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| - Eat is a neighborhood restaurant tucked away in downtown Vegas with a great, friendly atmosphere. Some excellent dishes. Some mediocre dishes. But it's a little hit or miss on the customer service.
I love this place and I love that it's located downtown. Finally, a great brunch and lunch spot in the 89101. Finally, a neighborhood place not catering to Southern California tourists. It's awesome. It's friendly. And it's become so well-known that it can be tough to get a seat.
The lunch menu is solid--great sandwiches and salads. The grilled cheese is excellent with thick Texas toast style bread and sharp cheddar. Simple and awesome. Nice fresh tomato salad on the side. The roast beef sandwich is also tasty. Fresh and thin roast beef with bright blue cheese on perfect bread.
For brunch, there's a lot of excellent options and some that just miss the mark. The eggs benedict is delicious. The chicken fried steak was decent, but not brilliant--more of a kitschy choice but not particularly well done. The main disappointment is
the huevos rancheros dish. It's an awkward attempt at culinary creativity with peas and sautéed bananas mixed into the savoriness of eggs and rancheros sauce.
This place has an excellent, inviting atmosphere. In a downtown focused on daytime business and nighttime drinking, it's a nice spot for the locals. A spot to meet and spend time connecting with people. And there's a charming porch to sit on when it's not baking hot outside.
If there's a main setback, it's that Eat can't handle the lunch rush that happens Mon-Fri. There's so few great food options in downtown Vegas that Eat is crowded every day. If you're coming for lunch, prepare to wait. And try to keep the number of your party to 2 people. The hostesses have a hard time figuring out how to seat parties larger than 2 in an efficient way. Know this going in and you'll have a great time.
Bottom line: 4.5 stars for the excellent atmosphere, friendly service, and generally solid menu. Minus one star for occasionally cranky customer service, long waits at lunch, and some mediocre dishes.
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