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| - Sensational Food, Spellbinding View
The Fountains Brunch at Jasmine may be the best Sunday brunch you've never heard of. In comparison to the more famous Sterling Brunch across the Strip at Bally's, many people aren't aware that on Sunday, Jasmine in the Bellagio opens at 11 a.m. for a luxe, Cantonese/dim sum/all American breakfast brunch. The room is decorated in florals and creams... it's a bit old lady, but never feels stuffy, especially with sunlight streaming through the windows on a bright morning. Better yet, the room's floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the Bellagio fountains, which go into overdrive especially for brunch patrons. Fountain music is pumped into the room every 15 minutes as the fountains perform.
Outside of the fountains, the centerpiece of the brunch is a fantastic buffet. It's not massive, but there's a wide variety of superbly prepared dishes. Traditional american brunch favorites are here, with the usual Bellagio-classy twists: the belgian waffles are red velvet, the eggs benedict are served on a lobster-potato cake. There's an excellent raw bar, a selection of caviar and sushi, and awesome cold bites and cheeses.There's also an omelet station, but a better choice is the soup, where a chef customizes asian-style noodles to your liking. The carving station has huge chunks of beef, lamb, and incredible carved slab bacon. The dim sum components are great too: sui mai, short ribs, crystal prawns. Best of all, they serve fantastic peeking duck table side in steamed buns.
The finale of brunch is a room devoted to desserts, and unlike many buffets, these are made in small batches by the pastry team and are quite good. Additionally, the pastry chef on staff chats and explains the different desserts, what was particularly good that day, and what ice creams and gelatos they've prepared.
Downsides: it's not cheap ($80ish), and unlimited champagne is an add-on. (They have different levels of sparkling wines, and I believe the lowest was about $15?) I think they add gratuity automatically, but the service was so good when I went that my boyfriend and I ended up tipping more.
Overall, this is a truly not-to-be-missed morning in Las Vegas. Make reservations, go hungry, and prepare to spend a few hours indulging yourself. If nothing else, this is probably the classiest way to deal with a hangover on the Strip.
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