Meat a model and other Las Vegas, NV Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant Name: N9NE Steakhouse

The oddly named N9NE, or Nine, or just 9 as it says on the door, is one of the top 'scene' steakhouses in Las Vegas. i.e. one of the current trendy restaurants. Don't let that put you off though, as unlike most restaurants in this category, the food as well as the clientele, is top notch. Expect wall to wall glamorous model types paired up with rich, ageing music execs, sat under the colour changing ceiling. Groups of attractive girls sit at the bar - presumably waiting to be treated to a 'free' night out in one of The Palms nightspots.

Excellent staff, food and people watching (I'd love to know the story behind some of the mismatched couples and dining parties) made this one of our favourite restaurants in Vegas.

Reservations are a must on the typically busy Thursday, Friday & Saturday nights. This would be an excellent place for a stag / hen party meal before hitting GhostBar or Rain next door. (Don?t bother asking the waiting staff to get you past the queue either as they hear it all the time - i.e. we failed miserably).

Really glad we 8 there (see what I just did...)

Favorite Dish: Steak was superb, but don't be conned into the fillet on the bone - slightly smaller than normal with no discernable difference. Apart from the $15 extra. Menu here.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Steakhouse
Comparison: most expensive
Prices: US$41 and up  » Currency Converter
Phone: 702.933.9900
Address: Inside The Palms Casino Resort
Directions: Off the strip, so expect a taxi ride if you are staying in any of the other major hotels
Website: www.n9negroup.com

Restaurant Name: Circus Circus - The Steakhouse

Fuming about this hole...

Wouldn't normally bother writing about a bad restaurant, but this place got me furious. Mostly 'cos my bible of American eateries, Zagat, had praised the place so highly. (Along with nearly every other critics guide that kissed butt on the proudly displayed certificates).

Reserved a lunch through the ever fabulous opentable.com.

When we arrived there was already a queue out of the door with people who hadn't booked... "suckers" I thought as we strolled past.

Sure enough our name was down, but we were asked to wait in the bar area whilst they prepared the table. And we waited. And waited. And they've got a funny idea of time in this place as I kept getting told "2 minutes".

And waited.

After sitting for 45mins in the stinky dark pit that is Circus Circus, The Steakhouse, we were finally ushered to our table by an apologetic waiter (no doubt worried his 20% tip was evaporating).

Now it got a little weird at this point. Basically you don't order food, but go up to a buffet and heap food onto your own plate. Unfortunately it was all a little "school dinner" for my liking. Everything was soggy, steamed beyond recognition, and had turned a funny grey hue - may have been the lighting. At the end of this sorry parade was a pitiful excuse for a carvery which consisted of a leg of ham (looked & tasted reconditioned, even though it wasn't) and rib-eye beef, which was haemorrhaging blood, surrounded by an inch thick layer of blubber fat, mmm, delicious...

The steak - remember this is called Steakhouse - comes as a second course. You have the choice of about 3 types. We went fillet and got something the size of my big toe. Fortunately, it tasted just as good.

Favorite Dish: Definitely the oysters from the first course. Shrivelled dry and tasting like an old used condom... probably. Had an unusual after-taste that left us feeling sick for the rest of the day.

On the plus side, they try to drown you in mediocre champagne (included) throughout the meal, so if you do go, just make the most of that. They even forced 2 beakers of it into our hands as we stood up to leave.

Everyone who works here is an incompetent fool, from the waddling receptionist, over excitable waiter, pointless maitre d' (who meanders aimlessly around the restaurant), to the chef who shouldn't even be in charge of spooning dog food.

The barman didn't understand me when I asked for a beer. Had to ask 3 times, before spelling the word B..E..E..R.. Even then he looked clueless, before the penny finally dropped, and he repeated "Oh beeeeerr".

Would have thought he was joking, were it not for the fact this was the 16th time on the holiday we had experienced a serious "communication malfunction".

The greatest steakhouse in Las Vegas... if it's your first meal after a 25 year stretch in an Iranian prison.

This place seriously dented our image of perfect American eateries (and service).

Leave a Comment

Theme: Steakhouse
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$31-40  » Currency Converter
Address: Circus Circus
Directions: On the Strip. Avoid at all costs.

Restaurant Name: Top of The World - The Stratosphere Tower

The ultimate in novelty restaurants, Top of The World is a revolving high class eatery at the far end of the Las Vegas strip.

Came here on our last night, which was good in so far as nowhere else would have matched it for "wow factor", but bad in that we were suffering from end of holiday restaurant apathy, and still felt sick from the dismal lunch we had endured at Circus Circus Steakhouse.

Anyway, a booking at this restaurant bypasses the queue at the base of the tower - and also obviously still gives you the fantastic views. So, my advice if you're not planning to go on any of the pant wetting rides on the roof of this place... come here for lunch. The food is apparently quite a bargain, and you get the view for free.

The tables are evenly spaced, only two deep, so almost everyone has a "window seat" - if you want the pick of the bunch though you need to turn up 30mins before your (essential) reservation. Dont know whether it was the rancid Circus Circus lunch still gurgling in my belly, but I felt decidedly queasy for the first 20mins as we slowly spun round.

Restaurant itself is dated and a bit tatty, but you shouldnt be looking at the carpet anyway - the complete opposite of N9ne at The Palms, and there certainly isnt any totty at the bar. Took about 1 hour to fully rotate, so if youre lucky, you can get the best view (that of the Strip) in twice. Unfortunately, once the Strip is out of sight, its half an hour of mostly nothing until the neon lights of Fremont Street pop up in the distance.

Favorite Dish: Just like the Nevada mountain ranges on the horizon, my memory of what we ate is now a little hazy. I do remember thinking the choices were a little too formal (although that may have been the result of one too many "scene" restaurants earlier in the holiday), and the food, although fantastic, was a little below what I (and my wallet) had expected. Service was typically fantasic.

Website states a dress code of Business Casual Dress, but as usual for America, we make an effort, then see the Griswalds coming out bedecked in flip flops and orange hawaiian shirts.

After the meal we still had our all-day wristbands on and hit the rides upstairs for one last time - two bottles of wine in no way diminishes the terror, especially as during the meal we had witnessed an amazing electrical storm creeping across the desert towards us.

If you can put up with a terrible film (and Keira Knightleys OTT British accent) the last 15mins of Domino were filmed in this restaurant. Thankfully they blow it to smithereens, so hopefully it gets a well overdue refurbishment in Domino 2.

Leave a Comment

Theme: American
Comparison: most expensive
Prices: US$41 and up  » Currency Converter
Phone: (800) 998-6937
Address: 2000 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
Directions: 800 ft above the Strip
Website: http://www.stratospherehotel.com