When Tony and I celebrated our anniversary in Las Vegas last month, we dined with Food Network Stars Giada & Bobby Flay. Well, not actually in person, but we did eat at their restaurants and had fabulous meals and experiences at both. Here are reviews of two of our favorite Las Vegas Restaurants.

Las Vegas Restaurants

Las Vegas Restaurants: Giada at The Cromwell

Located at the top of The Cromwell on the Las Vegas Strip, Giada at The Cromwell features a large open dining room with these huge retractable windows.

We were there on a mild spring evening, and the windows were open, providing a cool breeze and lovely view of Las Vegas at night. Talk about ambience!

Giada’s features traditional Italian dishes as well as some lighter options. While I opted for the Branzino with tangerine vinaigrette, Tony had a traditional pasta dish with Sweet Corn and Spicy Sausage on the side. The Branzino was fresh and cooked to perfection. But when I had a taste of the Sweet Corn & Spicy Sausage, I thought I had died and gone to Heaven. Fabulous and like nothing I had ever tasted before – sweet, spicy and creamy all at the same time. YUM!

For dessert, we enjoyed their fresh strawberry gelato that they make in house. It tasted more like fresh strawberries than fresh strawberries do! Very refreshing after a big dinner. And since we told them it was our anniversary, they served us this beautiful complimentary plate of Giada’s cookies. A lovely end to a lovely meal.

Las Vegas Restaurants: Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill at Caesar’s Palace

The following night, we had tickets to Elton John who was playing at Caesar’s, so we tried Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill in that same location. When we walked in, I was struck by the colors of the Southwest that made this restaurant so warm and inviting.

The bar features an extensive margarita menu, as one might expect. Tequila is not my friend, but the Prickly Pear and White Peach Margaritas sounded so good! All their tequilas are 100% Blue Agave Tequilas.

If you like fine Kentucky Whiskey, the menu includes 10-23 year old bourbons from Old Rip Van Winkle and Willet Distilleries.

As we enjoyed our cocktails, they brought a basket of bread that included these corn muffins with peppers that just melted in your mouth. I can’t even begin to describe the moist, delectable texture of these muffins. There were crumbs all over the table after I ate them, but who cares? I was on vacation.

I wanted to try a typically Southwestern dish, since that is what Bobby Flay is known for, so I had the Cornmeal Crusted Chili Relleno. It was stuffed with roasted eggplant and manchego cheese and topped with a sweet red pepper sauce and balsamic vinegar. Lovely and delicious.

For dessert, we split an order of Churros that were dusted in cinnamon sugar and star Anise with two dipping sauces  – dark chocolate and coconut Dulce de Leche. ROLL ME OUTTA THERE! They were so good.

I made reservations about a week ahead of time, and even then there were few choices of times at either restaurant. I would recommend making reservations a couple of weeks in advance, especially if you are trying to coordinate getting to a show the same evening.

Giada at The Cromwell and Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill – two great places to eat when you are in Las Vegas!

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