L'Atelier - Las Vegas by Joël Robuchon

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L'Atelier - Las Vegas by Joël Robuchon

Joël Robuchon has two Las Vegas restaurants, literally side-by-side, at the MGM.
His namesake restaurant was the only Michelin three star in Las Vegas when Michelin rated Las Vegas.



L'Atelier has Robuchon inspired staff and cuisine at roughly half the price of the high end sit down establishments. Which is not to imply it is an inexpensive meal - only that its price to value ratio is better.

If it is not obvious at this point, L'Atelier is one of our distinct favorites for eating in Las Vegas.
In contrast to the usual French approach - main dishes are meal sized here. A 12 ounce steak, the entire Dover sole....

The food is just as good as next door at Joël Robuchon, it is more fun and relaxed.

L'Atelier is often referred to as 'the walk in crowd' - open kitchen, counter seating (tables also)
According to the various reservation sites, there will be no walking in - but this is a false impression. Sites like Open Table have only a portion of availability. When they say no, call the business direct and you'll likely get a reservation (applies to all the high end places, with exceptions for holidays and the uber hyped ala French Laundry.)

L'Atelier offers both fixed menus and ala carte. We actually had a mixture, they do not require the entire party follow the same scheme. Also a very significant note, since one is dealing face-to-face with the kitchen brigade, deviations from the listed choices are accommodated. I saw and commenced to drool over a leg of Jamon Iberico ham at the back of the kitchen - it wasn't in my choices - until I asked.....

The theory is everything is prepared as you see it. I was unable to extract a confession, but from my observations there is either a behind the scene part of the kitchen, or.... some of the dishes are prepared in the Joël Robuchon kitchen proper. DW's steak was grilled/broiled to perfection, but not at the center island grill station....my fish also mysteriously appeared. The breads and deserts are certainly shared between the two. This is no distraction to my thinking, but just a point of info. Good food is the point - and L'Atelier abounds with good food.

The open kitchen brigade was super trained and super expert. They put the Gordon Ramsay screaming memes to shame. One only heard "Yes Chef!" as they went about the tasks at their assigned stations. But there is no stuffiness - the crew was very happy to entertain questions and explain how&what&why the various observed things were happening. In fact, one can get a mini-cooking lesson because the staff will show/share/talk/explain every single thing going on, with glee - they have a passion about putting out good food.

First course
(she) Stuffed Piquillo pepper with smoked eggplant and tuna belly confit


(me) Scallops with "pumpkin radish" - delightful zing and seasoning.


Second course
(both) Thin sliced Iberico ham with toast points and tomato garnish.
This is the most generous portion of Iberico ham every encountered....


Main Course
(she) 12 ounce Australian Wa-gyu ribeye. DW found this steak seriously superior to other Wa‑gyu on offer this trip. From my home kitchen experience, making that 12 ounces disappear proves the point - pix was taken late, what you see is a bit of fat left overs....


(me) Seared Dover sole cooked “Meunière” - finished with a brown butter sauce that was absolutely splendid. Deboned at the table - a meal size fish...


Desert
(both) Signature chocolate Bombe - super blend of taste and textures without a cloying sweetness. Chocolate mousse + ice cream wrapped in a chocolate shell with a crunchy Oreo cookie topping and the screen printed chocolate halo.



A shot of the crew:


and some trumpet mushrooms being readied to meet their eater:
 
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