Joel Robuchon is the renowned French chef who has garnered the most Michelin Stars in the world. His Vegas restaurant Joel Robuchon earned Michelin Three Stars, the maximum awarded. In a city where every chef opens an outpost yet many chefs never set foot in those restaurants let alone cook in them, it's good to see that this specific location earned high marks. The restaurant is so popular that the only reservations we could score a month in advance was the early bird 5.30pm time slot. In retrospect, this timing works best especially when you are embarking on the extensive tasting menu because the whole experience will last 3-4 hours.
Joel Robuchon is located in the lavish Mansion at MGM Grand. The restaurant arranged for a limo to pick us up from our hotel. For a moment, we felt like the high rollers that belonged at The Mansion.
My greatest weakness on wheels rolled over to us. Alas, the reputed bread cart. There was a total of 17 bread choices, and after sampling most of them, I can say with certainty that this was by far the most superior bread selection I've had in my life. And as a carboholic, I have much experience in this area, so take my word on it.
Fresh French butter was carved from a hunk of butter and served with sea salt.

The butter was soft and gratifying, although for the most part unnecessary as the bread selections were mostly moist and flavorful by themselves.I wasn't lying when I said I was a carboholic. Below were some of my servings.
It was tough to put down the bread but shortly after, our journey through the Tasting Menu started.
Caviar on a fennel cream served as a surprise
What better way to start this epicurean experience than with this luxurious dish. When you opened up the caviar tin and broke through the precious black pearls, you come across the "surprise", which were huge chunks of fresh king crab. The fennel cream added a creaminess to the sweet crab mixture. The best part of course was the generous portion of caviar that topped the crab mixture. I tried to slowly savor every single roe which burst in my mouth and released a salty-fishy flavor.
Tomato mozzarella gelee, basil and olive oil, almond blancmange with vegetable medley, chilled cilantro gazpacho
The trio started off with a sort of deconstructed caprese salad. The tomato wasn't juicy or firm but instead had more of a pureed texture. The blancmage was like a panna cotta, both in texture (silkiness) and flavor. The three dishes had a thoughtful succession from one dish to the other. If you started off with the tomato gelee, the dish was dominated by tomatoes. Tomatoes were present, although subtlety, in the panna cotta. You did taste the cilantro garnish on the panna cotta which transitioned to the cilantro gazpacho. I'm not a cilantro fan so I wasn't in love with the soup but I could tell that it had some good flavoring besides the cilantro.
Egg yolk and herb ravioli with spinach sprouts and morels
The ravioli was seasoned well with a runny yolk in the center. Runny yolks never get old. I really enjoyed this dish because it was rich and flavorful, yet rather simple with just a mushroom pairing. The quail egg on the side was for decoration.
The ravioli was seasoned well with a runny yolk in the center. Runny yolks never get old. I really enjoyed this dish because it was rich and flavorful, yet rather simple with just a mushroom pairing. The quail egg on the side was for decoration.
Crispy frog leg, garlic and parsley puree
This was the fancy version of finger food. The frog leg was breaded and fried, and looked like a chicken drumette. The tempura veggies were salted well and not greasy. Rose water was served alongside this dish to wash your fingers in.
Roasted lobster on cauliflower with green curry, herb flavored coral broth, uni on mashed potato with roasted coffee beans
The lobster was tasty from the curry flavoring and sat on a bed of creamy cauliflower puree topped with couscous. I love uni so I was glad to see this on the menu, even if it was only one part of a trio instead of its own dish. The coffee scarcely sprinkled on the uni added a bitterness that worked really well with the creamy and rich seafood essence of the sea urchin. The shrimp ball in broth was interesting and reminded me of a matzo ball.
Savory scented fava bean veloute with sweet onion foam
The veloute was warm and in a way, quite soothing after the heavy dishes that preceded. The green color was vibrant. It appears from the dishes that Joel Robuchon loves to play with colors and create dishes that are both appealing visually and in flavor.
Duck foie gras in cabbage, bacon and spicy jus
Foie - another one of my favorite ingredients. Rich fatty foie was wrapped in a nice cabbage roulade, enclosed with buckwheat tuille and emulsion of foie, pancetta and mushroom. There were a lot of rich flavors going on in this dish. I thought the use of cabbage was a smart choice because it has a mild flavor and would not interfere with the foie gras, which was the star of the plate.
8) La Turbot
Pan fried turbot with a lemon grass emulsion and stewed baby leeks
So this was bound to happen! I forgot to take a photo of the turbot dish. I must have been so excited about the leeks that I got distracted. The fish was served with leeks, asparagus and tomatoes and topped with fried leeks. The sauce was flavorful and worked well against the light white fish.
Pan fried turbot with a lemon grass emulsion and stewed baby leeks
So this was bound to happen! I forgot to take a photo of the turbot dish. I must have been so excited about the leeks that I got distracted. The fish was served with leeks, asparagus and tomatoes and topped with fried leeks. The sauce was flavorful and worked well against the light white fish.
Sauteed veal chop with natural jus and vegetable taglierinis flavored with pesto
The veal was sou vide so it was tender and evenly cooked. I really enjoyed the spinach pasta which was so intricately woven together with basil. The spinach itself was not lacking in flavor and tasted like it had been cooked in chicken or vegetable broth.
Risotto of soybeans sprouts, lime zest and chives
This was a palate cleanser, between the sweet and savory courses. I liked the use of soybeans over rice in this risotto, however I did not care for the sprouts which had that undercooked sprout flavor.So this marked the end of the savory courses and on to dessert! Surprisingly, I wasn't uncomfortably full at this point.
Light tangerine cream with lemon verbena sorbet
Cream and orange is always such a good combination. This tasted just like a creamsicle. I do love a creamsicle (I actually have them in my freezer at home). The candied kumquat was sour and a bit chewy.
Chocolate mousse sphere, passion fruit coulis
Even though I enjoyed the tangerine cream dessert, you gotta end dessert with rich, decadent chocolate. And this mousse sphere hit the spot. The mousse was mixed with creme fraiche with ganache at the bottom. The sphere was coated with a layer of passion fruit coulis which was a bit too sweet for my liking.
Love the imprint of the chocolate ganache. Also love the macro function on my new camera!

I would venture to say that the night was flawless, from the impeccable service which was attentive but yet not overbearing, to the food that was spot on. Every dish was flavorful without being over salted. The dishes were perfectly executed and there was nothing lacking in flavor. Each plate was gorgeously presented with vibrant colors and subtle decorative ingredients. Oh, and the bread and cheese carts. Two of the most impressive displays I have ever laid eyes on. Even though 13 courses might seem a bit of an overkill, I was not uncomfortably full at the end of the meal. It seemed like they paced the dishes well and were able to master the portions. We were definitely in less pain than after the 11-course menu at Ortolan.
I know this was an extremely indulgent dinner. Does anyone really need to spend that much in one sitting? Does anyone really need to be partaking in a 13 course meal? The answer is Yes. Joel Robuchon embodies everything that is elegant, perfection, precision, extravagance. When you decide to dine at Robuchon, you really have to go all the way. Yes, there is the 6 course menu as well, and there is also the less expensive sister restaurant L'Atelier (also at the MGM Grand) but when you've dropped the dough for a flight to Vegas plus hotel, and you don't waste much money on gambling or shopping, the 13 course tasting menu at Joel Robuchon will be that memorable dining experience that you will forever treasure, reminisce with your dining companions and maybe even make some of your friends jealous. And you'll feel like such a lucky gal, even if you didn't win at the blackjack table.
Hits: food especially the foie, caviar, ravioli, frog leg, bread cart, service, limo service
Misses: it's definitely not cheap
Rating: *****
Joel Robuchon at The Mansion
3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 891-7777
10 comments:
Wow that is so awesome that you got to experience such a great meal. And congratulations on finishing grad school--you deserved the full tasting menu. Wonderful pictures--I'm drooling just looking at all the bread =). How long were at the restaurant? And how were those marshmallows? I think I would frame the booklet and hang on a wall :).
This was a complete delight to read. I feel like I was there experiencing every dish, every bread roll and every piece of chocolate with you. Hopefully some day I'll be able to write a similar post. You've sold me on the experience 100%!
Daniel - thanks!! It was a dinner to remember. Im glad the photos came out too! We were there for 3.5hrs. The marshmellows were good, I think we ate them after we got back from the club ;-)
Diana - Thanks!! Anytime you wanna indulge, let me know ;-)
Now this is a meal..if you dont mind me asking, how much per person for the TM?
Hi cookie chomper. No worries! It was $385 for the tasting per person, without tax and tip, so it came up to about $560 per person after we factored in one bottle of wine and a half bottle of champagne. There was only two of us in our party.
that's an Urasawa right there! thanks for the quick response. you're post was making me very excited!
I'm so glad I don't care for raw sashimi (except for uni and octopus) so I wont be tempted by urasawa! Thanks for stopping by!
Holy cow, stuffy! You are my heroine! Amazing.
I WANT!
I'd pay a pretty penny just for the bread cart and dessert cart. Wonder if that's a possibility... ;-)
Heather - am I ur hero cuz I ate so much? haha
Gastronomer - Ain't it awesome? Once you go JR bread and dessert cart, its hard to go back...
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