Grand Lux Café
Coffee
Red Velvet Pancakes – Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes with a Hint of Cocoa, Chocolate Chips and Cream Cheese Frosting
Caramel Banana-Nut French Toast – Our Brioche French Toast Topped with Sauteed Bananas, Pecans and House-Made Caramel Sauce
Fried Chicken and Waffles – Topped with Crispy Fried Chicken Strips and Pecan Honey-Butter Sauce
Warm Sticky Bun Bread Pudding – Served with Whiskey Sauce, Sugared Pecans and Whipped Cream
“The Best” Carrot Cake – Citrus Cream Cheese Icing
An ‘upscale’ concept from the team behind The Cheesecake Factory I’d probably walked past Grand Lux Café one hundred times before realizing the ever bustling restaurant was open 24/7, a strong selling point given my early waking hours that led to further investigation of a menu that seemed perfect for a touristy weekend with visiting family. Somewhat brasserie in design with gold garnish and heavy fabrics plus a “patio” on the casino floor it was moments to seven on a Saturday morning that our trio was seated overlooking the Venetian’s lingering late-night revelers alongside the morning check-outs and with immense menus soon perused selections were made – a sweet and gluttonous affair slow to arrive and marred by slow refills as staff seemed to be idling into shift change. Admittedly more than a little puckish when plates were delivered nearly forty-five minutes later it was with relieved but bemused smiles that the three of us first laid eyes on the constituents of our $80 affair and although what was ordered would have been better suited for a half-dozen, the majority of it was worth the wait – an aggressively spiced carrot cake loaded with nuts plus shredded coconut and some of the thickest custard-drenched French Toast I’ve found both amongst the city’s best.
TWO AND A HALF STARS: Featuring average service and solid American food in big portions at a fair price I cannot really say that I found Grand Lux Café any more ‘upscale’ than it’s ubiquitous sister but happy to indulge in a gluttonous breakfast complete with dessert I definitely understand the appeal. Certainly not a place worth the hour long weekend waits nor somewhere I’ll be visiting for dinner I look forward to seeing how The Palazzo location stacks up the next time I’ve friends or family in town. Touristy? Sure…but what better city to occasionally embrace that role?
RECOMMENDED: Carrot Cake and French Toast – both reference standard for the 702.
AVOID: Bread Pudding was average and served lukewarm, chicken was too greasy though the waffle’s buttery crunch certainly helped.
TIP: If available a seat on the ‘patio’ overlooking the casino floor makes for great people watching, particularly as the late night crowd stumbles home in drunken disarray; be weary of shift changes when the hour approaches 8:00am, however, as tables seem to occasionally get ‘lost.’
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor
