A last ditch effort for a final cheese plate led me to ask Jay if we could stop here for a drink and a snack one night. We'd had such great success doing this at the now defunct Boulud's that I, for one, just assumed that great food, service, and atmosphere would be waiting for us again.
Welcome to disappointment.
Population: Us.
Stratta is billed as an Italian-style eatery; they are open for lunch and dinner, as well as late night, and maybe that explains why we thought their menu was so boring. The restaurant itself seemed rather small to us and it is open on all sides to the casino and main hallway that leads from the Wynn to the Encore. Their bar struck us as small and cramped - just a bar and nothing more. While there are tables all around the area that might make a person think that's part of Stratta's so-called lounge, we were informed by a rather snooty young lady that those tables were for paying customers.
Oh?
Do patrons at the bar eat and drink for free? 'Cause if they do sign us up and call us regulars!
She had to backtrack rather awkwardly then and explain that those tables were being used for dinner patrons and if we didn't have a reservation our only option was to sit at the bar ... where we unfortunately still had to pay for our food and booze.
View from the casino / lobby
The bartender was over-worked but tried his best - and he did make a pretty good drink. One of us ordered a Capri Cooler: Grey Goose Citron, Limoncello, Ginger Beer, Lemon Juice, and Basil leaves; while the other ordered a Pear Cosmopolitan: Absolut Pear Vodka, St. Germain, White Cranberry juice, and Lime. Both drinks were refreshing while packing a nice punch, but I preferred the Capri Cooler just a bit more because it wasn't quite as sweet as the Pear Cosmo.
Capri Cooler
Pear Cosmopolitan
The menu listed the cheese plate as a selection of artisan cheeses with a seasonal compote and warm cranberry-pistachio bread. We received a cheddar, a pepper cheese, and a blue cheese along with what looked like chunky applesauce and some very pretty, very nutty bread. So much for Eye-Talian inspired cuisine ... there's not a single cheese on that plate that can trace its milk of origin to Italy. This was, without a doubt, the lamest, least inspired cheese plate we tried during the whole trip.
Cheese plate with bread slugs ...
I honestly don't know what else to say. With the exception of Daniel Boulud's restaurant, all of our experiences with restaurant staff at the Wynn were mildly unpleasant to downright infuriating. We were amazed at the difference in staff demeanor between the Wynn and Encore considering that they are "sister" hotels and thanks to that noticeable difference the next time we are in Vegas we will not be frequenting any establishments at the Wynn. They may be under the impression that their shat don't stank, but I'm here to tell 'em different!
1 comment:
I'm going next month and I will not go to the Stratta! Thanks for the heads up! Sorry you had a sorry excuse for a cheese plate! Booo! Hiss!
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