The Guilt Free Glutton — Restaurant in Paradise

February 2022: Throughout the pandemic, we continued to drive in to GFG to get food to go & it has become a staple of our current lives. While I love dining in (Natalie has made this place is soooo comfortable & inviting) I don't always have time for a lengthy meal out. Honestly, I don't ever want to exist without food from GFG-- it's the reason I won't move to the East Coast. Really!

Nov. 2019: I, honestly, thought I wrote too much in my last review, so I stepped back to let others sing their praises...and they have. GFG has, rightfully, been awarded a Best of Las Vegas rating. Now is the time for them to be declared Best Date Place for parents of young kids.

Face it, parents need a comfortable, yummy, affordable place to escape to. The Strip is overrated and you can really only eat at noodle bars a few days a week. Make life special. Eat amazing food that makes the soul sing. Feel comfortable, eating 5 Star food, while wearing jeans and a sweater (or go dressed in Prada; everyone is treated with respect).

Date Night. Put it on the calendar for Friday. In PEN.

Spring 2019:

How do I love thee? Oh, sooooo many ways!! This was our first visit, but it certainly will not be our last. It's been twenty three hours since we were there and I am still salivating over what is one of the finest food experiences I have ever enjoyed. So here goes the review: This restaurant is not on any normal route. It's in an industrial section of town, near the airport. The signage is limited. Look for Paradise Pub. They share the same entrance door. Don't be off put by the smoky ingress, that quickly subsides once the threshold is crossed. The room is open, inviting, and eclectic. Our server/host Shayla is authentically engaging and It feels like a local's coffee shop, but, goodness, that belief would be limited and deceptive. (BTW, their coffee IS superb, but that's an aside). The menu has two distinct genres: healthy, guilt-free goodness and sinfully decadent yumminess. They also have a meal-prep menu for those who want fine dining on a daily at-home basis.

I digress... This IS affordable fine dining fare. I cannot say that enough. I had "The Glutton"; a melange of pork over baby potatoes, covered in a sauce that was an inducement to plate-licking. Pork belly, candied spicy bacon, and regular smoked bacon merged as individual tastes and had me making sounds which should be saved for the privacy of one's own home.

My husband had the "Chicken and Waffles". Forget anywhere else for this American staple. The maple syrup was kicked up with spice to accompany golden fried, crispy and moist chicken which rested on a perfectly textured homemade waffle. On top of this beauty lay a sunny side up egg which had a brilliantly runny yolk-just as it should be everywhere, but rarely is.

Our other family members went with the healthy side of the menu after we all shared the stuffed tots. These little nuggets of fun should start every meal. Each (and there are four) could make a light meal itself.

Back to the Healthy side: the Bowls are swiftly gaining a reputation as a way to find flavor and joy in life while staying well below 300 calories. In a town filled with many healthy options, this menu is clearly on top of that mountain.

It was hard to finish it all- there was just sooooo much to eat. Plan on pacing the meal for maximum effect.

Make no mistake, owners Vince and Natalee have created a hit. This is fine dining fare in a casual atmosphere and should be a go-to for locals, and...

Fortunate to find this when doing a search for good food near the airport. One of the best dining experiences we've had in a while. Will definitely return when we have the chance.

The peach lemonade was tasty. We ordered the Island Bowl and the award-winning chicken and waffles. Both were quite good. It was relatively quiet on a Monday night that was also Veteran's Day. Servers were prompt and the entire staff was friendly. The space is smallish but well decorated and plenty spacious for the relatively limited number of tables. Food came out fresh and piping hot.

The chicken was cooked well and had a tempura-like batter that stayed crisp and crunchy to the last piece. It had a bit of what seemed to be cayenne to give it a slight zing. There was a swirl of what I think was balsamic vinegar in with the syrup which cut through the sweetness and made it a bit less intense. The waffles themselves were rich and cake like, my wife described it as being like a donut.

There was enough of the Island Bowl to take home for a future lunch. It had a kick of heat that was almost too much, and she skipped eating the jalapenos. Chicken and waffles were sweet enough they made me re-think the s'mores milkshake I had my eye on (along with the $9.99 price). Definitely next time.

However, we were pleasantly surprised that the entire bill, for 2 entrees and a drink, was just $38.

Staff was in full production of meal prep - seems the business that shares the space has subscribers as well as a wide variety of grab and go items - entrees, salads, and more. It seems they have a good bit of support. It definitely seems like an option to consider if you are looking for good, quick, healthy options.

We were in town at South Point for an equestrian event, and the massive casino experience, industrialized food production, and lack of much of anything fresh or healthy is definitely not our scene. The contrast we found at Guilt-Free Glutton was an excellent counter to that and a highlight...

I ate here a year ago and the food was good and there was a dedicated gluten free fryer.

Completely different gluten free options this time. Now, hardly anything is gluten free. The wings, dates, all naturally gluten free- are not gf because they no longer keep a fryer gf. The Tacos are served on lettuce, instead of a corn tortilla??? Even the yogurt parfait has barley in it.

The menu is confusing, and the server didn't even know whether the date appetizer was gf or not. She had to go back and ask the kitchen. Like, how hard is it to label stuff as gf?

The Firecracker bowl had to be made without the sauce, so instead they seemingly soaked it in hot sauce. You can see that the steak bowl for my spouse has sauce on the top, and my shrimp one doesn't.

The shrimp were Overcooked and tough,you can see in the photo they are cooked into tight little circles, instead of a C shape. The carrots were almost raw. There were zucchini noodles, And inexplicably more zucchini slices getting mushy in the bottom of the bowl that they fill with broth. It was just one note of flavor- Tapatio. I'd rather have Chic-fil-A sauce, it has a better flavor profile.

My husband bowl was full of broccoli.

The strawberry lemonade was good.

The server doesn't use a tray, so they have to keep going back and forth to bring 2 people waters and drinks.

I went to the restroom, and a kitchen cook was in there on his phone and it smelled like vaping.

No wonder the food comes out so slowly.

What a...