Joël Robuchon, Las Vegas: The Dining Experience
On our recent trip to Las Vegas, our visit was very food-centric - with the star of the show being dinner at the renowned Joël Robuchon Restaurant.
If you aren’t familiar with Joël Robuchon in Vegas, let me start there… This Las Vegas restaurant is one of three flagship locations for the Joël Robuchon restaurant group. Located inside the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, Joël Robuchon Las Vegas is a luxurious French restaurant that has received the Forbes Five-Star, AAA Five-Diamond, and Wine Spectator’s Grand Award.
As a global brand, Joël Robuchon’s restaurant group holds over 20 Michelin stars across their locations. The other two flagship locations – in Tokyo and Macau – have three Michelin stars each. The Las Vegas restaurant was also awarded a Michelin Three-Star Rating in 2009 before Michelin paused the publication of its guide in Las Vegas (so this location doesn’t technically hold a 3-star rating any longer but also didn’t lose their stars - they just haven’t had the opportunity to maintain them since Michelin abandoned rankings in Vegas).
Regardless, you will still hear it referred to as a Three-Star Michelin restaurant and the experience seemed three-star to me.
Note: Michelin is coming back to Vegas in 2026 so it will be interesting to see if they get the three-star rating again!
THE AMBIANCE
Once you step inside the Joël Robuchon Restaurant, you are instantly transported to a different world. You leave behind the loud noises, bright lights, and bustling atmosphere of the casino and enter a beautiful space that is styled as an intimate 1920s French mansion with a garden terrace. It is decorated in deep purple, rich black, warm gold, and soft cream tones. Its marble floors, extravagant floral centerpieces, beautiful sculptures, and custom Swarovski crystal chandeliers elevate the ambiance and provide an opulent aura. In addition to the main dining room, the section on the right side of the dining room is designed like a garden terrace with a plant wall and trees that make you feel like you are outside.
There is a separate bar, The Cognac Room, when you first walk in the door. It has the same opulent vibe as the restaurant but with a different profile. It is a sophisticated lounge - decorated in deep reds, blacks, and golds - serving high-end spirits and post-dinner drinks.
The atmosphere at Joël Robuchon was beautiful, high-end, intimate, serene and emitted the feeling of timeless Franch grandeur!
THE SERVICE
As you’d expect for an experience like this, the service is over the top. It was like a well-choreographed dance of attentiveness and precision, where needs were met before ever asking. The flow was perfectly timed so there was never a feeling of being rushed or being delayed. Multiple servers worked together in perfect harmony to provide everything that was needed and more.
Service was definitely A+++.
THE CHEF
The late master chef Joël Robuchon himself opened the award-winning restaurant in 2005 but unfortunately passed away in 2018. Eleazar Villanueva is now the Executive Chef at the restaurant. He began his training at Le Cirque Las Vegas, then joined Joël Robuchon almost 10 years ago starting at the bottom as a junior cook and working his way up. After working his way through every station in the kitchen and serving as sous chef, he took over as Executive Chef in 2024.
Villanueva has been named a 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef and Chef Award Nominee and Finalist in the Best Chef: Southwest Category.
THE MENU OPTIONS
There are several menu options for food including:
Amuse Bouche, One Main Course, One Dessert, Mignardises (dessert cart)
Amuse Bouche, One Appetizer, One Entrée, One Main Course, One Dessert, Mignardises (dessert cart)
Amuse Bouche, Two Appetizers, One Main Course, One Dessert, Mignardises (dessert cart)
Flagship Degustation Tasting Menu – Sixteen Courses
There are also three options for wine pairings with these menus.
Village wine pairing – This is the entry- to mid-tier pairing and features accessible, high-quality French and international wines.
Premier Cru wine pairing – A step up and features more prestigious appellations, renowned terroir, and superior vintages.
Grand Cru wine pairing – The highest tier showcasing rare, top-shelf estate wines, legendary grand crus, and exceptional old-world vintages.
Wine can also be purchased by the bottle and glass.
THE FOOD
Joël Robuchon is known for their modern and classic French dishes.
Since we were here, we wanted the full experience! We selected the flagship 16 course degustation tasting menu, plus we added the cheese cart (because we had to – it’s EPIC!). For wine, Mike had the Premier Cru wine pairing and I had the Grand Cru wine pairing.
The food was beautiful and so delicious! The wine was amazing and perfectly paired with each course.
A course-by-course description of the dishes we enjoyed can be found below, including the signature rolling trolleys for bread, butter, cheese, and dessert.
Butter, Olive Oil and Bread Carts
The first trolley that rolled up to our table featured a massive, domed block of amazing, imported French butter. The attendant used a warm spoon to scoop a creamy curl of the yummiest butter from the block and topped it with a crunchy, flaky sea salt. They also poured a serving of the tastiest Spanish olive oil.
The butter cart was immediately followed by a trolley with the most amazing selection of bread! Options included rosemary and Gruyere brioche, mini baguettes, bacon and mustard bread, milk bread, Comte cheese bread, basil and saffron focaccia, raisin walnut loaves, multi-grain, flaky puff pastries, and more. It was bread heaven on a trolley!
Le Caviar Imperial
This first course was one of Joël Robuchon’s most famous – Le Caviar Imperial. It was ossetra caviar served atop crab in a crustacean gelee dotted with cauliflower puree. The gold leaf elevated this dish and made it even more beautiful than it already was.
I’m not a crab lover so I tried some of that part but mostly ate around it. Even without the crab, it was delicious.
Wine pairings:
Mike’s was paired with Piper-Heidsieck Champagne, 2013, Reims France
Beth’s was paired with Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne, 2013, Reims France
Les Asperges, Le Frivolites, and Le Mais
The next serving included 3 courses. Les Asperges was green asparagus, tomato water and caviar.
Le Frivolites was smoked salmon with a wasabi emulsion and caviar.
And Le Mais was brentwood corn cream served over foie gras.
It was all fantastic, but my favorite was Le Mais. The creamy corn mixture served over the creamy foie gras was just amazing.
Wine pairings:
Mike’s was paired with Prinz Salm GG Trocken Reisling, 2014, Rheinhessen Germany
Beth’s was paired with Domaine Zind Humbrecht Reisling, 2022, Alsace France
L’Artichaut and La Grenouille
The next serving included 2 courses. L’Artichaut was artichoke puree served with a sweet and spiced chickpea cappuccino.
And La Grenouille was a circle of macaroni timbale filled with fried frog leg and drizzled in champagne emulsion.
I’m not sure I could pick a favorite here. They were both incredible. But if I was forced, I’d have to go with the frog legs and macaroni. The combination of perfectly cooked pasta and fried frog legs topped with that delicate sauce was perfection.
Wine pairings:
Mike’s was served with Lynch-Bages Blanc, 2024, Bordeaux France
Beth’s was served with Chateau d’Yquem Ygec Y, 2022, Bordeaux France
L’Ormeau and La Langoustine
The next serving included 2 courses. L’Ormeau was abalone with basil risotto.
And La Langoustine was truffled langoustine ravioli served with simmered cabbage and foie gras sauce.
Again, two amazing dishes! I really couldn’t pick a favorite here. The basil risotto was probably the best risotto I’ve ever tasted. It was creamy with so much yummy basil flavor. And the langoustine ravioli… to die for!
Wine pairings:
Mike’s was served with Domaine de Montille Les Porusots, 2021, Burgundy France
Beth’s was served with Domaine Lequin-Colin Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, 2022, Burgundy France
Le Black Cod
The next course was caramelized black cod in Malabar pepper sauce with bok choy.
Black cod is one of my favorites and this rendition was as tasty as it was beautiful.
Wine pairings:
Mike’s was paired with Domaine Anne & Herve Sigaut Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru, 2022, Burgundy France
Beth’s was paired with Frederic Esmonin Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru, 2022, Burgundy France
La Canette, La Tarte au Canette, and La The de Canette
The next serving included 3 courses. La Canette was spit-roasted duck with five spices and sour cherries.
La Tarte au Canette was duck confit, caramelized onions and compressed cherries and La The de Canette was duck consume, foie gras and port wine.
These dishes were served with a side of Joël Robuchon’s legendary pommes puree (mashed potatoes). They are considered by many to be the best mashed potatoes in the world. And they should be! With a 2:1 ratio of potato to butter, they have the richest, yummiest, silkiest texture.
As you can tell, this was the duck section. Duck is typically not my favorite. It has to be cooked just right to taste good… and this was cooked just right! La Canette was my favorite of this section. The duck was cooked and seasoned perfectly and the pairing with the sour cherries and sauce was amazing. And the potatoes were to die for!
Wine pairings:
Mike’s was served with Clos Fourtet 1er Cru Classee Saint-Emilion, 2018, Bordeaux France
Beth’s was served with Chateau Rauzan-Segia Margaux Grand Cru Classe, 2009, Bordeaux France
This completed the savory section of the Degustation Menu.
Cheese Trolley
We opted to add on the cheese trolley as we both love cheese. Besides… how can one say no to a beautiful rolling cart full of the finest cheeses?? And we were not sorry. It was soooo worth it!
The trolley featured a selection of artisanal French and international cheeses - from runny to hard and mild to pungent. Options included creamy triple creams, aged Comtes, pungent blues, and earthy goat cheeses. And it included one of our favorite French cheeses – Epoisses.
After the cheese, we moved to dessert…
La Fraise and El Andaluz
The first dessert serving included 2 courses. La Fraise was harry’s berries sorbet with basil granita and El Andaluz was a celebration of strawberries, lime and tequila.
I don’t eat strawberries, so I didn’t taste that option – but Mike enjoyed it. I ate the berry sorbet with basil granita and it was really good.
La Cabosse de Cacao
The next course was cremeux fleur de cao, passionfruit Chantilly and exotic sorbet pearls.
This was my favorite of these 3 desserts. It was beautiful and was a perfect combination of sweet, fruity and tart.
Wine pairings:
Mike’s desserts were paired with Chateau Suduiraut Saternes 1er Cru Class, 2006, Bordeaux France
Beth’s desserts were paired with Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes Premier Grand Cru Classe, 1990, Bordeaux France
Chariot de Mignardises
As if we hadn’t had enough to eat… a waiter rolled out the beautiful and amazing Chariot de Mignardises (dessert trolley). This rolling tableside cart was overflowing with French confections including artisan chocolates, macarons, petite pastries, fruit jellies, mini tarts, cake pops and more.
What a dreamy dessert cart! There were so many options and they were all incredible.
After dinner drinks
We moved to the beautiful Cognac Room for after dinner drinks. Mike enjoyed a 1964 Armagnac and Beth enjoyed the Remy Martin Grande Champagne Louis XIII that came with the Grand Cru wine pairing. It was a nice way to end our evening at Joel Robuchon Restaurant.
The Take-Away Bag
As we were leaving, we were presented with the take-away bag, a famous parting gift given to guests at the end of a multi-course meal. It contained a freshly baked pound cake (chocolate and yellow cake), along with our personalized menus.
We enjoyed the pound cake the next day with our kids who were in Vegas. It was one of the best cakes I’ve ever had – incredible moist and topped with chocolate and crunchy chocolate nibs that made you keep going back for more.
Below are photos of our personalized menus detailing the courses we were served and the wines they were paired with. The food is the same. The wine pairings are different.
THE PRICE
So how much does it cost to dine at the legendary Joël Robuchon restaurant? It’s definitely not cheap to dine at a restaurant with this elevated experience. As a matter of fact, it’s the most we’ve ever paid for a meal!
Pricing for fixed menu options were:
$235 Menu – Amuse Bouche, One Main Course, One Dessert, Mignardises (dessert cart)
$295 Menu – Amuse Bouche, One Appetizer, One Entrée, One Main Course, One Dessert, Mignardises (dessert cart)
$335 Menu – Amuse Bouche, Two Appetizers, One Main Course, One Dessert, Mignardises (dessert cart)
$525 Menu – Flagship Degustation Tasting Menu – Sixteen Courses
Pricing for the three levels of wine pairings were:
Village - $225 per person
Premier Cru - $450 per person
Grand Cru - $950 per person
SUMMARY
I loved this experience! It’s always fun to experience something new and different.
The ambiance was lovely!
The service was amazing!
The food was gorgeous and the flavors and combinations were outstanding!
The wine pairings were perfectly matched to the food and included amazing wines!
The signature butter, bread, cheese and dessert trolleys were over the top!
The tableware was amazing! I am a sucker for beautiful dishware, glassware, and silverware so I was in tableware heaven!
At the same time… Mike isn’t into fancy meals with beautiful food like I am. He’d be happy (or maybe happier) with a great burger and a very nice glass of wine. But he’s also willing to indulge me on this from time to time. While he enjoyed the experience, I enjoyed it way more than he did. I love beautiful food where the flavors have been thoughtfully and masterfully combined to create an amazing experience on your palate with every bite.
And… I probably wouldn’t go here again. It was definitely the most expensive meal we’ve ever eaten and if I were to spend that much on a three-star meal again, I’d try a new place to revel in a new experience, taste a different chef’s creations, and compare the experiences.
(Note: The French Laundry is still on my bucket list so hoping to make it there some day!)
But it was super fun to try this. I’m so glad we did it. And I would say yes if someone asked if I thought they should give it a try.
