Hi All,
The hubster will be in Vegas in February on a business trip. He will be taking an important client out for dinner. Said client is very picky about his wines. Which restaurants in Vegas have good wines? He was thinking Il Mulino. Any and all advice greatly appreciated.
Forgive me. I may be taking the wrong approach to this, but – for me – it all depends upon what kind of food I want . . . and budget.
One of the finest (and most reasonably priced) wine lists in all of Las Vegas is at Lotus of Siam (east of the Strip, on Sahara). Truly. But if no one want to eat Thai food (even though LoS is recognized far and wide as one of the finest Thai restaurants in the US), then have a great wine list won’t do your husband, or his client, any good.
The wine list at Jaleo (inside the Cosmopolitan) is excellent, but a) mostly Spanish; and b) if no one wants tapas and Spanish food . . . also, it’s rather noisy. Presuming your husband wants to communicate with his client, this wouldn’t be a good choice. However, José Andres has another place at the SLS – Bazaar Meat – which we enjoy a lot and they have an excellent wine list which is much more broadly based (that is, wines from all over the world, not just Spain).
Scarpetta at the Cosmopolitan, Carnevino in the Palazzo, Julian Serrano and Sage at the Aria, Craftsteak at the MGM, and virtually every other steak house on the Strip will have very good to excellent wine lists.
But – again – it depends upon budget.
OFF the strip, your husband should check out Marche Bacchus, a French bistro and retail wine shop where everything in the store can be served in the restaurant. In Tivoli Village,
If he is out in Summerlin, he should check out T-Bones Chophouse at the Red Rock Casino-Resort-Spa.
Thank you for all of this information, Jason. I agree, the food does matter. Not sure what cuisine outside of Italian this client would be interested in. I know that they went to a steak restaurant last time and he made a big deal of the wine menu. That the restaurant “had no clue about wines or how to store them.” Apparently, the temperature of the wine was all wrong and he wasn’t impressed with the selection. Is he willing to go to LoS for wine if Thai food isn’t his thing? Not sure. (Last time I was in Vegas I went there for dinner and then lunch the next day. Couldn’t get enough of the place.)
A few more thoughts/options . . .
Aureole (in the Mandalay Bay) has their 50,000 bottle, temperature-controlled tower serviced by “wine angels,” while over at the Bellagio: Le Cirque has over 900 choices on their list; Picasso has won the Wine Spectator’s “Grand Award” for their wine list; and, Michael Mina has a great list, too.
In the FWIW mode, I have spent 40+ years in the wine trade.¹ While I don’t mean to insult your husband’s client, I visit Las Vegas 1-2x a year on business and to visit family. To be honest, I’ve been disappointed in very few wine lists in fine dining restaurants in that town – especially those on the Strip, and/or which have “celebrity chefs” connected to them in some way. While small, off-strip, independents may not be able to afford temperature-controlled cellars, for example a small hole-in-the-wall that happens to make (let’s say) great handmade pasta that only locals really know about. (LoS being the notable exception to that “rule.”) But overall, very few fine dining restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip have bad lists, or improperly stored wines; after all, it is a destination city with lots of people spending lots of money . . .
¹ Not to give you a résumé, but I’ve worked for wineries as well as retail wine shops and restaurants; wine wholesalers and wine importers. I’ve also taught wine courses at two colleges, served for some 20 years as a wine judge and journalist.
Lotus of Siam has an incredible wine list and tho’ its in a divey strip center , about a mile off strip, its one of the best Thai resto’s in the country.
Lakeside at the Wynn has wonderful seafood, water show and I recall, a great wine list.
Delmonico’s at the Venetian…
Country Club at the Wynn is great venue too.
Jason is da man on all things wine and Vegas too!
