la cave wine & food hideaway

the wynn and encore are some of my favorite properties in las vegas. their elegant styling with classic and luxurious design cues all make for a perfect resort. walking into sw steakhouse with no reservation, i realized i was being too optimistic. reservations is a must at sw — lesson learned. scratching that idea, our dinner plans turned into something more casual but elegant at the same time. lacaveat the wynn is a wine bar, tapas bar, and hideaway all in one. i don’t know what a food hideaway is exactly, but that’s what it is. their classic tapas items paired with some interesting wine tastings made for an incredible dinner service. sw steakhouse surely wasn’t on the back of our minds. we started thngs off with the lacavecaesar salad. with the romaine lettuce left whole, we cut into it like a steak. wrapped in the most delectable, yet really salty prosciutto, i was all smiles. mixed all together with their lemon anchovy dressing, the salad was a great ice breaker for our meal. t

lacavehits it out of the park for both taste and value.

temporarily shuttered for renovation, but now open once again across from the buffet at wynn, it is at lacavewine and food hideaway that diners can find a different sort of “all you can eat” experience from 10:30am until 2:00pm on weekends.

opened in late 2010 by michael morton, at that time the only wynn restaurant operated by an outside source but now joined by both urth café as well as cipriani, it is at a hostess podium outside that guests are first met, staff then escorting them past a neon fixture reading “in vino veritas” en route to a dining room decorated in dark wood and foliage.

built to resemble the tasting rooms of northern california, a pair of bars including one with seating flanked by temperature-controlled vaults, it is seated on leather chairs as light enters from opaque glass that menus are offered, the first a lengthy list of wines by the bottle or glass and the other a collection of small plates served “butler style.”

intimate in terms of atmosphere, a light soundtrack and hushed conversations complimented by staff who bring around a list of twenty items at varying intervals, it was with one diner adding-on bottomless bloody marys and mimosas that the other opted for coffee and a cocktail, the tuscan pear offering a syrupy mouthfeel but plenty of booze reined in by bright citrus.

offering american small-plates by chef billy demarco, several years with the morton group including the opening of crush at mgm following years in new york, it is not long after arrival that food begins to circulate, an opening gazpacho ‘shooter’ refreshing by way of basil oil while sliced tomatoes around fresh mozzarella and a basil leaf were brightened by a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

moving next to yogurt, granola and fresh fruit, each item presented from a tray for the guest’s acceptance or denial, it was from a cone lined with paper that snappy sausage and bacon were plucked before transitioning to “chicken and waffles,” or in the case the choice of wing or drumstick tossed with mexican hot sauce atop a quarter circle that remains crisp around the edges and fluffy on the inside.

quiet around 11:30 but filling to perhaps quarter capacity by noon, those dissuaded by 45-minute lines at the buffet all but guaranteed a better experience for approximately the same price at la cave, it was atop filet grilled medium that a poached egg and paprika was served, the english muffin readily soaking up yolk and hollandaise sauce just as a skillet of polenta offered in follow-up had become thick by way of saturation with cream, pecorino cheese and truffle oil.

delighting with toasted bagels and lox, the house-smoked fish served in a good ratio to classic condiments, fans of hash will also appreciate demarco’s shredded veal served with peppers and potatoes while angus “mini burgers” are also nicely presented and far from the typical slider thanks to mushrooms served like a spread along with smoky mayonnaise.

underwhelmed by both flatbreads, a staple of the lunch and dinner menu unfortunately undercooked and presented luke-warm, it was with good fortune that these were quickly followed by all-new snickers pancakes topped in bananas foster, the melted chocolate and caramel adding unexpected texture to fluffy buttermilk and the overall sweetness assuring no additional syrup was necessary.

swapping out share plates on request, a necessity for those not wanting to mix sweet with savory, it was after another round of grits that la cave’s egg “sandwich” arrived, the flavor highlighted by tomato plus a touch of heat while “loaded” tots were heavy but delicious thanks to bacon, cheddar and brown gravy.

finishing up sweet, a male server who scampered off after presenting one tiny piece of tepid french toast doing a disservice to what might have otherwise been a decent dish, it was after another skillet of chicken and waffles that another type of waffle was offered, this one riddled with cinnamon and topped with apples plus mixed berries that led nicely into pastries and cookies highlighted by a soft and chewy oatmeal raisin round plus an incredibly light raspberry muffin that turned out to be gluten-free.

four stars:  smartly designed for the sort of guests typically visiting wynn, lacavewine and food hideaway’s butler-style brunch offers good value for just $42 per person thanks to well-designed plates, professional service and the sort of room conducive to quiet conversation and relaxation.

oozing class.. the wynns has a reputation for finesse and luxury. it met all our expectations. we visited lacaveearly 2013 during one of our late night adventures. hearing wonderful reviews we were excited to discover what food the wynns had to offer.

we were greeted by a group of well dresses waitresses, who although a little snobby, were perfectly polite. seated promptly we took in the dark interior. the ominous yet vibrant decor was a paradigm of all the chill and suave of vegas.

we had high expectations of the food. it did not disappoint.

if your wallet is prepared, it is an amazing meal, in the best hotel, in one of the fastest cities in the world.

created by michael morton, co-founder of the n9ne group, lacaveis an underrated small-plates restaurant at the wynn. their weekend brunch is an all you can eat feast served butler style — meaning the servers walk around with trays of food and you pick what you want, like a dim sum place. it is more expensive than the buffet ($48 for adults and $28 for kids under 12) and with a less diverse selection, but the quality of food is better and (for all you lazy people out there) you never have to leave your seat while dining. for an extra $20 you can get all you can drink bloody mary’s, mojitos, and caipirinhas. dishes that were served included: pork ribs – meaty, tender, with a little heat from the sauce. sliders – the angus beef patties were well seasoned and juicy with a bun that was soft and slightly chewy. pancakes – small portions are perfect for sampling. the light t

terrible service. i have never been to a tapas style restaurant where the staff did not clear my plate and silver between courses.... until now! finally at the end of service our server asked how everything was? i said, terrible! you did not clear our plates once between courses! the check will be fine. no response, he leaves abruptly and drops the check in front of me with nothing said. i take care of the check, and for the first time that i can recall, i tipped less than 20% to let him know how displeased i was with the service and added a nominal 5%.

bottom line, choose another wynn restaurant as there are plenty of other great options. lacavewill not make it if this keeps up. the only negative review i have after 7 nights on the combined property.

love the vegan options. chose lacavebecause like all other wynn restaurants there are great vegan/allergen menu options. i ordered a 'creamy' mushroom tortellini pasta dish that was amazing. my husband ordered the gluten-free salmon with pea shoots and red wine reduction. he hasn't stopped talking about it since. we also enjoyed the thematic wine tasting selections. we chose a regional theme - spain - and were impressed by the variety. i'll be back to lacavefor sure the next time i'm in vegas.

great little hideaway. ate at lacavewhen staying at encore a couple of months ago. did a little research ahead of time for a cool wine bar and this sounded like the right spot. and it was. the pizza was unbelievable and really reasonably priced (actually all the food was for the most part). shaved asparagus salad again was awesome. so tasty and the dressing was just hard to explain the amount of flavor it had. the spicy baked clams had the right amount of zip and had a creamy richness....it's lucky there was only 6 or so served or i would have buried double digits easy. had hamachi for the first time as well and that also could have been a favorite of the night. the only thing that was remotely dissapointing was the duck egg dish but it was still ok. food overall?....awesome 4.5/5. beer list was very extensive and had some beer i've never even heard of before and i've sampled a lot of beers from around the world....wine list was extensive as well (like over 300) and they had some reasonable bottles on the list which was awesome. will be returning on my next trip.....lucky we go a few times a year.....

an evening at la cave. yesterday, i decided i might as well try out wynn's new tapas bar for late lunch/early dinner. and hey, why not? it's already getting plenty of buzz, and i was already getting mighty hungry.

and thank goodness curiosity got the best of me! i started off with the buttermilk bleu cheese plate, and a lovely wedge of this stinky goodness arrived alongside toasted mini baguette slices and fig jam. for some reason the bread was at room temperature, but that was quickly forgiven when i dove into the heavenly cheese paired with that divine fig jam! (hopefully in the future, they'll make fresh batches of toasted baguette.)

from there, it was onto my pizza... err, "flatbread". i ordered a flatbread with roasted tomatoes, micro mozzarella, and capers, which is essentially a pizza margherita shaped more rectangularly, and with the basil swapped out in favor of the capers. but whatever one wants to call it, one can't deny it's tasty! the roasted tomatoes were sweet and tangy, and the salty capers provided the perfect balance and contrast. the mozzarella melted beautifully, and the crust was soft and pillowy. this definitely makes my "top 10 pizzas in vegas" list!

and of course, what good meal is complete without dessert? i couldn't help myself, i had to try the "american chocolate cake". and trust me, if you're the kind of american who can never get enough chocolate, you'll love this cake! actually, there's a thin layer of cake hidden somewhere in the midst of a beautiful mold of chocolate mousse covered in chocolate ganache. oh, and there's a thin chocolate wafer cookie on the bottom. and oh my, this was so perfectly sweet and smooth and creamy that i had to hold myself back from licking the plate!

all in all, my first impression of lacavewas quite strong. again, my one small quibble was over the toasted baguette, and that can easily be fixed. otherwise, the food was terrific, service was strong, and i'll likely be back soon to take full advantage of their wine list!