The Chef Truck — Restaurant in Paradise

Disappointment is an absolute understatement.

Look, Chef is one of my all-time favorite films and Cuabnos are one of my all-time favorite sandwiches. I know not everything in Vegas is going to be great, but considering the names behind this restaurant and the idea for it, it's such a shame of what the place is actually like. Maybe they were better at the beginning or even just before I visited because it seems that they made some major changes just before I stopped by.

Just a few days before visiting, I checked the hours which showed they were open everyday for lunch and as early as 9am on weekends. Well I stopped by at 10am Sunday and they were closed, only to find out they changed hours to dinner only wed-sun and closed mon/tues. When I asked the cashier he said they recently laid off half the staff and changed the menu, adding "you know how these companies are". And with his tone, it seems like the Chef Truck is taking a deep dive for rock bottom. The food didn't help either.

Starting off with the taquitos. How are these taquitos? The cashier mentioned it was huge but it's just a regular flower tortilla rolled up. It wasn't even fried. The whole thing was still soft and cold. The chicken was bland and there was nothing special about it even though the cashier added that it always sells out first.

Now the grilled cheese. It was good, it was cheesy, and the bread was toasted nicely. Granted the menu reads exactly what you get, but with that, you still expect more because of where you get it from. It's nothing you can't make at home.

And finally, the cubano. The sandwich for which made Chef Carl Casper who he is in the film. This, this isn't it. While sitting and waiting for the restaurant to open, we saw two workers wheel a cart full of pre-made sandwiches from the hotel's kitchen. Granted there's nothing in the sandwich that would make it soggy or "ruin" the sandwich, but it just feels lazy and unnecessary.

They don't even use Cuban bread. The menu just says "pressed buttered roll". Ok then. Something I did not pay attention to at first is the salsa verde. What? Since when does a Cubano have salsa verde? That isn't a Cuban sandwich anymore. The meat was dry and bland, there was barely any ham, and the one slice of cheese was just put on one side of the sandwich. It was a poorly made and poorly tasting Cubano.

Such a shame. I absolutely love Roy Choi and Jon Favreau, and it's almost heartbreaking to have...

I love Roy Choi and I love Best Friend. When I heard about The Chef Truck opening, I knew I had to try it. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical after reading reviews but I am so glad that I ordered all the things. It did NOT disappoint! We brought our kids 8 & 11 and they said that The Chef Truck was one of their favorite things that we did during our stay.

We ordered:

The Chef Truck Cubano: 5/5 The sandwich was grilled to perfection and generously filled with pork, ham, pickles and mustard.

Pork Medianoche sandwich: 5/5 This sandwich surprised us! The flavor was on point and was like no other sandwich we have ever had. My husband never raves about food and he couldn’t stop talking about this sandwich.

Famous Grilled Cheese: 5/5 Our kids are picky about their grilled cheese and they both gave two thumbs up on this one. The bread was thick, soft, buttery and grilled to perfection. The cheese had the perfect stretch and the burnt cheese on the outside of the crust was my favorite part!

Molten Chocolate Cake: 5/5 We tried this while it was warm and gooey. It was absolutely delicious! The different textures of chocolate was Chef’s kiss!

Beignets: 4/5 I’m not a donut or beignets fan but I still had to try. The whipped cream and powdered sugar made them extra tasty.

Plantain Chips with Sala Verde (we were also able to try): 5/5 The plantain chips were fried and seasoned perfectly but the salsa verde elevated them. Roy needs to bottle up that salsa verde, I would be buying it by the gallon!

Price: 5/5 Great price for Vegas and great portion sizes for the money!

Danny, who helped us, also made the experience that much better! He was kind from the moment that we walked up to order. He informed us that The Chef Truck Cubano was vegetarian when ordering. He not only gave us the scoop on the food but talked to us about the Chef movie. He also told our kids to look for baby yoda in one of the animated truck displays. My daughter even came home and drew a picture of the truck and her experience. (The lines on her face are pieces of hair haha). Thank you Danny for giving our family this memorable experience!

I would highly recommend and I can’t wait to try more menu items on...

A fun, fantastic, delicious concept! We loved the Chef movie and were pleasantly surprised when we happened upon this truck on our recent trip to Vegas! The staff was friendly and welcoming and I was torn between a few options and the staff was knowledgeable and eager to answer questions and give recommendations about the food! It was fun realizing they are cooking up grub right on the truck! A working food truck, inside of a casino!? What a concept! We love to see it!

We ended up ordering the Medianoche, Ham & Cheese Croquettes and a Pineapple Agua Fresca for take away. We got a green sauce on the side that I think was a Chimichurri and it was absolutely delightful. We were staying at the Aria towers and walked it back with us to eat in our room. When we got back everything was packaged well and still piping hot! The sandwich was hot and fresh! The bread was so good. The cheese on the sandwich was even still melty! The croquettes didn’t look super impressive but wow, they packed a punch! Delightful little salty, cheesy, puffs of flavor, even better when dipped in the chimi! Washed down with the Pineapple Aqua Fresca, it was a perfect lunch!

I can not recommend this spot enough! A word to the readers though, just pay attention to the menu! It seems some reviewers are upset that the Cubano isn’t a traditional Cubano. Their Cubano is their take on a vegetarian Cubano. I bet it’s delicious but if a more traditional cubano is what you’re after, order the Medianoche! Can’t wait to come back...