Orla — Restaurant in Paradise

TL;DR: Just go here for dinner. You will not be disappointed! If you're a seafood person, order the Salt-Baked Sea Bream; you will not regret it. Oh. My. GOD. This meal was spectacular, start to finish. Right from the friendly, smiling greeting I received at the hostess stand, this entire experience was simply superb.

Start with the wine list: there's more than 1,000 bottles of wine on there. The depth and breadth of the wine list is impressive. But what caught my eye was that they have an Assyrtiko BY THE GLASS. It's rare to find an Assyrtiko on a wine list at all (sure, you'll find it in a Greek restaurant; that's cheating), but even then it's typically by the bottle. Assyrtiko by the glass is a first for me. (Full disclosure, I'm not an Assyrtiko fan, but I am a wine list fan, and the very presence of the Assyrtiko impressed me. That said,I went with the Puglia Primitivo. I'm Italian; I love a good Zin.)

The chef's appetizer was a zucchini ball, similar to (but not exactly) a kolokithokeftedes. I should have written down what it really was -- but either way, it was terrific, and a great start to an excellent meal.

My appetizer was the Marinated Big Eye Tuna, which was nicely presented -- but the most memorable aspect was the combination of flavors and textures: crispy falafel, whipped tahini, and spicy cucumber. OMG. Chef Michael Mina, of Egyptian origin, claims to combine "timeless flavors and textures with contemporary craft" -- and he totally nails it with this appetizer. The flavors are remarkable, the textures work wonderfully together, and the net effect is a simple-yet-remarkable appetizer that just keeps pleasurably tugging at your mouth memory, even hours later. It's not just an appetizer; it's an experience.

And speaking of experience, my main dish was the Salt-Baked Sea Bream. This is a dense, juicy white fish when properly prepared; and it's a dry, rubbery fish when overcooked. The challenge with Sea Bream is that the time between "perfectly cooked" and "overdone" is around 300 nanoseconds. ;-) And this is even more of a challenge when baked in salt.

Not surprisingly, Orla totally nailed the dish -- the fish was juicy and flaky and absolutely delicious. It felt wonderful on the tongue, and was truly a joy to eat. The salt crust was not overdone, the flavors were excellent, the oregano (and capers) vinaigrette worked well with the fish and the other flavors, and the bed of summer squash blended nicely to create a perfectly balanced dish with excellent flavors and wonderful textures.

But a salt-crusted sea bream is just as much about presentation as it is about taste and texture -- and Orla delivered flawlessly on the presentation. The fish was excellently and professionally "de-crusted" and presented tableside by Deliah (I'm sure I have spelled her name wrong; my apologies), who did everything with a smile and truly enjoys what she's doing. Deliah described every step in the presentation process as she performed them. Her presentation didn't just complete the Salt-Baked Sea Bream experience, it added to the experience.

And this entire meal was serviced by Jamal, a terrific waiter whose service and attention to detail (and recall of detail!) was impeccable.

As noted above, this meal was superb, start to finish. There is nothing I would have changed about it. I believe you will love your Orla dining experience as much as I enjoyed mine.

(I actually broke "travel tradition" and returned a second night. This time, I had the Phyllo-Crusted Petrale Sole with Caviar Cream Beurre Blanc, which was a unique and utterly delightful sole preparation. Priyanka, this evening's waitress, was fabulous.)

Standard disclaimers apply: I am merely a customer, I do not personally know any of the staff/employees or Chef Mina. I have not been asked to provide this review, nor will I receive anything in return for it. I was (and continue to be) genuinely impressed with this venue, and wanted to share my experience. Your mileage may vary -- but I think your experience will be quite similar to...

Food was tasty but way overpriced for what it was and when considering the whole experience. I don't envision myself coming back. We had a large group of 13 and had made a reservation for such. We got seated at the perimeter, the very outside of the restaurant, with our backs hanging out fully in the casino. Because one side of the seating was against a wall, there wasn't any ability for people on that side of the table to be able to leave to go to the bathroom, so off the bat the seating was actually separated into two separate smaller sections (tables separated by a gap) and our party got split up into two separate tables. For the rest of the night we just resigned ourselves to eating into smaller groups. I don't think a restaurant should offer seating for a large group unless they can actually accommodate this large group.

The seating felt quite cramped and uncomfortable and hardly felt like a luxurious experience since there were people strolling around the casino immediately behind me. I felt like I was in a mall food court. The food itself was quite tasty. Each item was done well. My favorite was actually the pan fried cheese and the various fish dishes were good too.

What I did not like was that when our table (meaning our smaller subgroup of 7), placed an order for multiple items including multiple appetizers and small plates as well as a couple of large entrees the waiter kept pressuring us to order more, saying that we had ordered way too little. We already came in not that hungry and we were already ordering at least a couple of different dishes for each person. But he kept pressuring us to order more saying that we definitely wouldn't have enough and that we didn't know what we were talking about. Later I heard that he did the same thing to the other small group. So we trusted him and ordered a a few more dishes including two more entrees. Well it turned out that was wayy too much as we had originally thought. The food was tasty and I felt bad for wasting it. It was way more than we needed. I wouldn't have been upset about it if we had chosen to order like that on our own but we were kind of pushed into it.

When the bill came out it was a rude awakening. Somehow our table of seven got charged $1,700 and including tax and tip it was over $2,100. So basically $300 a person. In retrospect I wonder if there was probably an accounting mistake and we should have asked for an itemized receipt. The other table had a bill that was $800, for reference. We asked the waiter who confirmed it was correct. Perhaps it's possible that maybe our food was just way more expensive? It's certainly didn't feel that way from the quality. We had just gone to Mott 32 the night before in an exclusive private dining room with excellent service and that was not cheap but about half the price.

All of this just led to bad memories at this place. There's many better places to spend your money in Vegas. I don't plan to...

Dinner reservation, the time of which the hostess scrupulously adhered to when I arrived 15 minutes early. Only when the reservation time arrived was I was ushered into the bowels of the dimly-lit restaurant. Originally intended to order the $80 Restaurant Week menu, but got diverted by The Orla Experience, which at $98 seemed to promise a great deal more variety at a slightly higher cost. Regular menu prices noted, although it's impossible the food amounts between the two menus were identical. Also decided on a $21 Sorento cocktail. Drink: It was nice, a bit sweet over citrusy. Once the glass was drained, I was not asked if I wanted another (or any other drink for that matter). Food: •The Greek ($23) - Big thick slice of feta, and more vinaigrette than ingredients to dress. Fresh. •Urfa Dusted Big Eye Tuna ($32) - Very good, although the tuna did not seem to be the focus. Falafel was perhaps a touch dry. •Whipped Chickpea Hummus with Pita ($14) - Bread was tender and hummus was delicious. •Macaroni Bechamel ($25) - My favorite of all the dishes, al dente pasta, very cheesy. •Toasted Orzo with Spicy Duck Ragout ($22) - Pasta was OK; the spicy component felt rather unpleasant on my tongue. •Chargrilled Branzino ($48) - Fish had good flake, a lot of seasoning skin-side. •Kebab Platter served with the Saffron Rice, Pita Bread ($168) - Rice was fantastic, every grain toothsome. The filet mignon and kofta pieces though were dry, overdone. Chicken dolma was OK. •Crispy Brussel Sprouts ($14) - Alright. •Lemon Olive Oil Semolina Cake ($?) - Slightly too dry (a common theme yah), which the delicious cream/pistachio/strawberry topping could not save. •Orla Rice Pudding ($14) - Don't believe I have ever eaten rice pudding. This dish, which quite possibly was perfectly prepared, did not make me a fan. Atmosphere - There's earth tones, tile, brass, and trees, which makes for an immersive and soothing space. Lighting, already low, was reduced even further shortly into the meal, possibly to enhance the tableside watch-me-light-this-dish-on-fire display I observed a few times; whatever it was seemed quite popular. Service - Friendly but a bit scattered. There looked to be a main server, a water bearer, a food deliverer and describer, but all three posts appeared to be stretched thin across the busy floor. Overall - I left full, at least. The majority of the food teetered too often into overdone for a truly...