We also planned two dinners outside the Wynn Hotel.  Our first night we ate at Cut Steakhouse, which is a Wolfgang Puck restaurant located in The Venetian Hotel.  Cut was definitely our priciest meal of the whole trip and you should expect to spend at least $50 to $60 on a single steak (plus sides, apps and wine and you can see how quickly it adds up).  Definitely save this one for a special occasion or a splurge.  We ended up sharing the porterhouse steak for two which ends up being the same price as two individual steaks.  Of course, Cut also offers Japanese Wagyu and more expensive cuts but we stuck with U.S. prime, which was more affordable but still delicious.

Cut was definitely the best steak I have ever had – in Vegas or elsewhere so that is high praise.  It’s still hard to get past the price but it is Vegas so everything is marked up.  My only other complaint was that the restaurant was really loud but it was a busy Friday night at 8pm and there were two very large groups dining so that’s to be expected.

We arrived about 5 minutes early for our reservation and were seated right away in the very middle of the restaurant but were given a nice booth that allowed us to see the entire place (good for people watching).  Service was spot-on and very attentive but without being annoying.  We decided to share the tuna tartare appetizer which was delicious with fresh avocado and wasabi flavors. Very light and a nice start to the meal.

We then shared the porterhouse for two, which allowed us to get two different cuts as a porterhouse is the filet mignon on one side of the bone and a NY strip on the other side.  Steve and I disagreed on the steak as I preferred the chew of the NY Strip but he preferred the tenderness of the filet.  Each side was perfectly cooked at medium rare and the meat was incredibly flavorful, juicy and tender.  We also shared two sides, an order of tempura fried onion rings and a side of sauteed garlic spinach (we always have to get one green/healthy side).

The onion rings were out of this world.  It sounds strange to say they were “melt in your mouth” but they really were.  The tempura batter was light as air and the onions inside were sliced paper thin so they literally did melt as soon as you bit into one.  We also had a great bottle of Italian wine that the sommelier recommended and was the perfect compliment to our hearty meal.  As usual, we were too full for dessert and just finished up our bottle of wine as our “dessert.”

 

Two nights later we dined at Hakkasan in the MGM Grand.  I think this was actually my favorite meal even though Cut probably had the better food.  I enjoyed the atmosphere at Hakkasan so much more as it was dark, clubby, sexy and much more quiet and subdued than Cut, which is far more flashy and “look at me.” Hakkasan is an upscale chain with locations all over the world and I have previously eaten at the one in midtown New York.

The Vegas location is huge and has the exact same decor and sleek atmosphere of the New York location.  We also had the sweetest server who made a few recommendations on food that were spot-on.  Hakkasan has plenty of full size entrees but they also offer a wide variety of smaller share plates so we went that route.  We ended up ordering too much food, including a steamed dim sum platter, duck spring rolls, a crispy duck salad and pork pan seared dumplings.

Everything was really enjoyable but my favorite dish was the one I never would have ordered on my own but the server raved about – the crispy duck salad.  It was the perfect combination of rich, fatty duck that had been shredded and mixed with a lightly dressed and bright green salad with crunchy bits of pomegranate seeds.  I loved the interplay of textures and the mix of flavors from sweet to sour.

Steve had some white wine by the glass with his meal but I decided to try two different cocktails from their huge cocktail list and I thoroughly enjoyed both.  I must admit that the cocktails here, while pricey, are very strong and I was quite buzzed on the taxi ride back to the Wynn.  Two was more than enough, even with all this food!

As you can probably tell, we kind of overdid it on good food and drinks this trip but as we don’t come to Vegas very often, we figured we should get in what we could.  Even though I really enjoyed all of our meals at the Wynn Hotel, I think Cut and Hakkasan were actually my two favorite dinners that we had during our long weekend.  I would highly recommend both!