You could dine at a different restaurant every night in Las Vegas and still not have visited them all in a year. In fact, it’s hardly necessary to venture from your hotel at all in order to sample a good variety of them. This certainly applies to the restaurants at Caesars Palace and the interconnected Forum Shops.
Neros Steakhouse Restaurant Caesars Palace
Neros is located in the casino proper close to the Forum and Augustus Towers. We dined here because we’d left it late in the evening to dine, we hadn’t yet familiarised ourselves with the casino layout and there were plenty of tables available. It was an easy choice.
It's possible to sit close to a public walkway which is great for watching people pour out of the Celine Dion show but not so great if you don’t like cigarette and cigar smoke wafting your way as you are eating.
If you are a seafood lover, you’ll enjoy the fresh oysters on the half shell. They come complete with pipettes filled with horseradish and mignonette sauce. If steak sounds more exciting, the 16oz prime rib is a man-sized helping that will leave you blushing to your roots when you can’t quite finish it. Wash it down with a classic margarita guaranteed to pique your tastebuds and served up by a young Richard Dreyfuss.
Mesa Grill Caesars Palace
We’d tried to book in at Mesa Grill during the day but they were full for dinner that night. We figured that if it was booked out then it was probably worth making a reservation for the following evening. Mesa Grill is just around the corner from Neros and in the casino proper.
Mesa Grill is a popular, bustling restaurant where there is no shortage of willing patrons waiting for the next table to come available. If you are after some intimacy, this is not the restaurant for you.
However, if you like asparagus, then the grilled asparagus salad with its sprinkling of blue cheese will appeal. However, don’t believe the waiter when he tells you it’s not at all spicy. It definitely leaves an impression. The Black Angus New York Strip Steak is another dish that will leave you struggling to finish up but definitely not disappointed.
Rao’s Italian Restaurant Caesars Palace
After an afternoon beside the pool, you’ll have an appetite that only a carbohydrate-rich meal will satisfy. Rao’s Italian Restaurant is a fine dining restaurant with a gorgeous view out to the tastefully lit pool area. Remember, just because it’s beside the pool area, doesn’t mean you can turn up for dinner in your togs and sandals. We were gently reminded of this fact when we booked.
Whereas many Italian restaurants are loud boisterous places, Rao’s is not one of them – at least not on the night we dined. In fact, it’s intimate and romantic, although definitely still suitable for an engagement dinner such as the one celebrating there on the same night.
The seafood chowder is divine, the shrimp cocktail endowed with enormous tails, and the veal parmesan a thing of beauty.
P J Clarke's at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace
If you’ve not seen a curving escalator, you’re not the only one. Dine at P J Clarke's at the Forum Shops at the bottom of the curving escalator; you’ll be continually entertained by the throngs of delighted tourists disembarking from the novelty ride.
The lively entertaining waiters here will recommend their favourite dishes – the crisp parmesan tater tots in our waiter’s case. If you’ve not met a scallop that you couldn’t finish, try the seared jumbo sea scallops as your main. For meat lovers, the Delmonico Rib Eye will hit the spot.
If you’re keen on a tipple to follow, sit at the bar and let the barman ply you with his favourite concoctions. Coffee drinkers should try an espresso margarita although be warned, don’t expect to get to sleep anytime soon. For those with a sour tooth, ask for a cocktail called Aviation; it’ll knock your socks off.
Boa, Forum Shops
You’ll be forgiven for thinking Boa is closed when you walk past. It’s dark inside, possibly to the point of being a health hazard. This is probably why the clientele look to be relatively young. However, it’s worth the risk because the food is gorgeous. This fine dining restaurant has a modern décor lit by candles and seating is in comfortable, cushioned booths.
The jumbo prawns and 21 day dry-aged bone in rib eye were the mains we chose the evening we visited. As with all the other restaurants we’d visited that week at Caesars Palace, the food was exceptional. If you are of a mind to celebrate a birthday, Boa is perfect; sparklers on a birthday cake look incredible in the semi-darkness.
Restaurants at Caesars Palace
It’s impossible to get a bad meal at any of the fine dining restaurants at Caesars or the adjoining Forum shops.
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