Middle of the road dining at MGM

Hey all,

Have 6 nights booked at MGM in July. First time staying at this property so I am curious as to what suggestions everyone has for food.

I know the place is HUGE with tons of options, but my wife and I generally don't get to crazy on the eating out, especially with 3 kids (obv we dont eat out much)

We will splurge and do a few nice dinners here and there. but overall we would like to keep the check around $35-$40 per meal?

Thanks all

 

The only way to do that at MGM is by eating at their food court.
You would be much better heading across the street to NYNY as you will have plenty of options in your price range.

 

I can definitely agree you haven't been eating out much lately. I haven't been able to get dinner for 2 for that kind of money in 10 years anywhere except chain places or fast food. definitely not in Vegas where restaurant prices are through the roof.

 

Wolfgang Puck is a good option.
http://www.mgmgrand.com/restaurants/wolfgang-grill-bar-restaurant.aspx

For lunch you could probably do it for $45, a pizza or a sandwich are about $16-$18 each. We had a great meal there, LOVED the blue cheese truffle potato chips.

I also enjoyed Wich'craft.
http://www.mgmgrand.com/restaurants/wichcraft-sandwiches.aspx

I only had breakfast there, but it was good. They have a lot of ~fancy~ like celebrity chef type sandwiches, it's pretty reasonable too.

Overall, yea you need to up your budget a little for a sit down meal...

 

As others have said, dining on the strip is very expensive. I suggest moving money around in your budget. For example instead of getting breakfast and lunch at cafes or buffets, try cheaper options. That way you can splurge more on dinner.

 

Rainforest Cafe? That may still be doubtful to get it under $40 though. I'd also second Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill. Lunch would be very close to your budget and food is very good.

 

+1 on wolfgangs. A pizza and an appetizer will probably be enough for 2 people and keep the bill where you want it. Avoid studio cafe... food was not that great and it was extremely overpriced in my opinion (breakfast cost us $75 for 3 people). I haven't tried witchcraft but all the reviews seem to say it is very good. You can do the deli by the sports book. It will be in your pricerange but again I wasn't overly impressed with it(it wasnt bad but it also wasn't anything special), but not bad for a nice takeout lunch and sit there or take it up to your room.
Keep an eye out for happy hour specials. You can get a couple appetizers at some of the nicer places and not break the bank... the only problem is you have to hit it in the 2-3 hour window that they do happy hour.

 

After trying to explain this to my wife I think seeing the responses helped her realize that our (ill say "our" because that's what a good husband does )
budget was definitely light on the dining prices.

So with that said, thanks for all the responses and helping bring "OUR" budget in line with current costs on the strip.
I think she is more agreeable to the $55-$75 range now

Overall we are looking forward to having a grown up vacation without worrying about the small stuff and penny pinching as we tend to do with kids.

 

Hubby and I are going to Vegas for the first time in early May. Prior to reading this...I was budgeting $100/day for food. We are planning on eating twice/day. We don't plan on going to any of the pricey places. Maybe grab the buffet passes for a day? After reading this...wondering if I need to up the food budget???

 

$100 for the day would be achievable if had a fast food lunch in a food court somewhere and then sat down for dinner.

If you worked it right, you could even have a drink at dinner and leave a good tip.

 

thx undathesea! we leave in 28 days...so perhaps we will see you there! LOLOLOL

 

Okay I'm going to ask - what constitutes middle of the road dining? I'm not referring to price, but quality. I think middle of the road on the strip is higher end than your average joint in Suburbia USA. That's the sticking point here. Using MGM as a guide here's how I'd rank their dining options:


Fast Food: Stage deli, McDonald's
Low End Dining: Cafe, Buffets
Middle of the Road: Emeril's, Diego
High end: Craftsteak, L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
One of the most expensive restaurants in the country: Joël Robuchon


You can quibble with my rankings, but if you look at the prices and atmosphere of "middle of the road" I suspect some posters will be surprised how high end it is.

Personally, when I'm on the strip and I don't want a super expensive sit down meal I go to upscale burger places like Burger Bar in Mandalay Bay. For a burger joint it's expensive, but the food is very good.

 

I would also recommend if you are not too hungry to hit some of the happy hours at the more upscale restaurants. You can get some good small plates with out breaking the bank.

 

PopMega,

I would agree with your response. I was just interested in people opinions which we know no 2 are the same but I enjoy hearing what people like and dislike.
Middle of the road dining is a bit subjective to peoples tastes.
I would say as a collective the dining in Vegas is definitely more upscale with some amazing options. Which is also reflected in the prices.

So thank you for the input

 

Wolfgang is great and $110 for 2 including tax, tip and one drink each is doable.

 

You might want to consider making lunch you're big meal of the day. Lunch prices are always more reasonable. The downfall with this is that your choices are somewhat limited. A nice lunch at Wolfgang's, Emeril's and The Grand Wok and very doable with your budget.

 

america, the coffee shop at nyny, might become your "go to" place, breakfast, lunch, late night specials...seems to me to be more of an answer than almost anything i can think of at mgm.

 

I like Puck's too; servings are good size, you can share apps and entrée to keep it down. Leave room for dessert, though! I also really enjoy the Grand Wok. It's typically my first hit when we arrive along with a Grand Flirtini, though you'll save $12 by leaving out that drink. The food is excellent, and they seem to remember me from trip to trip. Easily do-able in your revised budget range.

 

'wichcraft - around $10/person, late morning or lunch
Wolfgang Puck for lunch or late night specials
Grand Wok for chinese
They are building out something to replace the dreaded Studio Cafe, but not sure when that will open
The Grand Buffett - but it is only OK

Also, NYNY and Tropicana will both offer places within the price range you are looking. Both are a short walk across a bridge from MGM

 

Stay away from the food court there unless you really want the Mcd's...the pizza place there is awful and expensive...Try the buffet...I like it quite a bit...Pucks for lunch is a deal and late night has deals as well..If the wife allows, they run all sorts of specials across the street at Hooters...Wings are good As others have said...cross the bridge to NYNY and check out the food scene there...I really like the mexican joint just past the Sporting House. At the mexican place the fajita can feed 2 with an app...Also the Sporting House happy hour specials were incredibly cheap the last time I was there...I had a $25 groupon last year and had trouble using it all for 2 people. I got 3 apps and a couple beers and barely hit 25 bucks.