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| The Lazy Dog Restaurant And Bar |
The other night my Wife and I had the opportunity to visit the Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar (
https://www.lazydogrestaurants.com/location) which is located in the downtown Summerlin mall here in Las Vegas. There are also have locations in Texas and California by the way. They also claim to have a "scratch Kitchen" which they say means "we make everything inside of our building". Looking at the outside of the restaurant I was excited to see if the inside and the food was as inviting aa the outside was.
When we first walked into the restaurant the area where you check in had a nicely lit decorative background. The two Hostesses who greeted us were extremely friendly and seemed to
have genuine smiles as well. My Wife and I were also seated politely and courteously. We
were in our seats no longer than 5 minutes when our Waiter, Dave came to
the table to take our drink orders. My wife ordered a soda and I
ordered a Guinness. I was unfortunately informed that due to a beer
change over (I'm assuming from Winter to Spring or Summer) there was no
Guinness and that they no longer carried it. They also didn't carry any
dark beer. Dave sincerely apologized and when I asked him how a
particular beer
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Inside Front Entrance
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that I had never heard of before tasted that I happened to see on tap he took the time to described it and very quickly asked me if I would like to try a sample. When I responded that I would like that Dave immediately went to the bar and returned with a sample for me to try. I eventually decided on a different beer but the thoroughness with which Dave carried out this drink order was impressive. Drinks were taken care of and Dave left for a short few minutes and returned to see if we wanted any appetizers. My Wife and I decided on the Chicken Lettuce Wraps for $10. The order took about 7 minutes to arrive. The chicken part of the meal was presented on a
dark Brown bowl which was than placed on a White plate. Displayed on the White plate was four large leaves of Romaine Lettuce, A nice portion of Japanese Cucumber Salad and a small cup of Sweet Sesame Soy Sauce. It was nice how the Lettuce was shaped into a sort of gully where you could put the chicken as well as the other food items that came on the plate. It made for very efficient and neat food placement. The Lettuce itself was crisp and fresh. Looking for what I wanted for my main entree gave me the opportunity to study the menu. The menu showed a very good and varied selection of food. There was a nice selection of salad type items along with a good selection of appetizers. The main entrees ranged from Meat to fish to chicken with a nice selection of each type. The drink menu was separate and there also was offered a good number of beers, wines and mixed drinks. The drink menu was rather impressive and there was something for everyone to choose from. Dave gave us just the right amount of time to decide without us feeling rushed on one hand or forgotten about on the other. I decided on the Fish & Chips and my Wife ordered the Cast Iron Idaho Trout. Having time to enjoy a nice beer and look around the restaurant I was rather impressed once again. The bar was stocked very nicely with all types of liquor. It is beautifully lit and decorated and had a good amount of T.V to watch sports. As for the seating in the restaurant there were also various types of that as well. Just outside the bar where kids can sit as well were nicely made fancy bar type cushioned chairs.
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| Bar Type Seating Area |
The tables were the bar type as well as being higher off the ground than regular tables but were not simply your run of the mill average bar table and chairs. These items were made of quality materials and fit in nicely in this upscale restaurant. The other seating in the restaurant was regular tables and booths that were designed for two people as well as regular sized booths for larger party's. All furniture was of high quality. Everything in the restaurant was also spaced nicely apart and did not give you the feeling of being on top of the other customers. Out back there was a large patio that also kept the nice spacing between customers and also at the same time provided that sense of privacy you might want with a date or even with simply your family. The back Patio is also where you are allowed to bring your Dog which I think is super nice especially at a business named Lazy Dog. The restaurant was well lit with different shades and colors of lighting. I will also say that whoever designed the interior knew exactly what they were doing with lights, fixtures and interior design in general. I also noticed that while all the staff was busy they all appeared to be happy and get along with each other as I watched their interaction among themselves.The restaurant was staffed perfectly as well.
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| Lettuce Wraps |
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| Fish & Chips |
We waited about 15 minutes for our food and when it arrived the presentation as was with the appetizers was awesome and very professional in appearance. My wife's trout was served on a cast Iron platter and had Walnut Butter with a half of a charred Lemon and Grilled Asparagus, Red Peppers and sea roasted potatoes. My wife said that the Trout was cooked to perfection and the vegetables were done just right. Her overall opinion of the food was (in her words) "excellent". There were no complaints from her at all about anything. My fish and Chips were served on a nice plate with a wax paper type lining that was placed just right and had equal amounts of paper hanging over the edges which while not really important did show that the paper was
placed with
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| Bar Area - Liquor |
some thought in mind, once again very nice presentation. There were four fairly nice sized pieces of fish that were battered and at least on the outside looked like they were cooked for the proper amount of time. There was a nice sized helping of Cole Slaw which was placed on a leaf of Iceberg Lettuce. The French Fries appeared also to be cooked for just the right amount of time with the perfect brown color. The portion was just right as well. Taking a piece of the fish revealed that it was cooked just as well inside as it appeared to be on the outside. The fish was tender and not greasy. The batter was not thick at all and each piece of fish was just that, fish. As far a Dessert goes my Wife ordered the White Chocolate Brownie which was a fairly large and shaped like a circular Brownie with a large scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream on top. I assume I don't have to tell you that the Dessert tasted as good as it looks in the picture. We both shared it by the way.
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White Chocolate Brownie
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Bar Area - Beer
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If there are two things that I feel I must complain about, one was the bathrooms and the other was the prices. Let me start with the bathrooms first. I purposely went to the men's room to see if the attention to detail in the decor, food, service and the building aesthetics was matched in the bathroom. Here I was disappointed. The fixtures in the men's room were clean and the bathroom did appear to have been cleaned recently in some aspects. The issues were that one paper towel dispenser was completely empty and there was a nice size amount of water just before the sink with soaked paper towels laying it. There was also soaked dirt or grime in the corners that I thought were very visible and nasty and should have been cleaned. As for the women's room my wife told me that two out of the three toilets were out of service. She reported no other issues. Now onto issue number two. I felt that although the food was incredibly good that the prices were on the high side. The name of the restaurant as well as the casualness of the atmosphere I don't feel warrants the prices being so elevated. The restaurant is however located in a very exclusive part of Las Vegas (Summerlin) and I think that has a lot to do with their ability to get away with the elevated prices. As an example the Dinner my wife and I got with tip was $80. I do feel that $16 for Fish & Chips and $17 for Trout is rather pricey. While the restaurant might appear by it's name to be casual dinning the prices dictate otherwise.One last thing on the price of their food. According to Chris Simms, founder and CEO “We started Lazy Dog with ambitions to be a neighborhood restaurant
where parents could take the kids but also sit back and enjoy a great
meal and cold beer,” Well I guess you will have to judge for yourself if that particular goal has been met or not.
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| Outside Patio Area |
I would like to make a special section here on the service that I experienced as well as witnessed while observing the staff at work. Let me start off by saying that David was phenomenal. His service was impeccable. My Wife and I can't say enough great things about him. I don't think that anyone could have asked for a better Waiter. David was attentive and professional although I wish he would have smiled a little :) Having watched the staff work and interact with customers I will say that whoever is managing the restaurant is doing a great job and fostering an environment that is productive to both the employees as well as the customers which in total means the company.
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| Cleanliness Issue Under Men's Room Sink |
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I guess the question comes down to would my Wife and I come back again? The answer is most definitely yes but due to the cost of the meal it would have to be once in a great while or be reserved for a special occasion. Overall I highly recommend eating at Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar.
The Desert Wine Guy
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