Restaurant
Review: r.bar.café, Las Vegas
The latest dining option at the all-luxury
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las
Vegas is Chef Rick Moonen's new outpost
of his celebrated Manhatten restaurant,
rm Seafood. A split level dining room offers
the whole nine yards upstairs and a more
casual indoor/outdoor "r.bar.café"
downstairs.
The lure of a Vegas-sized raw bar
in the café was too much to resist.
Dozens of varieties of oysters on the half-shell
are just the beginning, with clams, shrimp,
crab and more. Add a bottle of bubbly (as
we did) and nothing else is really needed
for the perfect lunch.
But if you must (again, as we did), move
on to the lovely selection of grilled fish
from the wood-burning stove. And don't miss
the fresh-baked cream biscuits that
come with salads and other dishes. If they
don't come with your order - be sure and
ask for some of these richly addictive,
flaky morsels.
The café also covers a number of
regional seafood classics - from Louisiana-style
po'boys to Maine lobster rolls to varieties
of clam chowder. The quality of the seafood
and the execution of the dishes keep the
theme from getting overly Vegas-buffet-mediocre
and elevates the entire experience to seafood
heaven.
The wine list benefits from raw-bar-friendly
choices from Champagne, Alsace, Germany
and Oregon. The prices are reasonable-ish,
at least for Mandalay Bay!
r.bar.café is exactly the kind
of star chef place that works for us in
Vegas - excellent food that is not available
just anywhere, in a relaxed setting, at
prices that won't cut into our gambling
budget! We'll be back.
r.bar.café
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89119
877.632.7000
Lunch in the r.bar.café: $25 average,
not including beverages
(april 2005)
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