I am optimist. I always have high hopes, but for anything at the Wynn in Las Vegas, I set the bar especially high. Big Mistake, Big, Huge.
Our first stop was Wing Lei, a Chinese restaurant that falls in the “Fine Dining” category at the Wynn. We also learned that it’s the only Asian restaurant in North America to receive a Michelin star. Yes, the room is opulent with gold lacquer and red walls, the service is close to the impeccable level, and the food is good, yet something was lacking.
We started with several recommended appetizers to share: Crispy Prawns, Pot Stickers and Spare Ribs. The server delicately placed one of each item on our plates, and this is where the disappointment began. The prawns were crispy, but overly dry; the pot stickers were fine but nothing special and the spare ribs were just gloppy (if that's a word).
Mains were better. My massive portion of the General Tao's Chicken, was delicately fried, spicy and, finally, in the very good category. I had a bite of the Garlic Beef Tenderloin which had delicious garlic undertones, although I think it would have been a more appropriate dish at the steakhouse down the hall. At the urging of a neighboring table, we requested a late order of the Braised Eggplant. The eggplant was super hot from a temperature perspective and therefore tough to discern much of anything at all. Surprisingly, the star of the evening was pork fried rice. Usually an afterthought, this was full of flavor, not too greasy and the pork to rice ratio was pro-pork (which is always a plus).
Our dinner concluded quickly, as we learned that the restaurant stopped serving dinner at 10PM. We all found this odd, even for a Wednesday, this was Vegas after all.
This neighboring table said they come here a few times a year and that the Peking Duck is stellar. Too bad they were out of it, that may have changed things. I should mention though that Wing Lei, like most things at the Wynn, is very expensive. Am I glad I went, yes. But I would go back? Yes, but only if someone else was paying.
The next night, was the second chance. We chose La Cave, which deems itself a "Wine and Food Hideaway" in the "Casual Dining" category. I think that's code for, "prices may be somewhat reasonable - somewhat". I actually ate lunch at La Cave last year and I recall a delightful lunch at the bar with my friend Cathy watching our food prepared before our eyes in the "Cave"-like front room. This time we had a large party and sat deeper in the restaurant which ironically is more airy and opens onto an outdoor dining area.
Just like the night before, I thought everything was good, but nothing really wowed me. La Cave's concept is tapas style with small plates. They suggest 2 plates per person and then sharing. Sharing is not as easy as you'd think though since the plates really are small. And the service here was spotty at best. It took a while to get our water, even longer for our wine, and when the cheapest wine is $70 a bottle, you'd think it would sprint over itself.
With the 2 plate suggestion, I ordered the cavatelli with short ribs and the hamachi cubes. I also had a craving for the onion soup, but thought that would be too hard to share. My hamachi arrived first and was perfectly sized - for one person. I gobbled up the sushi, offering tastes, but it was so small that no one wanted to take from my tiny dinner. Luckily my second selection, was much bigger and actually quite heavy. I didn't love it as much I thought I would so I pushed it into rotation with my tablemates. In return, I did get a few great tastes: namely the sliced sirloin steak and the grilled shrimp. Simple usually wins at place like this; I should remember that. Others at the table enjoyed the flatbread pizzas and salads. Again, the simple stuff.
We had the same issue here with the kitchen closing at 10PM (and this time on a Thursday!) so we pre-ordered one of each dessert. The S'Mores flatbread sounded like a good idea, but in practice it was sickly sweet with not enough chocolate. They probably used up all the chocolate on the chocolate risotto, as it had so much that it was like a chocolate rice soup -- definitely a miss. The other two desserts were the creme brulee and the beignets with multiple dipping sauces, these were the better choices by far.
Another lackluster meal that could and should have been "Wynnderful".
Until our next Berger,
KLB
La Cave
and
Wing Lei
WYNN LAS VEGAS AND ENCORE HOTEL
3131 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV
702.248.3463
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