Guy Fieri's Cherokee Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in Painttown Community

Less than remarkable. Had a group of 6, so we decided to start with some shareable appetizers. Got the Jalapeno Pig Poppers, Lobster Lollipops, and the Pretzel Pig Pile. The Jalapenos were barely roasted, leaving them tough. Fully roasted or raw would have been better. The Lobster Lollipops had tiny bits of lobster meat with a LOT of breading, although the cheesy topping on the fries that came in the pan was delightful. Not a lot of lobster for $22.95. The Pretzel Pig Pile was pretty good, but nothing truly special. For entrees, we had a variety of menu items including the Bourbon Brown Sugar BBQ chicken wings, described as brined, dry-rubbed, roasted and fried to a crispy perfection...served with crispy onion straws. Wings were not crispy, instead the skin was tough and rubbery (although they came of the kitchen quite hot), and there were no crispy onion straws on the plate. The flavor was OK, but again, nothing that rose to the level of a FoodTV star's cuisine. Taco Mac, Hooters, even KFC have better wings...for a lot less $. Another person had the Motley Que Pulled Pork Sandwich. I had a taste. The pork was truly pulled pork versus chopped or sliced...so an A+ there. I was a bit dry but passed for reasonable BBQ. In North Carolina, you'd better serve really good BBQ, or don't serve it at all. This would not make the cut for BBQ in NC. Yet another couple shared the American Royal Ribs. These were genuinely good ribs. Tender, well-smoked, well-seasoned. I had one, and now wish I had ordered them instead. My entree was the Bacon Mac-and-cheese Burger. Guy's award-winning signature burger. The description stated "Voted Best Burger in Las Vegas by Seven Magazine; Winner of New York City Food + Wine Festival's Burger Bash." Not sure who the judges were, but they obviously hadn't eaten too many burgers. Our very nice server asked how I'd like mine done. I asked for medium-rare. She stated for medium rare, I would need to upgrade to the Kobe beef for an extra $3.00. This was already a $19.00 burger, so now I'm at $22.00 for essentially a bacon cheeseburger. Nonetheless, I wanted a Guy signature burger. Mine came out with a single, thin, 'smashed' patty that was over-cooked past well done, and crunchy. The mac-and-cheese was tasteless, and the bacon was tough, not crispy. The bun, however was fresh. The Donkey Sauce was basically a garlic aioli, and had maybe a dollop...not enough to add any moisture to the completely dry Kobe ground beef. Fuddruckers is a better burger for 1/2 the price. Our experience was a good one, due to the politeness and attentiveness of the servers. No one complained, or sent anything back. That would be bad form. And at a signature Guy F. restaurant, there should be no need to send anything back...right? It should have been properly cooked and then checked by the expeditor before making it to the floor...right? By the way, the restaurant was NOT busy. We were maybe in the company of 10 or 12 other patrons in a fairly large establishment. So no excuse for kitchen staff being in the weeds. On the other hand, we went the food court for lunch the next day...to the Gordon Ramsey 'labeled' fast food places. Had really, really good lobster bisque with large chunks of lobster meat. A cup was enough for two to share. Also had the Fish N & Chips. Perfect! Some of our pals had the pizza, also really good. And others got the chicken salad sandwich. It was huge, and very tasty. And our lunch tab was about 1/3 of our dinner tab from the night before a Fieri's. (excluding cocktails). This was my first Guy F. restaurant experience. I was really excited when we got reservations, but sorry to say, it was a lot less than I had expected and hoped for. I'm sure others have had good experiences here, and maybe this was just an 'off' night for them. We'll try some other restaurants in the casino next...

Went to the Cherokee casino Thursday 9/28 and after checking in realized we were too late for lunch so at 4pm we decided to have a few appetizers to hold us over before dinner later in the evening. The staff was very good and we were seated and got our drinks quickly. The food however was not up to par from a celebrity Chef owned restaurant.

My wife order the lobster lollipops and there was more batter than lobster, and the lobster there was, was like eating rubber. I ordered the trash can nachos which are served in a can and emptied at the table. The problem with this presentation is everything is assembled/layered in this can. So you add chips, hot cheese, hot barbecue pork, and black beans in this device, let it sit a while and by the time it’s brought to the table all the chips have steamed in this can and it’s a soggy, soft mess without a crisp chip on the plate. Despite that we decided to try it. The first bite I crunched down on a bone hidden in the pulled pork, digging into and slicing my gums. The waitress apologized and took it away at at my request deducting it from the bill.

Upon leaving I asked for the manager who took a bit to arrive, which seemed odd as they had just opened and there were few tables seated. I described what happened to him and he was pleasant enough. When I asked what to do if a medical follow up was required later, he looked genuinely confused and said he had to ask his boss and left to make a phone call. I would expect there would have been in effect a protocol for medical issues the manager would immediately be aware of. After about 10 minutes he returned and said that if there was going to be any need for future follow up he would have to call paramedics and asked if I wanted to wait for them to arrive. As it had already been around 20 minutes to that point I declined as my wife was out in the lobby waiting. His answer to that was very matter of fact and disingenuous, just kind of business as usual. I’m sure they get their share of customers trying to pull one over, but this wasn’t the case, and the blood on the napkin on the plate should have given that em away, but I do understand that there are policies and procedures he had to follow. Not that I was asking, or wanted really, but he offered nothing to show his sincerity; not an invite to come back snd give them another try, or even a complimentary desert to go. Just business as usual I guess.

So, food: D-, management: C, rest of...

UPDATE: Nine months later we returned to Guy’s (one week after he visited) and the first time it was the service that was suspect. This time our server was great and one of the best I’ve ever had while coming to Harrah’s for nearly 20 years. This time it was the food that wasn’t on par. We ordered the Trash Can Nachos again and this time I couldn’t even find a sign of pulled pork, just the BBQ sauce. We got the side of smoked street corn and it was bland and honestly it was like they poured a can of creamed corn in a skillet, put it in a smoker for a bit, and then served it. Had the brussel sprouts and they were overly charred and like ash. Tried the bread pudding and it was moist and delicious, but not worth $15. Overall, this is a restaurant that’s still finding its way and could use a little more consistency.

The prices were surprisingly less than expected if you compare it to his other restaurants. The food was a trip to Flavor Town as advertised, but the service was beyond lackluster for a Guy restaurant. My wife caught our server standing outside the bathroom tucking his shirt in with his pants half down and returning to the floor after without washing his hands. He then went on to spill a glass of wine all over a customer behind me and some splattered on my legs (was never asked if everything was fine). The manager hid as they told her they couldn’t comp the drink and dessert she ordered. WHAAAAT?? This lady’s nice clothes were ruined! The server then hovered over me waiting to watch me write down the tip and sign the receipt. Very odd. I know it’s hard to find quality employees at such a massive place in the middle of nowhere, but at least have some quality training. Hopefully your experience outside the...