Michael's Gourmet Room

LVA Review

This restaurant was re-reviewed in the July 2007 LVA; some of the information contained in this review may no longer be accurate. If you think we’ve been reviewing some expensive restaurants in recent issues, get a load of this one. Michael’s has always been known as a place you pretty much don’t go to unless you’re comped. Appetizers are $25, soups are $18, salads are $12-$22, vegetables are $12-$15. The least expensive entrée is chicken for $48; lobster is $98—you get the picture. Our meal for four with one $140 bottle of wine (the wines are actually relatively affordable) was $882. This sets the non-alcohol tab at something like $175 per head (we’d been wowing over per-head totals of only $79 at David Burke and $88 at Bartolotta). Of course, once that tab’s out of the way, the food and service are tremendous, with all the little touches that should go into a thousand-dollar dining experience. For those who had an opportunity to eat at Michael’s at the Barbary Coast, stepping into Michael’s at South Point will be like stepping back in time. The room looks exactly as it did at the Barbary. They brought the inside dome, the doors, and the domos—almost the whole wait staff is the same. As for changes, there’s one additional table at South Point and there’s a bathroom inside the restaurant. This restaurant was re-reviewed in the November 2005LVA; some of the information contained in this review may no longer be accurate. We haven’t reviewed Michael’s at the Barbary Coast since October 1999, back when the most expensive item on the menu was lobster for $58. Today, lobster is $88 and most other entrees (including Dover sole) are $74. Appetizers are $24 and soups and salads are $18 apiece. Sheesh—this place is good, but it’s not that good. Bottom line, Michael’s is a comp play all the way. If you get a comp or are invited by someone who has one, be sure to take the opportunity to sample one of the last of the old-style gourmet rooms. But if you have to pay, your money will go farther at just about any of Las Vegas’ other great restaurants. Our comped meal for four cost $760 before the tip. What does it take to get this comp? Even though Barbary Coast has a reputation among skilled blackjack players as a sweat shop, it’s relatively liberal with its high-end freebies. The comped member in our party played between three and four hours, making $300 average bets. That’s about $60,000 in action. If you can play basic strategy on the double-deckers, you’re looking at an expected loss of about $250. This restaurant was reviewed in the October 1999 LVA when it was located at Barbary Coast; some of the information contained in this review may no longer be accurate. Despite the attack of the celebrity chefs, LVA has often cited the throwback room, Michael's, at the little Barbary Coast as the city's premier gourmet experience. Many Las Vegas diners apparently feel the same: Michael's was voted the highest ranking of Las Vegas restaurants (along with non-casino Andre's and Desert Inn's Portofino) in the 2000 Zagat Survey. The room's roots have much to do with its appeal; those roots reach all the way back to the Strip's first gourmet room at the old Flamingo. The following excerpt from our book Fly on the Wall, by Dick Odessky, makes the connection. It seems that the Flamingo's savvy casino manager, Chester Sims, wanted a special high-class restaurant for his high rollers. Up until then (the early '60s), every hotel had a coffee shop and a dinner show, but there was little call for a gourmet room. Sims assigned the task to his assistant, Steve Delmont. Delmont took the assignment seriously. He built the 60-seat Candlelight Room away from the noise of the casino. He bought custom flatware, china, and crystal. He hand-picked steaks and roasts. He hired Albert, one of the country's finest gourmet chefs. And he liked to go on wild shopping sprees for food items that were virtually<