Beso

At least three years ago, we had a review in the hopper for BG Bistro on Tropicana. Good salads, stuffed mushrooms, fish, and especially lamb chops. Then it moved to 4435 S. Buffalo and changed its name to Beso.

The Food

The cuisine is now described as “Mediterranean and Eastern European,” but the root nationality is Bulgarian. The selection is vast, including dishes such as cevapi (beef and pork in bread), mititei (sausage), and uviatch (stuffed pork). We haven’t tried them. These we have: blue cheese mushrooms ($15), chicken livers ($14), arugula salad ($14), and branzino ($35). Excellent. The salad selection is one of the best we’ve seen. Along with the arugula are Greek, shopska, and vitamin salad—beets, carrots, apple, and walnuts in a honey citrus dressing—among others, all $13-$17. The lamb chops are served with potatoes and vegetables for $28; you won’t find them this good at this price in many, if any, places.

We can’t list everything on the menu; check it out here.

Then there are daily white-paper specials, off of which we got this lamb shank for $14.

Breakfast

This is new. It starts at 8 a.m. and it’s a good option for a weekend brunch. We had a veggie omelet, salmon Benedict, and ham & cheese crepe. The whole thing came out to $53 and we took the crepes home.

Ambience

While BG Bistro was kinda down and dirty, with Eastern European expats hanging out at the patio tables, Beso is more refined. You can sit at the bar and start a conversation or get a table of your own. It’s comfortable.

The Verdict

This is a good restaurant with a lot of food choices. And as you can see from the examples or by clicking through to the menu, it’s very well priced. You have to travel about seven miles west from the Strip, but if you’re looking for something different and reasonable, this fills the bill. Did we mention those lamb chops?