To quote Bette Davis, "What a dump!" The California Hotel's Web site makes this dark, dingy hole in the wall look like an elegant choice for dining downtown. Don't be fooled. I only stay at the best hotels and eat at the best restaurants when in Vegas. But I thought the prices were very good and this would be a good choice for one of my favorite dishes, prime rib.
Well, you get what you pay for. First, the food: Caesar salad was very mediocre, equal to those salads in a bag from the supermarket. Oysters were also blah - had much better. Worse, the prime rib arrived barely warm and was not up to snuff. And it was drowned in au jus. I felt like I was eating lukewarm prime rib soup. The right way to serve this is with a small amount of jus on the side. This place just does not seem able to get anything right.
Most infuriating was the service. I ordered a glass of wine with my steak and our waiter then disappeared for a good 20 minutes. Had to summon a different server to complain. By the time I got my wine, I was done with the prime rib.
Downtown is seedy, and in that respect, the Redwood Grill fits in perfectly. I would not recommend this place to anyone.