I stayed at the MGM on my most recent trip to Vegas and naturally I wanted to find a place where I can enjoy a casual dining experience. Avenue Cafe provides such an experience. I ate here twice for lunch on my trip. This is strictly my opinion but their lunch menu did not have alot of things that seemed appetizing to me so both times I ordered the grilled cheese dip. Which is a grilled cheese sandwich with a tomato bisque soup for dipping. Let's just say I ordered it both times because it was that good! The grilled cheese sandwich was great with lots of melted cheese. The tomato bisque was perfect. I am not normally a fan of tomato bisque but this was perfect. The tomato flavor was just right. Not at all overbearing. It was hot and creamy and made a perfect dip. I may make this myself in the future. The first time I was offered a choice between coleslaw and fries for a side and I chose the coleslaw. Opps, because it was flavorless. Nothing but chopped up cabbage and not much else. I took one bite and was done. Thank goodness the grilled cheese and the large dill pickle was enough. The second time around I was not offered a choice and ended up with the fries and since I am not a fan of fries anyways (I like very few place's fries) it was no surprise that when I tried these I was not impressed. But again the sandwich and the pickle are more than enough.
The prices are typical Vegas in my eyes. Anything you get the price will be inflated in Vegas so my price standards for the Las Vegas Strip are different than most other places. For Vegas I thought the prices were reasonable. The portions are large so you do get some bang for your buck.
Customer service both times were excellent. My first visit my server Jose was so sweet. He made me feel very welcome. He watched over me and I was well taken care of. i was alone so I sat in the bar area and was served there and he talked to me and made an effort to have a conversation. The second time I sat in the bar area as well and the waitress was very sweet as well. I cannot for the life of me remember her name but she was great. Both times I felt very welcome and each time I had what I needed.
I enjoyed this restaurant and I will be back for the same dish next time I want some lunch in Vegas. Yes it was that good. My only real issues were the coleslaw and the fact that they are not open all day like I feel these cafes should be. They are open for breakfast and lunch only. I hear they used to be 24 hours and it is most unfortunate that they are not anymore. There needs to be more 24 hour places to eat in these casinos besides whats in the food courts.