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| - I've been to Joel Robuchon in Monte Carlo (Monaco) and L'Atelier in London (UK). This is my 3rd venture to the JR restaurant experience. By far if I had to rate them, Monaco is the best by a long shot. I would have liked to try the JR next door to the L'Atelier here at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but we got into L'Atelier for the amount of foie gras dishes offered. I didn't personally try the foie dishes, but from someone who knows her foie, it was a "so-so" experience...which is a bit disappointing. I personally can vouch for the items I had...here were the highlights:
- Got fixed meal for $81 (2 apps, entrée, dessert)
- Snapper Carpaccio: Excellent...light, fruity (lemon), fresh and bright. Microgreens and flowers gave it a bit of texture contrast to the soft ceviche style fish.
- Veal Gyoza: Good, but not as good as the snapper appetizer
- Spicy Lobster w/ Orichette Pasta: Good, not too spicy, very rich cream sauce, big chunks of fresh lobster, pasta cooked to perfection and perfect vehicle to carry rich sauce
- Dessert: Tart sampler....well worth it! Cinnamon (Swiss Tart), Raspberry, Apple, Snickers...and oh-soooo worth every bite!
Now for the points of improvement...
- Service: Good for a regular casino restaurant...but underpar for a JR restaurant. I was never asked if I had any dietary restrictions/concerns when we got the prix fixe (and Monaco and London staff DID ask that). Waiter came by less than the other restaurant staffs did to check on us (although he did stop by at least 2 times to get us water).
- Ambience: Noisy...but not necessarily their fault....MGM had a huge rodeo event going on outside the restaurant and even though they closed the glass door, you could hear the loud concert going on during the dinner hours. I blame this on MGM not space planning well considering they knew TWO high end restaurants were right next to where they set a BIG concert stage in the open area.
- Food Quality: I thought my meals were good, but surprised that foie gras was not as generous portion as Monaco nor as good quality. (As my companion noted, it was likely Canadian foie - not French foie).
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