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| - I had a tough decision on booking Le Cirque for dinner, a few hours before Le Reve at Wynn. The restaurant has been around 18 years, virtually day one since Bellagio opened. Very good Yelp reviews (though none among my Yelp friends), a Michelin Star, and top rankings from various local "best Vegas restaurants" lists and blogs. The first red flag was my coworker buddy who ate here a week before who commented meh - French food that does not compare to Le Pigeon in Portland. Nonetheless, I took the gamble and booked here anyways.
Overall I felt the dinner was good, but not excellent. I liked the small, intimate restaurant next to the Bellagio fountains, and the cute circus-themed art and colorful decorations. Service was excellent along with the wine glasses suggested by our sommelier. It was the execution of the 5-course tasting menu that was slightly uneven and the quality-to-price ratio that drove me to the 3-star rating overall. The 5-course menu gives you more dishes, but portions seem smaller than going ala carte or many even the 3-course menu. Plus they have several dishes with price supplements that can easily increase the price!
Excellent aspects:
+ The bread service. Wow the coffee-chocolate bread sounds like dessert and is borderline sweet, but man did that taste good. Next is the bacon roll!
+ Australian Truffle Risotto. Superb, creamy, and surprisingly not to rich. Several generous pieces of shaved black truffle but expect to pay a whopping $40 supplement.
+ Foie Gras of course, and it works so well with cherries and cherry amaretto sauce.
+ Service from the waitstaff and sommelier were definitely friendly and Michelin-worthy.
Good aspects:
+ Potato stuffed sea bass was a small portion, so perhaps that is why it seemed slightly overcooked and you really need to eat it with the wine reduction. Excellent leeks!
+ Diver scallop was perfectly cooked and served in a shell with lobster bisque. Its just one for a $19 supplement, so a bit pricey.
+ Colorado lamb - Meaty and cooked well. I liked the veggie sides and the sauce.
+ Chilled Corn Soup - Interesting and colorful, and has some crunch from the buckwheat popcorn and some sweetness from vanilla snow.
+ The raspberry parfait dessert was nice, with lychees and raspberries adding a nice surprise.
Mediocre aspects:
+ 3-oz A5 Wagyu Beef - At a $105 supplement we were hoping to be blown away, but sadly while some portions were indeed juicy and soft, the ends seemed drier and overcooked. The A5 we had at Carmel's Aubergine (a 4 oz) literally melted in our mouth, while the Le Cirque version required some chewing. Flavors were good, but the execution on texture didn't seem up to par.
+ Panna Cotta - presentation was beautiful, and the custard was good. Somehow biting into the pears in the dish gave me the feeling that they felt canned, but that may be just me.
Overall, I think Le Cirque is good, but for the price I think L'Atelier is a far better option. With all the supplements, our 5-course tasting menu with 2 glasses wine, 1 coffee, and tax and tip came to about $600 for two. The 10-course tasting menu at L'Atelier was less than that and there every course was awesome.
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