Giada's at the Cromwell

This is taken directly from my TR, so if you've read that, this is a duplication, I just wanted to post it in the restaurant section

Tuesday dinner was at Giada's with J, a lady friend. I used my $100 CET Appreciation award but knew full well that I was going to need RCs to pay for the rest of the bill. RCs, you ask? No problem. I still had about 260,000 left.

J had never been to Giada's and neither had I. I had $100 voucher and RCs to burn, so why not?!?

I met J at Giada's at 7:45. Our reservation was at 8PM. By 8:10 they hadn't called us and I went up to check and they said "Oh, we had you as a no show.". "Actually, I checked in early" I told the hostess. She apologized and got us seated right away. Giada's is a very busy place. The seats are tucked tightly together. So tight that the dessert cart has difficulty moving sometimes. Our waiter was named Tim, and was very attentive (as I guess most mati staff in a high end restaurant would be.)

He told us the specials, and recommended the tasting menu. The caveats for the tasting menu were:

1)Both of us diners must order it, but we could each have our choice of second and third dish.

Also, with the tasting menu, we got to take home the tasting menu with recipes and an autographed picture of Giada



The tasting menu consisted of:

Antipasti

Second course was a choice of:

Lemon Crema Spagethhi with Shrimp
Rigatoni with Vegetable Bolognese
Fregolotto with Morel Mushrooms & Baby Zucchini

Third course was a choice of:

Rack Of Lamb (plated), mustard crusted with summer panzanella & puttanesca coulis, or
Seared Salmon with vegetable succotash & whole grain mustard, or
Grilled 7 oz. Beef Tenderloin, with asparagus, snap peas, and salsa verde

Smashed potatoes (family style)
Sweet corn with spicy sausage (family style)

Dessert from the dessert cart

Well, J and I must have the same tastes, because we both took the same things for second and third course, the spaghetti with shrimp, and the Rack of Lamb

The bread plate came out, followed by the antipasti



We were so hungry we forgot to take the picture until after one of the Antipasti were eaten!



The second dish came out, and the shrimp were HUGE!



This was a very tasty dish. The shrimp were cooked to perfection "3 minute shrimp", as I would call them. The spaghetti was al dente, just right

Then came the lamb



Then for dessert, the dessert tray was brought out and we were allowed 3 selections. J and I both chose 2 of the three same selections,

Marscapone cheesecake with gold leaf and tangerine
Tiramisu

We both chose gelato for the third but she took lemon while I chose roasted banana.



On a side note, Giada seems to LOVE lemon. It was in every plate, in the gelato, it was rather overpowering. When Tim asked how everything was, I mentioned the overpowering lemon flavor in the gelato. He gave me a somewhat perplexing reason (excuse) about desserts made fresh every day, and the strength of the ingredients varying, and I'm thinking to myself (the cook didn't TASTE it?) I mean, this was very strong. Not "inedible" strong, but overpowering.

The roasted banana gelato was very good.

Then it was time for the check. It came out to $260 and I left a $60 tip. The interesting thing when you're paying with RCs is that they don't charge sales tax.

Overall, it was a great meal, made better by the company (I mean J, not CET). However, I don't think that it was a $125 meal outside of Las Vegas. I don't pay that much for food . . . ever . . .

 

Sounds like a nice experience and the meal looks very good. The price is steep but if it's for a special occasion then I would live with that.

I don't think I would care for the cramped conditions in the restaurant, though. That's the deal breaker for me, especially with those type of prices they charge, they can't herd us in like cattle.....

 

I saw one of Giada's shows on either Food TV or the Cooking Channel, and she had an episode on the dishes she served at her restaurant in Vegas. I think a couple of those dishes you had was in that episode. It made me hungry!

 

thanks for the food review. I might have to try it this next weekend.

Had reservations when it first open and Wife didn't want to go???

 

Giada's is permanently on my list of "Lunch things to do while in Vegas." Had the grilled cheese sandwich plus a glass of wine plus something else, Perfect. Plus Giada was there taking selfies with everybody. Really nice Vegas experience. Would recommend making reservation.

 

We have eaten there a couple of times, food always excellent. If you make a reservation for 2, the seating is so tight. WI refuse to go without at least one more, also ask for the patio, great view!

 

That's a deal breaker for me also

 

Yeah, they're talking 450 dinner orders per night 600 for breakfast and lunch. And this is the "slow" time of the year.

 

Fflowers and I ate there last night, it's our favorite place. We greatly prefer the small plates (cheese with wild pear honey, bacon wrapped dates, the fried crab balls, etc...) but aren't a huge fan of the entrees. We also like the pizza. Now that we've been there multiple times, we order a bunch of small plates and skip the entrees. Oh, and the little pot of rosemary bread is incredible. We ate until we couldn't take another bite and it was less than $200 (also comped). Our fave server is Kevin, he is perfect and we always request him. We get a table on the window and there's plenty of room.

The front check-in desk is a buzzkill... and that's every single trip. We usually eat early (5pm) as we have show plans. When we check in, the snooty girls (in their tight dresses and heels, but covered with tats) always tell us it will be 5-10 minutes, last night was 10-15 min for a 5pm res. There were easily 30 tables empty. We actually spoke to the manager about it because it happens every single time. The attitude is that if we are made to wait, then it must be an upscale restaurant. While we were waiting, a couple came in and explained they had called earlier requesting a table and they were told to come by when they were ready to eat to "check" on a table. Snooty girl said "Well, you CAN'T just DROP IN and expect a table". With the attitude and a hint of the eyeroll. She honestly tried to shame them in front of those of us who were waiting. I hate that shit.

We really want to see the front desk crap improve. 30 open tables and people standing around waiting to be graced with one of the tables is BS. Once we get past it, the service is always excellent, but it's a buzzkill knowing in advance we have to deal with the snooty girls first. Not a great first impression.

Do ask for Kevin if you have a chance, best server we've ever had anywhere!
diane

 

Well, based on that (Dbeuler's) post, and the fact that they effed up our reservation. I don't think Giada would think very much of her front desk staff.

I'm hoping that they send me a survey so I can "comment".

 

Great detailed report.. Food looks great as I have always wanted to try Giada's. Pricing is a bit high though but hey it's Vegas plus a celeb chef. Squeezing as many tables as they can is what restaurants are doing these days, I'm not a fan!

 

Me neither! Went for dinner last year and not enjoy it. We were sandwiched in between two other couples. It was pretty cramped. We have no desire to go back for dinner but despite the bad experience we're considering breakfast if we can get a seat by the window. Those look pretty good.

 

I've eaten at Giada's many times over all 3 services. My favourite table is the U shaped booth facing the fountains. The booth can accommodate 4, but we've always been seated there as a party of 2.

 

Glad you enjoyed your meal.

We ate at Giada's on two different trips and in both trip reports I mention this is a place were you are paying for quality and not quantity.
Both times the meals were expensive, great tasting, great experience, but I was hungry again not too long afterward.
We also used our RC to cover the meals.
So far we have done lunch and dinner. Debating about doing breakfast next if not lunch or dinner again.

 

I enjoyed this place it was good

 

I have not had any issues with the front desk. I did eat at the bar last time with no res.

 

More coming via TR but Giada more than redeemed herself for breakfast! If you can sit by the window (for any meal) it's more than worth it!