TRES Cazuelas Artisanal Latin Cuisine — Restaurant in Summerlin South

I want to start this review by saying the server was great and very accommodating and everyone was very friendly. However, my wifes family was down visiting from California and we decided to check this place out- major disappointment- especially after paying almost $250 bucks for 4 adults and 3 kids. Sangria was bland, very tannic, and only tasted of cinnamon. Plus it was served to my wife in a glass that had a huge chip and crack around the rim. Very dangerous, but ah well, not a biggie. We ordered a few apps, including a short rib tapa that was deep fried and very bland. No salt, no seasoning, served alongside bland oil with chopped curley parsley. Hope that wasnt their version of chimichurri. Not a big deal, just attention to detail. Then came the kids quesdillas- should be simple. However, the fries came out covered in burnt deep fryer pieces from uncleaned oil. Trying not too be rude, i asked the server to ask the chef what seasonings they put on the fries, and afted checking, she told us that they use salt, pepper, and oregano. It mildly upset me that there was burnt deep fryer crusties completely covering the kids fries, but more so the fact the "chefs" blatently let those fries leave the kitchen knowing they were covered in God knows what. And then to lie to us, shame. I know the difference between salt, pepper, and fresh oregano. This wasnt that. It wasnt even burned oregano- it was obviously uncleaned burnt oil crusties from every food item they put into that fryer and never cleaned. Very upsetting. Then the food came. Roasted chicken was late because they didn't have it prepped. I understamd the kitchen not wanting to "86" an item or not have it available, but do not tell us it is available and then have it come out 35 minutes later after everyone else was almost finished eating. When it did finally come out, it was a half butchered sloppily done thigh and leg- it seemed!? Dry meat, soggy skin, again- disappointing. My wife's and mother in law's paella was overly salty and tasted of old seafood and excessive tomato bouillon cubes, it was not crispy on the bottm- as it should be. The worst part was the shellfish. Both the mussels and clams were horribly dirty, full of sand, silt, and obviously not cleaned. After mentioning this, the server must have talked to the owner, who then came out and addressed the lack of attention and failed preparation. I can deal with no crispy bottom, not a deal breaker. Too much salt and "fishy" taste, frustrating for sure, especially at almost $50 bucks. However, dirty- really dirty shellfish? No. His answer was "I didnt raise the clams" then a mild laugh. He was friendly, but that answer is totally unacceptable. Not taking ownership of the issue and instead justifying poor preparation, big disappointment. My steak was ordered medium and came well done, with asparagus that was not trimmed, again, no biggie. After offering a free dessert which we politely declined, my brother in law went to pay. It was explained to him again that the clams were not their fault and that they just lost their head cook the night before. Shame. Again, we give more grace than most and try not too be bothersome with issues. We only ask that issues get addressed accordingly and not justified. Especially when paying $250 bucks for dinner. Myself, my wife, and brother in law have been in food service as chefs and restaurant owners for many years. Mistakes like these happen- however they need to be dealt with, addressed, and never happen again. Very disappointijg dinner and we will unfortunately never be back. The reviews looked exciting, but what we received never even came close. Overcooked steak? It happens. Dirty clams? Say sorry, talk to the cooks, and take it off the bill considering we didn't eat half of it. Burnt deep fryer pieces ALL over the kids fries? The cooks saw that and didnt even care, then lied about it. Unacceptable. Please do better for your guests. Great concept, poor execution- at least for us. Hope it gets fixed and we get another shot. Good luck guys, wish...

Mother's day was my second time at this place, the first one was Valentine's. After seeing a great post on IG I decided to give this place a try for Valentine's because of the paella, I made reservations way in advance, and made sure to ask if they were going to have their regular menu in addition to the Valentine's menu, the guy over the phone said they will have only the Valentine's menu but they will also have paella (which was my main motive)... when we got there we were seated in a horrible place upstairs that has the worst decor ever, dirty walls, with dusty wall paintings, and a stinky carpet. My experience just got worst when I was unfortunate enough to have this lady server that has this look on her face like a deer in the headlights, she just looks amaze that people order food, really don't understand what goes through her head, but she is terrible at serving. She can't explain the food or the drinks and seems frustrated when I asked questions. I have to be honest and say that the food was pretty good, but was extremely disappointed that the guy over the phone lied to me and they didn't have the paella that day. kudos to the chef, but the place and the staff don't make it a valuable experience.

Then, I decided to give them a second chance and went for Mother's day, ohh surprise, same exact seating situation, second floor, last room, no views, THE DUNGEON, what an unpleasant place, same server DEJA VU, just that this time everything was worst, we ordered tapas and some brunch items. They gave us the store bought chips in a tiny cup, while I saw other tables getting a bigger plate...our empanadas came first after waiting about 30 minutes, then after other 30 min came the WORST LENTIL SOUP of my life (don't you order that), then 30 minutes more and the rest of the food showed up, everything was cold, my eggs Benedict were so bad because they were completely cold and didn't taste good. To top it off my husband ordered a diet coke and when he ordered another one, the blonde lady "server" told him they were running low in diet ( what a joke)...by the way they don't do free refills on sodas, but they don't give you the bottle or can either, so they double charge for fountain drink. Our check came and she screwed it, she charge us for sodas we didn't order and she up charge for the terrible lentil soup and the cold benedict. NEEDLESS TO SAY I WON'T BE GOING BACK, there is sooo many places in Vegas that deserve my money, this place needs to be shutdown or move to a pleasant location, renovate and get a new...

Update: Our 2nd visit here, on a business trip where my wife tagged along. I had a late evening, and our Uber ETA showed us arriving just before the they closed. I called and asked if they minded if we came in right before closing. They said no problem, come on in. We were greeted cheerfully and seated, and our waiter Brooks took excellent care of us. Restaurant still had a lot of people there, so it was lively and the atmosphere good. All the food, wine, and Jalapeno margarita were amazing, just like our first visit. This time we had the Bistro Chicken, Churrasco Pintxo, and Lamb Chops Moruña. Everything was delicious. It was refreshing to get off the strip and have good food with friendly people without the ridiculous strip prices and factory food quality. I've started recommending Tres Cazuelas to friends and colleagues.

First review: I have to admit, the reviews are so over the top that I was a bit skeptical. But we decided to give it a try on our last night here for a combined business/personal trip. As others have noted, the location and outside are lackluster. Inside, it is nicely decorated and any fears about the environment went away. Very nice Spanish music was playing- not too loud that we couldn't have conversation but loud enough to set the ambience. I started with the Jalapeno Margarita which was unique and very tasty. Then we had a few small plates- gambas al ajillo, pork belly pintxo, lamb chops, and piquillos rellenos with short rib, and shared a large plate chilean seabass. Everything was delicious and presented masterfully. I wanted to try a number of other dishes, but it was already too much food for the two of us. The short rib piquillos rellenos was probably my favorite dish. The gambas al aillo also stands out- its a common dish but their take on it is exceptional. I ordered a glass of wine from the wine list. It was a good price for a Napa cabernet. I didn't expect it to be good- I'm sort of a wine snob and most restaurant wine is not that good. I was pleasantly surprised- this was a very good wine. Everything was priced reasonably so our final tab was much less than a similar meal on the Strip. This was an early dinner before our 7pm show- just a short uber ride back to the Strip. As we were leaving, they were setting up for live music. It would have been nice to catch that-- next time! On top of this, the service was friendly, professional and prompt. Very good experience here- we'll come again with...