Bob & Brenda Geocaching

Our Observations

Whether you love or hate his television personality, Chef Ramsay does know how to cook. True, although his name is on the marquee, he isn't actually cooking here, but the menu does have his influence. We've been watching him for years on both Fox and BBC America (the British shows such as The F Word are better). We've cooked quite a few of his meals and now that Las Vegas has two of his restaurants (and a burger joint) we finally got to try some of (sort of) his food.

We've eaten here twice so far (both times selecting from the grill menu) and each experience has been different. Speaking to others that have dined here, it seems that your experience depends a lot on the server that you get. Both times the food was outstanding, but our first visit was somewhat dulled by the lackluster performance of our server.

Our first visit was a weekday afternoon on the way home from work. We thought we could sneak in without reservations before it started getting busy for the evening. We arrived just before 5:00 and it wasn't that busy--plenty of empty seats. We walked up and requested a table for two. We were told it would be about 15 minutes--strange since there were plenty of tables available. It wasn't a problem for us since we weren't in any hurry. While we were waiting, we watched the staff in action. The hostesses are dressed in some sort of strange/tacky newsprint style dress that really isn't flattering. It seemed like everyone except the hostesses were busy--they were mostly standing around at the front kiosk chatting with each other.

It only took about 5 minutes to find us a table. We were right by the rail that separates the restaurant from the casino floor. At first we thought it might be noisy and uncomfortable with everyone walking by, but we really didn't notice it after a few minutes. The waiter stopped by a few minutes after we were seated and brought us an iPad and told us to order our drinks through it. No problem, except that it's for alcoholic drinks only. That was OK by me since I wanted a beer, but Brenda just wanted an iced tea. I skimmed through the beer selection and picked on I wanted to try. Fine and dandy, but how do you order it on this damned thing? The waiter stopped back to drop off some menus (shouldn't those have been there first?) and explained that you really don't order the drinks through the iPad, you just browse the selections. I guess iPads just aren't that functional yet. He takes my beer order and dashes off, totally ignoring what Brenda wants. The beer arrived quickly and he asks for our dinner selections. Brenda tells him that she would like an iced tea. He said he'd bring one over as soon as he took the order. Brenda ordered the Braised Pork Belly with Sautéed Asparagus and I had the Filet Mixed Grill with sides of Creamed Spinach and Smashed Fingerling Potatoes. While we were waiting for Brenda's drink, one of the junior wait staff brought us some water and delicious pretzel bread with butter and a cheese sauce. The cheese sauce was nothing spectacular, but the bread was warm and soft and went great with the English butter they brought out. By the way, no sign of our waiter or Brenda's iced tea. As we snacked on the bread, our water glasses were refilled twice, but still no sign of the iced tea. Hmmm...the tip meter continues to drop.

From the time we placed our order until the food arrived was only about 15 minutes. Our waiter really didn't seem like we were important enough to serve. We got one of the busboys to finally get with someone who would bring Brenda her drink while we sat down to enjoy our meal. Brenda's pork belly was delicious--just the right amount of crispiness without being overdone. The asparagus was done to perfection as well. The lemon zest and thyme went perfectly with the sweetness of the asparagus. These flavor profiles are why we love so many of his recipes. I had the pork belly with my meal as well, but it just wasn't the same as Brenda's. It was a smaller piece and it seemed it was cooked just a bit too long. Still had the good flavor, but it was just a bit dry. The filet was OK, nothing to rave about, but at least when I ordered it mid-rare, it came that way. We've been to too many restaurants where you have to order your steak rare to get one that's mid-rare to medium. The shrimp weren't bad, but I just don't think you can get really fresh, good shrimp in Las Vegas. For me, the stars of the meal were the two sides. The creamed spinach with stilton cheese was perfectly seasoned and really complimented the flavor of the pork belly. The fingerling potatoes had black truffle with small chunks of British double cream. I could have eaten two servings of these.

We finally got to see our waiter again when he brought us the check. He didn't ask if we wanted dessert or an after dinner drink. The tip meter keeps dropping with this bozo. We think Mr. Ramsay need to visit this place and straighten out the front of the house.

All in all, it wasn't a bad experience. The food was as good as we expected, but the front of house staff turned what should have been an enjoyable dining experience into a mediocre one.

Our second visit was much better than the first. We made reservations for 6:30 on a Friday evening to take our friends Stephanie and Joe out for dinner. When we walked up to the hostess to give our names, we were greeted warmly and waited less than a minute for the next available hostess to take us to our table. This time we were seated toward the back of the restaurant (near the big picture of Gordon glowering down on everyone). It was a nice table away from the bustle of the casino with deep, comfortable chairs. Our waiter was there almost immediately and we were given the menus along with the useless iPad. We still don't get this--just put a damn drink menu on the table and get on with it. We placed our drink orders and before they were there our waiter was ready to take our order.

This visit Brenda and Joe both ordered the Braised Beef Cheek, Stephanie ordered the Fish and Chips, and I ordered the Grilled Rack of Lamb, replacing the olive oil crushed potatoes the great fingerling potatoes I had last time. Our drinks arrived and sure enough, just like the last visit, the beer arrived, but not Brenda's iced tea. Apparently iced tea isn't served at the bar and the folks bringing the drinks don't check the full order before delivery. At least this time it didn't take as long for the waiter to return with Brenda's drink. Since we passed on starters, we continued snacking on the bread while we waited for the food to arrive. Very busy this night, but the staff didn't seem to be as disorganized as during our first visit.

Our food arrived after a short wait and once again it was amazing. However, just like the first visit, Brenda picked out the better meal. The beef cheeks, although a tough and lean cut of meat, simple melted in your mouth. The sauce that came with it was so rich and tasty; I wanted to dip some of my lamb rack into it. Brenda found a new vegetable that she really likes--broccoli raab. Its buds somewhat resemble broccoli, but it's a member of the turnip family instead of the cabbage family. Her only disappointment was that there weren't enough of them on the plate. Stephanie's plate was overflowing with the fish and chips. The batter was crispy without overcooking the fish and the tarragon tartar sauce complimented it well. My lamb rack was cooked perfectly to a medium rare with a nice sear on the outside. The rosemary lamb sauce was tasty without having that overpowering rosemary flavor or odor. The potatoes were as good as I remembered them and went well with the lamb. I'm glad I made the substitution for them (although I would have ordered them on the side if they wouldn't sub them for me.) All during the dinner, the staff was attentive, refilling our drinks and water glasses. We definitely didn't suffer through the poor service we had the last time around.

This trip we were asked if we wanted some dessert and we all picked something different to try. Stephanie had the Potted Triple Chocolate Trifle which she enjoyed, but couldn't finish because of the large portion of fish and chips she had. Joe had the Spotted Dog (a bread pudding) which was tasty and quickly devoured. Brenda, who loves rhubarb, had the Rhubarb Cobbler. I'm not a big fan of it, but thought the citrus helped offset the flavor of the rhubarb. I had the Sticky Toffee Pudding (which I first had at GR Steak) and it was just as good and a few bucks cheaper--this is a recipe I'm going to have to find.

Summary: Looks like they're finally getting out of their growing pains and the staff is learning the routine. Food is delicious and can't wait to try some more items on the menu. I'd really like to compare the Shepherd's Pie that you get in his restaurants with the version I make using his recipe. If you decide to visit, I'd recommend making reservations. Unfortunately you have to make them through the Caesars customer service desk instead of Open Table, so there's usually a bit of a wait on hold until someone takes your call. Also, if you don't have one of the Total Rewards cards, stop by their rewards center and pick one up. It will knock a buck or two off each item on the menu. Not a lot, but in today's economy, every little bit helps.