Las Vegas Travel Diaries: What I Ate

What happens in Vegas, goes on my blog! If you follow me on Instagram, then you may already know that I was recently in Las Vegas on a trip with redtag.ca to both try out some new sites, and to re-experience some classics. I’ve already visited Las Vegas twice in the past, but my experience has always revolved around dining at buffets. This trip focused on a la carte restaurants to really allow us to experience the best of the best when it comes to cuisine. I promise you that I left Las Vegas with both a happy mind and stomach. Keep reading to find out some of my favourite places, and my recommendations on what to order at each restaurant that we visited!

We landed a little late in the afternoon, so lunch was an immediate requirement. Right after checking into our rooms at Planet Hollywood and dropping off our bags, we hopped into a cab and headed over to Julian Serrano Tapas at ARIA Resort and Casino for a little Spanish affair.

Julian Serrano Tapas

ARIA Resort & Casino

After recently coming back from a trip to Spain with P, I had high expectations for our lunch at Julian Serrano Tapas. I came with the expectation of high-quality and authentic Spanish cuisine, and I was definitely not let down. Hailing directly from Spain, the Chef Julian Serrano has definitely infused his Spanish roots and authenticity when it comes to cuisine into the menu.

Of course, I was adamant that we order the seafood paella so that I could compare it to the ones that I had the pleasure of enjoying in Spain. I swear that it tasted just as good if not better. While the ones that I had in Spain were absolutely scrumptious, they were often over-salted and seasoned to the max. That was definitely not the case with the dish that we enjoyed at Julian Serrano Tapas. It was perfectly seasoned so that you could still taste the delicious seafood, but with just enough flavouring to get the full paella experience. I would highly recommend the squid ink rice dish as the smoky flavour of the squid ink combined with the saffron is an added level of deliciousness!

Order Recommendation: Paella Negra

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Lip Smacking Foodie Tour

Fremont East Entertainment District

If you’ve never ever had the chance to go on a foodie tour, do it. I highly recommend it. It’s such a fun experience to explore a neighbourhood, and you also get to try the menu at a handful of different places! We had the pleasure of experiencing the Lip Smacking Foodie Tour and visited a total of 3 different restaurants for the duration of the night. At first I was hesitant to participate because I was concerned about the quantity of food that I was to consume within the span of 1 night, but I quickly found out that my concerns were very unnecessary. Both the organizers and restaurants had done their job and created mini-menus with the perfect quantity of food that left my stomach happy. Plus you get to walk around, explore a bit of old Last Vegas, and work off any of the food that you’ll be eating at the same time—seems like a complete win-win for me!

Our experience was kicked off at CarsonKitchen, a 1950’s renovated motel that became Las Vegas’ first ever urban casual eatery. We dined on Crispy Chicken Skins, “Devil’s” Eggs, Roasted Young Beet, and Veal Meatballs. I was astonished by how delicious the chicken skins were paired together with a smoked honey sauce. We were instructed to consume the chicken skins with our hands only and with no utensils so that we could fully experience how the dish was meant to be consumed, which I found quite fun! After spending about 30-40 minutes at our first location, we made a quick trip down the strip to our next location.

We had the opportunity to admire some of the beautiful and vintage-style neon signs on the way to the second location before heading into Therapy for some of their delicious farm-to-table signature dishes. The theme here was contemporary comfort that included heavenly Chicken and Red Velvet Waffle Sliders. They also ever-so-kindly made a vegan interpretation for Tee so that she wouldn’t miss out on the delicious food. Again, always so appreciative when restaurants go above and beyond to completely modify their menu offerings for those with dietary restrictions!

Before heading off to our third and final stop, 7th & Carson, we made a quick pit stop in Container Park to check out the open-air shopping centre completely comprised of shipping containers! If anyone is looking for a super cute off-the-strip date option, this park is definitely a hit. We walked around and explored the area for a bit before heading into 7th and Carson for our final tasting, which also included dessert. Chef Gregg Fortunato’s earth, land, and sea-style menu included a mouth-watering burrata and arugula salad that I would dub as my favourite dish of the night. Plus the beautiful decor makes you want to linger as well!

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Hell’s Kitchen

Caesars Palace

We spent the first half of our second day ziplining and working up quite the appetite, so you can bet that we were all extremely excited for our dinner at Hell’s Kitchen in Caesar’s Palace. To my understanding, this is Gordon Ramsay’s 5th restaurant on the Las Vegas strip (yes you heard me right, he has now officially opened five restaurants), and it was modelled after the cult favourite show, Hell’s Kitchen. Besides the phenomenal dining experience, you also feel as if you’re immersed in an episode of the show with the fun division of staff into opposing “teams”. Spoiler alert: they don’t actually film the show in the restaurant, so the staff aren’t really taking part in any sort of competition, though it’s fun to imagine that they are isn’t it?

If you couldn’t already tell from my excitement for the seafood paella from Julian Serrano Tapas that I’m a massive seafood fan, then let me just say it loud and clear. I freaking love seafood. When I found out that Hell’s Kitchen has a seafood tower available on the menu, I made it my mission to ensure that we ordered it (amongst other things of course). My verdict? It’s ridiculously perfect. The crab legs were humongous, and the large prawns were actually large. Another favourite of mine was the lobster risotto that tasted like a dream. Not only was the portion of the lobster generous, but the rice was seasoned and buttered to perfection. I probably could have only eaten that for dinner and had been happy. Hell’s Kitchen is actually heaven’s kitchen for any pescatarian!

Order Recommendation: Seafood Tower, Lobster Risotto

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Primrose

Monte Carlo Resort & Casino

For breakfast on our third day, we popped into Primrose at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino. Lovers of French cuisine will rejoice, this restaurant does not disappoint. I’m more of a sweet bruncher as opposed to a savoury bruncher, so the menu was a dream to pick from. Would you be surprised if I told you that we placed 2 orders of the French Toast? Alongside that dish, we also placed an order for pancakes, granola with fruits, croque madame, some sandwiches, and several lattes. Although our photos were taken on the patio, it wasn’t quite yet ready for the season when we went for brunch. But that didn’t deter us from taking our meal outside for some quick photos. Their outdoor patio and garden is an absolute beauty and I can only imagine what it would be like at night time when all of the twinkle lights are lit up. Can summer hurry up and come already so that we can start patio season? I’m seriously going to need to plan a future trip back to Las Vegas just to dine on Primrose’s patio!

We didn’t have quite as long as we would have hoped for to fully enjoy our brunch, so everything was packed up in to-go bags to avoid wasting any of the deliciousness. Brunch is always better when it extends into a snack afterwards am I right?!

If you do have the time to pop in for a meal, I would also highly recommend that you take a few minutes to wander and explore the beautiful French decor. The soft pastel colour palette paired together with the impeccable decor simply begs to be admired!

Order Recommendation: French Toast

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Sugar Factory American Brasserie

Fashion Show Mall

Our lunch consisted of a lengthy visit to the Sugar Factory American Brasserie at Fashion Show Mall. The extended lunch included not only enjoying the delectable food but taking in the beautiful decor as well. Upon arrival, we were given a quick tour of the main floor and then brought upstairs to view their terrace and adorable little carousel. Nothing says ‘fun‘ better than candy and a carousel does! And what better way to take in Las Vegas than like a little child? Being an adult on the strip is like a child in a candy store, so the restaurant and it’s little attached candy shop was the perfect representation of Las Vegas all in one restaurant! Over-the-top, excess, and so much fun!

We started off with a few of their famous Goblets (Lollipop Passion, The Drake, Coconuts Gone Bananas) and Insane Milkshakes (Caramel Sugar Daddy Cheesecake, Chocolate Rocky Road, Tie Dye), before going straight into the food. Knowing that Tee is a pescatarian and that I don’t eat red meat, the kitchen kindly brought out their classic Sugar Factory Rainbow Sliders in a vegan version. I never expect a restaurant to have pescatarian specific options, but when they willingly adapt their menu to my dietary needs, I am always floored and impressed. The sliders were so delicious that I didn’t even realize that they were vegan until I was reminded by the staff.

Ice cream has always been one of my favourite desserts (sorry crème brûlée, you were put on hold that day!) and there was absolutely no way that I was going to leave without experiencing The Sugar Factory’s world famous King Kong Sundae. This dessert consists of a whopping 24 scoops of ice cream drizzled with a variety of toppings, housed in a large basin and complete with a set of lollipops and sparklers. If there was only one way that I could ever celebrate my birthday, this is how I would do it. Give me the King Kong Sundae over a cake any day!

Order Recommendation: World Famous Sugar Factory King Kong Sundae

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ZUMA Las Vegas

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

It’s such a hard toss up to pick between either ZUMA at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas or Hell’s Kitchen as my favourite restaurant since both did such a phenomenal job with seafood—but Japanese cuisine will always win over my heart. Seafood is always my cuisine choice, but also because I love almost anything Japanese (especially if sushi is involved). There is rarely anything that I dislike, which makes ZUMA a strong contender to be the number one dinner venue for me! Although I’ve yet to travel to Japan, the sashimi was the freshest that I’ve ever tasted, and probably as close to what a sushi experience in Japan would be like.

One of my favourite dishes was a sea bass that was paired with salmon roe, purely because of how well the fish was seasoned. One slice with several salmon roe was like an explosion of flavour in my mouth that doesn’t compare to anything that I’ve ever eaten before.

But don’t think that we left without also having dessert! I made sure that we stayed for the delicious dessert boat that came afterwards. Our deluxe platter came with an arrangement of fruits, the green tea and banana cake, mandarin mousse, flourless chocolate cake, and delicious scoops of ice cream. Typically coconut isn’t a flavour that I reach for, but the coconut ice cream was so milky and smooth, and full of flavour that I found myself going back for seconds and thirds!

If you enjoy a glass of wine, I would highly recommend that you pair your dinner with a fine glass of Riesling. ZUMA has the most delicious Riesling that I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting, and I’m now on the hunt of my very own bottle of their 2015 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett.

Order Recommendation: Suzuki No Osashimi, Yaki Taraba Gani, Sake Sashimi

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MOzen Bistro

Mandarin Oriental

Our brunch experience at MOzen Bistro at the Mandarin Oriental came with a pleasant surprise when we arrived to lattes with our photos designed into the foam! I always love the sweet gesture whenever a personal touch is added to the experience. If you’re not familiar with the Mandarin Oriental, it’s a completely different experience than your typical Las Vegas hotel scene. The hotel specializes in health and wellness, so smoking is prohibited inside the building, and there is no in-house casino. This is completely off-the-cuff for the Strip since all of the other hotels around offer the complete opposite. However I’m a big fan of how the hotel has designed itself to be a sanctuary that you can retreat to after a busy day out so that you can decompress in peace and quiet. I’m always down for a little spa day!

We had an assortment of dishes for brunch that ranged from sweet to savoury, and I thoroughly enjoyed the savoury options for once! Who would have thought that a bento box for breakfast would be a good idea? I certainly didn’t, but I promise you that salmon and rice is the perfect pairing for an early morning meal.

Order Recommendation: French Toast Suzette, Japanese Bento, Green Detox Raw Vegan Juice

I hope you enjoyed my round up of where we dined while visiting Las Vegas! If you’ve been to any of these restaurants, or are planning an upcoming trip, I’d love to hear about your experience and what some of your favourite dishes are!

This post was produced in sponsorship with redtag.ca and Las Vegas, however all opinions and views are 100% honest and my own.