Dominique Ansel — Restaurant in Paradise

I cannot overemphasize the high level of service I received at Dominique Ansel for my recent wedding in April 2023. The Caesar's Palace staff was impeccable, prompt, and of the utmost highest quality. I have spent the last 15 years immersed in fine dining, both as a patron and professionally, and was already well-familiar with Dominique Ansel's reputation and artistry. The SoHo bakery is beloved to me for fruit tarts and pie nights. Having a wedding cake from the Las Vegas location to celebrate our special day was a natural and obvious choice.

I reached out to the LV location directly earlier this year to coordinate reserving several pastries for my wedding cake, and the General Manager, Bobbi-Jo Lyman, immediately responded with excitement, a willingness to accommodate, and incredible competency with the logistics required to execute this project. I left our initial conversation with complete confidence and vast excitement for the big day, as this was the final component to bring it all together.

From a technical standpoint alone, I knew I would be blown away. But the shock and awe lingered with every single interaction I had while at Caesar's at Dominique Ansel. From true concierge service from Bobbi-Jo, generously providing us a behind-the-scenes look at the bakery, a taste of the incredible seasonal Cronuts and new treats, and deftly guiding us in our selection of pastries, to the pure overall whimsy of the brand itself, we were blown away. We ended up selecting one of each of the Lucky 7 series and a strawberry chiffon cake. Bobbi-Jo, Rahel, and the entire LV Dominique Ansel team ensured that every single element was executed to perfection, and then some. She assuaged my myriad anxieties on the transportation logistics and storage, and we were well on our way.

Needless to say, my entire party was enrapt with the visual perfection, the balance of flavors, the incredible freshness of ingredients, and the cheeky flavor pairings. The Las Vegas location is far and above the most unique example of Dominique Ansel store I have experienced and the theming of the selection is unparalleled. The artistry of the visual presentation, flawless tempering of the chocolate, which lent itself to a level of perfection not unlike a smaller-scale Amaury Guichon, and exceptionally thoughtful packaging made them almost impossible to eat; we felt truly privileged to experience all seven together. Notable standouts: the fluff and tart calamansi mousse in the goldfish, the buttery, concentrated roast banana jam in the feather, the perfect crunch of the feuilletine in the piggy bank, and the exquisite tannins in the jasmine custard of the fortune cookie blew our collective minds. The strawberry chiffon cake was a visual showstopper and equally perfect.

It was hard to believe that the quality could exceed that, and yet, they continually impressed. The entremet perfection was matched by the sincere, intentional, and completely perfect Cronut flavors. I had the stroke of luck to experience both calamansi and creme fraiche alongside mandarin and matcha, and was in pure bliss tasting the electricity and duality of this study in citrus, especially augmented by the rich, but similarly austere complementary flavors. There is no better or more special breakfast on the Strip. The cookie shots were precious and delicious, the DKA completely distinct and yet so nostalgic, the coffee nice and dark, and the merch incredibly cute. At any hour, it is an absolute essential destination.

There is simply too much to praise, and I firmly believe that is due to the tight, flawless staff execution of the Dominique Ansel brand and commitment to quality. No detail is left untouched, no patron dissatisfied. The staff embodies the true nature of peak hospitality. My hats off to Bobbi-Jo and the entire staff of the Las Vegas Dominique Ansel. We will be back every time we are in Vegas, and will forever consider these cakes a beloved and special part of...

My friend went here and told me about it and I told her, “No!!!! That’s the original maker of cronuts!” Years ago, I remember reading about ppl queuing outside this NYC bakery, and wishing to taste cronuts. And some celebrity being told to go to the back of the queue when she cut in line. So this was major - donuts and cronuts are among my most favorite things - ice cream, not so much.

Days later, took the fam here, kid and baby in tow, got the almond croissant, Perfect Little Egg sandwich, and cronut, plus ‘milk and cookie shots’ – a cookie in the shape of a cup, with milk inside of it. A lady working there told us we were supposed to consume that within 5 mins., or the cup would start leaking. I thought this creation was a good concept, but the cookie was (it had to be) thick, so a bit tougher to chew. Flavor-wise, good. The milk tasted rich, and had some custardy flavor to it. Not sweet.

My husband appreciated the richness of the soufflé-ish egg in the sandwich. He’s also a chef, and worked for Bouchon Bakery here many years ago. I liked how the portion was small, so that was a good balance there.

The almond croissant and cronut weren’t freshly baked, or warm (Monday night). On the box, there were instructions on how to best enjoy the pastries, and something about not reheating them, I think. Either way, this croissant didn’t quite turn out to be what I expected, but this wasn’t the first time my experience fell short of my expectations. For what it’s worth, it’s hard to live up to anyone’s expectations of what might be ‘the best.’ I think it definitely would have been a much more positive experience if we had this freshly baked.

Same sentiments for the cronut. I was underwhelmed, and we had the variety with the chocolate mousse thing in it + some pink berry thing. I usually prefer my pastries and coffee plain. I feel like anything else added only distracts from the quality of the food/drink. While I thought the raspberry and chocolate additions were nice, I wished the plain version were available. I also wished the cronut were slightly sweeter. I’m just unrefined, I think.

Hot chocolate - bland and very watered down. Maybe this was intentional, so the drink takes a step back and allows you to taste the food. But idk, I was looking for something rich - not like the one from Angelina in Paris - but definitely not this bland, either. I do feel bad that I wasn’t able to appreciate the works of this celebrated chef. And I know he worked hard for his status, and all the chefs in the kitchen looked exhausted. I somehow know (of) the work that goes into making food, and pastries are a whole ‘nother level of difficult. Afaik.

Maybe I’m just a(n) stupid Américain. But I’d be lying if I said that my experience didn’t have me thinking, “If this is the best, maybe I want something less.” Like the imitation cronuts that we have around town. Blasphemous, I know. Sorry.

I do believe what Chef Jonathan Yao said, that food is a deeply personal experience. I’m still giving this place 5 stars - maybe you'll go there and appreciate Chef Dominique Ansel's works. They're worth trying...

Wow!! I can’t even say enough about The Amazing Michael and his staff!! My daughter got married on Saturday in Vegas and the night before the big day she got a call saying her cake order fell through. You can imagine how disappointed and stressed the bride my daughter was less than 24 hours before her Big Day!! As any mother would do I was on Cake Mission, take note it’s 34 degrees sorry I’m from Canada you can do the conversion 😂. To find the perfect cake and have it delivered in less than 24 hours not an option and little empathy, until I walked into Dominque in Cesar’s Palace my own hotel !! I waited in line if you have never been trust me it’s worth the wait !! I was greeted with a friendly smile I wish I remembered her name because she was there at the time and in the morning when I came to pick up and she remembered me, great customer service !!! Anyways I explained my situation and she said let me find Michael he is amazing and can help you. I work in customer service and right away I felt Michael’s staff really respected him 😊 ok I know it’s a long one but I hope y’all keep readying, you won’t regret it !! I meet Michael he is a man of tall stature in a suit very professional debonair if I should say ! In a nut shell I tell him my husband of 32 years and her father passed away 3 years ago And planning the perfect wedding without having her daddy walk her down the isle nothing made sense to she said Ma we have decided Vegas dad would want me to just fly by the seat of my pants, In saying that the cake I chose was not a fancy traditional wedding cake. From the time she could eat all she wanted was waffles so her daddy would always make her waffles. When I walked into ‘Michael’s bakery and there was a row of these stacks of waffles and my heart said that was it !!! You can’t even call them just waffles until you try them!! Michael was able to create the most simple but extremely magical arrangement for the cutting of the cake!! I am one of a million plus people that walk through that bakery when I went to pick it up I was met with a few staff members that were so excited for me and had such empathy!! My daughter wanted a pic of what I chose for her and I said no baby girl you will sit at cake time!! I left with big hugs and smiles. Even you Michael 🤗🤗 I think we can all only image the look and happy tears on my daughters face when she opened up the box had no idea what to expect , with a make shift plastic knife with ribbons she smiles through tears and says “daddy” 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 Michael and family at Dominque’s you will always have a warm spot in all our hearts!! From our family to yours we...