Dining in Vegas at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon
Las Vegas… Home to world class casino resorts and fine dining restaurants. No wonder this city is crowned the city of entertainment. There’s something for everybody here. Sure, you could spend your time throwing down money on gambling or spend your cash shopping in Vegas, but I wanted to make sure I was going to eat good while I was here.
Although I wanted to support my local California Chefs like Michael Mina, Hubert Keller, and Thomas Keller by dining at their Las Vegas restaurants, I knew that I could just visit their restaurants close to my home. I wanted to explore a little more. But, with so many restaurants to choose from, how was I going to make my decision?
I read about Joël Robuchon’s restaurant, L’Atelier, and how they offered an open kitchen so that you could watch your meal being prepared. That feature of the restaurant instantly drew me in. And yes, knowing that Joël Robuchon was named Chef of the century did influence me in a way, but I was intrigued to see how his philosophy on food would be seen with the way his team would prepare my meal.
Housed inside the MGM Grand Casino, you will find Joël Robuchon’s restaurants, L’Atelier and Joël Robuchon. Just a few steps away from the gaming floor, you are transported to a restaurant where your visual senses are in for a ride. When you are seated inside L’Atelier, the first thing you will notice is the open kitchen with Robuchon’s cooks busily working.
Las Vegas may be home to some amazing shows, and you can definitely list L’Atelier as a show to behold. L’Atelier offers counter seating, where you can watch cooks plating and preparing your meal just a few feet from where you sit. At one instance, my eyes were glued to the head chef as he prepared a ribeye. You could see him carefully using his turner to scoop up the juices to baste the ribeye as it was cooking. He finally finished the dish by melting a piece of butter onto the stove and letting those flavors set into the steak.
Two Chef’s tasting menus are available, but when we visited, we opted to order à la carte. It would’ve been nice to explore a tasting menu, but the dishes that we wanted to try were not offered on them. L’Atelier also offers a menu of small tasting portions which gives you that ability and feeling of building your own tasting menu for yourself, or you can enjoy those dishes as appetizers.
A selection of bread – from croissants to small baguettes
Amuse-bouche of Grapefruit gelée, Apple, all topped with Avocado and Cilantro
Appetizer – Foie Gras Ravioli served in Chicken Broth, topped with Thai Basil and Cream
The soup was topped with cream that was optional, served table side. The small pillows of ravioli bursted with flavor when you went in for a spoonful.
Free Range Quail Stuffed with Foie Gras, served with Truffled Mashed Potatoes
The quail was perfectly tender and moist, with the foie gras adding more richness to all of the succulent flavors. The truffled mashed potatoes were so fluffy and buttery. I could say that they were the best mashed potatoes that I’ve ever tasted.
John Dory with Baby Octopus, served with Fava Beans, Artichokes, and Black Olives
The sauce that accompanied the fish was slightly sweet and tart, paired well with the earthy fava beans, artichokes, and salty olives. All of the flavors seemed to absorb right into the flakey and delicate texture of the John Dory.
Soufflé served with Pistachio Ice Cream
What better way to end a French dinner, than with a classic French dessert? As an added touch, the Pistachio Ice Cream was served table side, with our server placing a spoonful of ice cream that melted down the center of the soufflé. The soufflé was light, with a sweet finish coming from the ice cream.
Throughout the entire evening I couldn’t help myself from not looking up and watching other diners’ meals being prepared. It was fascinating to witness how some of the dishes were executed. Dining at L’Atelier might just be worth a visit if you want to enjoy that feeling of being inside the kitchen at one of Joël Robuchon’s restaurants.
Here’s a video taken at our dinner:
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Inside the MGM Grand Casino
3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Visit L’Atelier’s Website
Wow… the kitchen looks crazy! I wanted to visit Joël Robuchon while I was in Tokyo, but I didn’t get to go. Food looks good, but how is the price?
Their 5 Course Summer Tasting Menu was $95/pp, while the 10 course “Discovery” menu was going for $155/pp. These two options might be better choices to get a better feel for Robuchon’s style.
The prices were on the high side since we ordered à la carte. We split the appetizer and dessert, but ordered our own entrées. It came out close to what you would pay for doing the Summer Tasting Menu for two.