As you walk through the Botanical Gardens at Bellagio there is no need to look to closely because if you’re lucky you can enjoy your dinner and get a great view of the gardens while having a glass of red wine inside Michael Mina.

The Michael Mina Bellagio is a luxurious, contemporary dining room bathed creamy neutral tones and golden light.

The menu here is in the care of a talented group of chefs trained and transported from San Francisco, who create innovate seafood dishes with California ingredients. The menu is extensive and offers la carte selections in addition to a pair of five-course tasting menus, one vegetarian and one seasonal.

Classic dishes include savory black mussel soufflé with saffron and Chardonnay cream and Maine lobster pot pie. The wine list focuses on American producers and contains some gems from small vineyards.

Large bright spaces and a roomy dining room make this place a pleasure to dine at. The restaurant is a bit loud but that gives it a certain atmosphere that lends itself to whispering into your dates’ ear.

Picasso Restaurant

Look up when you cross Picasso’s threshold: Rows of ceramics are embedded in the ceiling, a rustic touch that sets the stage for an unpretentious meal among precious, familiar-looking works of art. You are now ready to dine at Picasso Restaurant.

These are Pablo Picassos, all right. His paintings, gouaches and ceramics of several career phases are displayed in the room’s most flattering lights. The rest of the space is kept wisely neutral, so your eyes always wander to one piece or another.

Julian Serrano, the Spanish chef who presides over Picasso’s kitchen, is a Vegas anomaly. He moved here in 1998 after a long stint at venerated Masa’s in San Francisco. (To be fair, Alessandro Stratta lives in Vegas, too.)

Compared with the culinary fireworks offered in Vegas’ other high-end restaurants, Mr. Serrano’s food can come off as subtle, sometimes even safe. Certainly, there are charmed fillips, like the amaretto-nutmeg marshmallows in butternut squash soup that dissolve instantly in the mouth, leaving nothing but a tremor of spice.

And entrees such as fallow deer medallions with caramelized green apple and zinfandel sauce exhibit undeniable skill, though a ragout of seasonal vegetables with pieces of foie gras came off as unctuous.

The persistent romance of the setting elevates the meal, though. When the Bellagio’s water-fountain show explodes outside the window, obliterating the view of the Strip’s neon and the faux Eiffel Tower across the street, it’s hard not to smile inwardly at the myriad tricks up Vegas’ sleeves.

Bellagio Las Vegas
3600 Las Vegas Blvd. South
702-693-7223
http://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/

Article by: Bill Addison Restaurant Critic – Dallasnews.com

A substantial number of online food lovers, as well as many Las Vegas locals I know, credit Bellagio with offering the best buffet in town. It costs $20 at lunch, and the crowds can vary from teeming to nonexistent to teeming again in a matter of minutes. If the line swerves round the corner, don’t sweat. It moves quickly.

It is, as buffets go, classy. Among the many choices: a composed salad station offering a decent niçoise; kurobuta pork shoulder braised in apple cider with apple compote; dry-rubbed, St. Louis-style ribs; pizzas that emerge constantly fresh from the oven; curried duck breast (the most polished dish I sampled); sushi rolls; turkey with stuffing; and soft-serve ice cream.

Roving servers are sweet souls who won’t prod you to rush. I spied folks who looked like they’d been lingering for quite some time.

A remodeling of the buffet’s Parisian café setting, street lamps and all, will soon occur. No word yet on what the new look might be, though the hotel will be installing a new station offering – wait for it – flambéed dishes. Yeehaw!

Bellagio
3600 Las Vegas Blvd. South
702-693-8111
www.bellagio.com/restaurants