm sure he'll sleep better at night now.