SW Steakhouse — Restaurant in Paradise

Such a superb option for a dinner out. Lovely atmosphere, the personnel and service were very kind and attentive to all my needs, making me feel welcomed and comfortable; the food was exceptional and the Lake of Dreams added some background entertainment.

Definitely a recommendation to treat yourself and your loved ones.

Having the Lake of Dreams in the patio which combined with the soft lighting adds a charm to this restaurant; the acustics are not not a problem to truly enjoy a lovely night (at least at the patio where I was seating)

I had a 10oz Dry aged New York Wagyu Stake, perfect tenderness; accompanied by the Maine lobster Sardinian Gnocchi. Dishes were full of flavor, absolutely delicious and enjoyable, my congratulations to the cheff and kitchen staff.

The service provided by all the personel was exceptional, from the hostesses at the entrace, and specially every single person in the patio that in one way to another made sure I had what I needed to fully enjoy my night. I couldn't catch all their names, but I was very pleased and satisfied with their service, and wanted to highlight a few: Robert was my main waiter, he offered an excellent service, always timely and very very veeery pleasant in all his interactions, very extraordinary service. Jonathan was also exceptional, I don't think that he had my table assigned, but I guess he noticed my reaction when I saw him bringing a tiny chair for the lady at one of his other tables (it was for for her to place her purse). I had no idea he caught that, but decided to bring one for my purse as well. Very cute gesture. Overall he was very pleasant and kind.

The experience at SW was indeed a treat to all my senses.

Recommendations Make reservations online a few days in advance. It is quick and  simple. Be aware the restaurant has an inside and a patio area, the patio is the best option to see the Lake of Dreams, but seating there is not guaranteed. Go after dark. Although most places with a patio can be nice during sunset (especially if there is a nice view of it), Vegas temperatures can get excessively hot, it is more relaxing to go when it is cooler and the lighting is more charming. (Besides, most likely the sunset view can't be appreciated from the patio anyway)

**Spoiler alert about Lake of Dreams It is enjoyable, without a doubt a massive production of especial effects (opened to the public in 2005), but I see it more as a nice background entertainment, I would not consider it a show per say.

There is background music, lighting effects and projections at the wall (starting after dusk, which is another reason to start your dinner then) and every 30 minutes there is a more planned/syncronized mini-show that last for a few minutes featuring mechanical characters and some other props. Every mini-show is different.

In my oppinion the frog, toucan and flowers were cool, but honestly I thought the heads were kind of creepy and I feel there is so much more potential for the projections, not only during the mini shows every 30 minutes, also for the background projections in between shows (in a way the in between shows, it kind of remained me the windows screensavers from back in the day) Especially from the point of view of being at a table at a high end restaurant, the "in between" projections and choice of music could use some improvements to make the experience a bit more special.

All this with the intention to help other guests to manage expectations: it is not a show with dinner. It is a dinner with background entertainment. The stars are the food and service. By knowing that you will be set for a pleasant and memorable...

Update: December 2024: I cannot believe the review I am about to write is about SW - as we've eaten there numerous times over many years and until this visit, it was always superb! I don't know what has happened since I last visited in July 2024, but something has gone terribly wrong there. Our reservation was at 5:30pm (we were seated on the patio very promptly), and we didn't leave until about 8:45pm! Over 3 hours for dinner! The waiters just seemed to be "absent." Two of our party (there were 4) had been talking for weeks about how they couldn't wait to have an old-fashioned at SW - because of all the places we've tried together - they say SW makes the very best ones. As soon as they took a sip, they both said something was wrong - this was not the old-fashioned they'd had numerous times before. When this was pointed out to our server, he said, "Each bartender makes them differently, so that is to be expected." Really??!! My hubby asked for a cocktail menu after he'd finished his drink and noticed there were two kinds of old-fashions on the menu (we never knew that), so he ordered the other one. It was exactly as he'd remembered! The waiter surely should have figured that out right away. Shame on him. All of the dinner was excellent - except for the steaks. They were very tough and chewy - not at all what you'd expect from a steakhouse - let alone SW. That, along with the ridiculous amount of time it took to be served and getting the wrong drinks just deflated all of us. When I wrote to them privately to share the disappointing experience, I received a response with an apology and an offer of $50 for my next visit; $50 does not even take care of one uneatable steak, let alone two. We won't be back.

July 2024: We had the opportunity to return to this fabulous restaurant 12 days ago; I wanted to review it directly (an invitation is sent to your email), but unfortunately, they only allow for a brief window to complete it (which has closed), so I'm choosing to do so here. We started with the Chopped Salad. I had my first-ever chopped salad at Hank's (at GVR) years ago, and it was amazing; I've ordered it at numerous other restaurants since then and none has come close to being as yummy as Hank's - including here - it was just 'meh.' Next was the King Crab with The Potato-Bacon Pave for a side. The crab was perfect! So delicious! The Potato-Bacon Pave had no bacon - go figure. That was just 'meh' as well. Having two out of three 'meh' dishes meant we had room for dessert. We chose the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Delicious!! We were actually pleased that we weren't full and had room in our tummies to try this dessert. I would have licked the plate if I was at home!! Added note: my daughter said the old-fashioned she ordered was the very best she has ever had anywhere! The service was wonderful - as always. Ryan, Daniel and Shannon took terrific care of us. I've always rated this place 5* across the board. The two 'meh' dishes caused me to drop that to 4* this time. An anomaly I'm sure....

We were staying at the Wynn and decided to dine at SW steakhouse again for my second time. When we arrived on a Saturday around 5:20pm without a reservation we were grateful the maitre d had a table for us. We asked for a table of 3 they said they couldn’t accommodate 2 since we are the only ones here. When we got seated our server was super nice and offered to give us a bigger table but he had to ask the maitre d . Of course he comes back and that is a no but he was so kind and nice he said the best he could do is to turn the table for us so the two of us could sit on the couch even though it was a bit tight we saved the one seat for our friend meeting us. We ordered the 40oz porter house it was cooked to perfection, however king crab we ordered I felt they need to use better quality king crab. The oysters were sandy and when we told our waiter he changed out a couple for us. So he was a sweet waiter.

Never the less the wine list is exceptional with great taste . we ordered two bottles of French wine and we all loved it. The only part I didn’t love was having to squeeze in a tight space with my friend so I was sitting next to him to accommodate a 3rd person, not exactly the best fine dining experience. I felt they were trying to sell more seats and the 3rd party wouldn’t arrive for another 15 mins so they didn’t want us to take up space. Which is understandable. At dinner my friend drank too fast because we were celebrating a small victory as well as celebrating our get together . With a bit of wine he got a bit tired bc he was second night fresh off the plane from half way across the world to attend CES convention. He sat there with his eyes closed for about 10 mins. Then a guy comes over aggressively rude and firm to asked us to leave, yes I completely understand it’s not table etiquette to rest your eyes at the table but I felt the guy shouldn’t have seated us if the restaurant didn’t want to accommodate a table of 3 and yes my friend was tired and at fault for resting his eye but u can ask for your customers to leave nicely instead of being so harsh . It was embarrassing for me since I have never been asked to leave a fine dining restaurant “Please get up and leave now!” I almost felt like making a fuss do u not want us to pay? A $1300 meal I would expect a bit of kindness and understanding…….maybe he could have whispered to ask us to leave instead of making a show for people around us to see. After we paid , I grabbed my wine that I haven’t even finished walked out the restaurant. I rather eat at wing lei than to get treated with...