I recently took a trip to Las Vegas and wanted to try out some local restaurants. I scoured blogs, Instagram, Restaurants.com and TripAdvisor for some good places to eat. I ran across some A+ places, and some that I found to be subpar. Here are my reviews of Raku, M&M Soul Food Cafe, Crepe Expectations, Truffles n Bacon Cafe, Giuseppe’s Italian Grill, and Eat Las Vegas.
Raku
5030 W Spring Mountain Rd #2, Las Vegas, NV 89146
- Cuisine: Japanese
- Rating: 5/5
- Recommend: Yes
I will start by saying, I LOVE THIS PLACE! It was my first stop when I got to Vegas, and it would have been my go-to spot if I wasn’t set on trying out different places. I went at about 12 midnight. The area seemed a little questionable, but I was alone and made it out alive, so it can’t be that bad. 🙂 The inside was dimly lit, and it would make a great date-night spot, but not so fancy that it couldn’t be a late night spot with friends (or alone). I ate at the counter near the bar. The counter overlooked two chefs preparing some elaborate looking dishes. The place specializes in mini, tapa-like options, but had some full-sized dishes that looked really great. (You could even get a full fish cooked half-grilled, half fried.)
Service was excellent, and I was attended to quickly after arriving. She took my drink order and brought out a complimentary Japanese Pickled Salad. I’m not sure if this comes with everyone’s meal, but if it doesn’t, it’s definitely worth ordering. It was really good. For my meal, I ordered the Enoki Mushrooms wrapped in bacon, the Asajime chicken breast wrapped with chicken skin, and the duck with balsamic soy sauce. All of it was FANTASTIC. Every.single.bite. For dessert, I ordered the green tea creme brulee, which was equally delicious. Best of all, my whole meal was only about $18. I will definitely revisit this place on my next trip to Vegas!
M&M Soul Food Cafe
2211 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89104
- Cuisine: Soul Food
- Rating: 4.5/5
- Recommend: Yes
I chose this place because I had a restaurants.com gift certificate to use. We went on a Sunday around 2pm, and were told that we couldn’t use the gift certificate on weekends. Lucky for us, we didn’t find this out until after we ate. The food was GREAT. The restaurant has a diner-type setting, and the staff was attentive and polite. I loved that the drinks were served old-school style in mini mason jars.
All the meals come with complimentary corn bread. To our surprise, the corn bread looks like little pancakes. I’m not big on corn bread, but it was pretty tasty. I ordered the fried fish, collard greens, and macaroni and cheese. Mac and Cheese is one of my favorite foods, and it did not disappoint. The fish was seasoned to perfection, and the greens were good. For dessert, I got the lemon cake. It was too sweet for me, and was a few days old (as noted on the date on the container). The half portion of catfish and dessert came out to about $16. Would I come here again? Without a doubt.
Crepe Expectations
9500 S Eastern Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89123
- Cuisine: Breakfast
- Rating: 4/5
- Recommend: Yes
Imagine any kind of crepe your heart can desire, and we have Crepe Expectations. It’s a tiny spot located in a strip center. You order your food at the counter, and they deliver it to your table. You can watch the chefs making your crepes from your table. Service was wonderful. I believe it is a family-owned place, or at least that’s how it seemed. Everyone was so friendly, and there seemed to be a lot of regulars coming in. We ordered water to drink, which is self-serve, and you can choose from cucumber or lemon water.
I ordered The Avalon crepe – buttered pears, goat cheese, candied walnuts and honey. The crepe was surprisingly big! The flavors were delicious, but the pears were a bit hard, so it was difficult to eat. Due to the size and the sweetness, I didn’t eat the whole thing. Next time I go back (which I will), I’ll try out one of the savory-flavored crepes. Best of all? Crepes are only $8-$9.
Truffles n Bacon Cafe
8872 South Eastern Avenue, Regal Plaza, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV 89123
- Cuisine: American
- Rating: 4/5
- Recommend: Yes
Another Restaurants.com find. Small spot in a shopping center (common theme in Vegas). Super casual place. Service was not good at all. She was very nice, but took a really long time to pick up our check. She stopped to take orders and seat a couple of other people, before coming back to pick up our bill. Had it not been for this, the place would have gotten a 5.
The place is known for it’s award winning bacon jam. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, and I’m not quite sure how to describe the bacon jam. All I know is it tasted marvelous. I had the Sinful tots – Tater tots tossed in truffle oil, shredded cheese, chipotle mayo, pepperoncini and topped with our Award-Winning Bacon Jam. Very. Very. Good. My sister had the Godfather’s Mac ‘N Cheese – Baked Mac ‘N Cheese with Buffalo Chicken. As I mentioned, mac ‘n cheese is my favorite dish, and it was devine. We ordered the red velvet cheese cake for dessert, and it tasted like something out of a box. With our restaurants.com gift certificate discount of $10, our meal came out to $14.
Giuseppe’s Italian Grille
2630 W Horizon Ridge Pkwy, Henderson, NV 89052
- Cuisine: Italian
- Rating: 3/5
- Recommend: No
I will preface this by saying that I only ordered the French Onion Soup. We just stumbled on this place as we were passing by headed to another spot. It seems to be a chain restaurant, but I’ll add it on since we ate there. The ambiance was nice. Dimly lit, so it could be romantic. The soup was delicious. My sister had the Shrimp Diablo, which she said was fantastic. Service was horrendous. There was only one other person in the main dining area, and the waiter was still painfully slow. I would have given it a much higher rating if not for the service. I feel you can get equally as good Italian food elsewhere with better service. Prices were typical of an Italian restaurant. My soup was $6, and my sister’s food was $17.99.
Eat Las Vegas
707 Carson Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89101
- Cuisine: Breakfast/Brunch
- Rating: 1/5
- Recommend: Yes
I was SO SUPER EXCITED to try out this place! It had wonderful ratings on TripAdvisor. I went at around 9am on a Sunday Morning. I was quickly seated by the bar area. Service was great! The waitress was super friendly, and the manager (I believe) ensured that everyone was taken care of. The food on the other hand… oh the food. I had the Shrimp and Grits. I LOVE Shrimp and Grits, but this was TERRIBLE. The grits were super watery and the shrimp had zero flavor. I was so disappointed. My meal was about $16. Why do I recommend it, you ask? I asked the people sitting by me how their food was, and they said it was great. The man beside me had the cinnamon biscuits and they looked really good. I am definitely planning to go back and give it another try with another dish. Bring a couple of bucks for street parking downtown.
Vegas is definitely a mecca for all kinds of edible goodness. I look forward to returning to some of these places and trying out some others!
Traveling Kay LJ 
Great Post
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Thank you!!
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welcome
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