In true Las Vegas fashion, my family did Christmas on the Strip starting with dinner at one of the most recent additions to Ramsay's restaurant empire. The good impressions started even before we entered the place. In the first moments of walking up to the restaurant, I fell in love with their uniforms! The hostess' are outfitted in the most adorably sexy newspaper dress accessorized with fingerless leather gloves and matching booties. Someone remind me to ask our loving David S. to steal one for me ;) The uniforms only got better as the rest of the FOH people were dressed in this awesome British punk street wear. Designer Allison Leach of Mad Men and Glee did one heck of a job of creating that awesome first impression.
Our server was a little too high energy for me. You know when you have that fake salesperson vibe when they're trying to sell you something? Yeah, it was a little much. But other then that our server and serving assistants were working like a well-oiled machine. My mother is a lightweight and needed a girly beer. Our server smartly suggested the strawberry Fruli... It is now her favorite beer ever. And bread service was amazing. It shows up warm and delicious with a cheddar cheese spread and whipped butter cream. Andthey don't have a problem with serving you seconds. Hands down the best bread basket in town.
The food. Oh man, the food is British pub action on point. I was itching to try some Sheperd's Pie. And although it is one of the cheapest entrée items it was one of the most delicious non-Asian foods I've eaten in forever. Tender chunks of lamb, beef, and vegetables blanketed in mouth-watering mashed potatoes. *heaven* In the fish & chips, they used cod which was a little heavier on the breading but fried to perfection. And the chips (fries) were thick blocks of fried potato served piping hot. Instead of a salad, we ordered a side of Brussels sprouts sautéed with bacon and apples. The slices of apple were real treats! They absorbed all the delicious flavors from the seasoning and the sugar cooked off in the little bit of bacon fat. Amazing! I wish there were more than just 2!
The only downside to our meal was the lamb riblettes appetizer. Tiny bits of lamb were served with a creamy cumin-based yogurt sauce. It was tasty but for the price, portion size was absolutely abysmal. GR insider David S. says the lamb entrée is the way to go and 1000x better.
I'm loving GR's new diggs. It's cool but still upscale with the food & service to match. I shall return.
Cheers!