We've been to L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in London and loved every bit of it, so naturally we had high expectations for this location in Vegas. Although Joel Robuchon is not there every day (since he has to be all over the world overseeing his restaurant empire), he manages to keep the standards of his restaurants consistently good and high. Afterall, they call him Chef of the Century for a reason!
This particular location is mainly counter top seating which faces the kitchen, which is symbolic for what his L'Atelier restaurants represent: interaction between the diners and servers, while viewing the kitchen magic. They do, however, have about 4 regular tables but you would be missing out if you did not sit at the counter.
The atmosphere is trendy yet not stuffy. Men can either wear a blazer or just a dress shirt and they won't feel out of place.
The seared duck foie gras was soft and moist in the inside. The steak tartare was minced until very fine and the portion was way too much for me (and I'm a steak tartare fan). Halfway through it started to feel a little too rich for me though. However, the frites that came with the steak tartare was a very nice complement. The cold sliced veal was so tender to bite, it almost tricked us into thinking there was some pureeing going on in the veal but obviously that wasn't true. The suckling pig was also very delicious.
Definitely worth a visit to this 1 Michelin Star restaurant if you're looking for a gastronomic meal with a relaxed environment.