Mon Ami Gabi, Las Vegas

This place is actually a French bistro but their lunch menu is heavily tilted to contemporary American so I'm going to select 'modern American' as the category for this restaurant.

Food:
Very good. This restaurant is famous for its blue cheese burger, and it surely did not disappoint.
Burger was juicy, cheese was sublime and the thin cut crispy fries were great.

Price:
Including alcoholic drinks it was about $20 per person for lunch. Not a shabby price for what I consider to be quite a posh restaurant.

Ambiance:
Very good. It's a posh restaurant (white linen on the table) but yet casual enough (I was wearing shorts and flip-flops) for lunch. On a good day you can sit outside in the patio.

Overall:
7 out of 10

I am a local and this is probably one of the restaurants I go back to again and again. I love bringing visitors here because this probably has one of the best locations on the strip. The food is very good also. If the weather is nice, request a table on the patio. The patio literally sits on the strip, slightly elevated. You will be rewarded with a great view of the Bellagio Fountains across the street. In addition, you get to see another show. That would be all the people going up and down the strip. This can be quite interesting in and of itself. The food is very good. This is not what I think of as fancy french. This is simply good food. The wine list is well done and interesting. The wait staff is knowledgeable. I had one waiter who was a UNLV student majoring in Restaurant Management. He was very helpful in choosing wines. Another waiter was from Turkey and interesting to talk to. Reservations during busy times would be a good idea, however, we have never waited more than 30 minutes for a table.

Favorite Dish: I really enjoyed the potatoe soup with a slice of brie. The pate is excellent. There are a number of steaks and chicken dishes. The "pommes frites" served with many dishes is a cross between french fries and potato chips.

I'd read a bit about Mon Ami Gabi before I went to Vegas. From what I can gather it is the only outdoor eating place on the strip. We had lunch on the patio one afternoon and were sitting there long enough to see the fountain show at the Bellagio. The fountain show across the street and the alfresco dining is what makes Mon Ami Gabi that little bit more... talked about.

Favorite Dish: Sitting outside and being very hot I chose to have a salad, which was actually tastier than it sounds. My boyfriend had a sandwich with crisps (potato chips) which was fairly huge by my standards. We were also given a baguette to share before our meal which came in a paper bag, as it was in a bag I thought we could take it with us when we left but the waiter took it away before we had chance to ask for it. Oh well.

I had heard some not very complimentary things about this branch of Mon Ami Gabi on various travel boards but I was tired of walking and it was extremely hot outside so I stopped here anyways for lunch. Mon Ami Gabi is one of my favorite places to eat in Chicago when I have a taste for French bistro food and I thought this location was comparable to the one in Chicago.

Even though it was about 100 degrees outside some people were still eating on the patio, I grabbed a table inside which had a view of the patio.

The service was quick, pleasant and efficient.

Favorite Dish: I usually go for dinner to the one in Chicago and order steak frites, since it was lunch I ordered a steak sandwich with carmelized onions and frites and I thought it was pretty good and very filling and reasonably priced. I really wanted to order dessert but I just didn't have enough room.

Mon Ami Gabi

I highly recommend this restaurant in the Paris Las Vegas Casino. They have several options for dining rooms, including a dark all wood room, a lighter room with wicker and outside dining right on the strip. It is authentically and beautifully decorated in heavy drapes, bistro chairs, bench seating and stained glass.

The feel of the Mon Ami Gabi is pure Parisian Bistro and it accompanies a menu, which is as close to Parisian Bistro as I’ve seen in America.

Hot rustic bread with sweet butter was served immediately. The bread was in a bag and nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

My husband and I both had the special of the day, Creamed Tomato soup and it was very good. Then I had a filet mignon with merlot butter, which was extraordinary. It came with the most unusual fries I’ve ever eaten. (This meal is called Steak Frites in France.) The fries were super thin pieces and had the taste and feel of onion rings but were definitely potatoes. Now that I am back home I fantasize about them.

I had a glass of Grenache and my husband Beaujolais, both from France and both excellent. My husband had the Macaroni and Cheese in Mornay sauce that was also wonderful, filled with chunks of ham and several cheeses.

We were too full for dessert.

Mon Ami Gabi, with the white table clothes, heavy silver service and dark room was a great restaurant, with attentive staff and a nice quiet cool atmosphere. I can’t wait to return and try more of the extensive menu including crepes, quiche and omelettes. They are open for lunch and dinner.

Favorite Dish: Filet Mignon with Merlot Butter

We like sitting in the greenhouse area but after this last visit, we will not be back soon.

The quality of food and service has gone downhill. See below.

*****UPDATED****
Sept., 28, 2006

Favorite Dish: We used to get the hanger steak with classique sauce (herb butter) and the scalloped potatoes but just recently (09-28-06) we were there and found the menu changed around a bit, the meat not as tender and the potatoes done wrong.

Very sad. If you see the pic to the left, that was taken about 2 years ago or so. That's when it was perfect.

I can no longer recommend this as a "must try" but I will admit that our dinner was not terrible. For $20, it's really not a bad value. Our problem is, we knew it for several years the old way and so now, we're disappointed.

I asked the waitress and she said they just changed everything in the spring. They took the scalloped taters off the menu (although they still do them some nights with the special so we were able to get some. Only problem, they weren't that great) and they took the sole off the menu and the service seemed very rushed and hectic. More like you were eating at a Coco's and they were understaffed that night. No attention to a nice dining experience and details.

And while true, these are not gourmet dining prices, they are not hot dog stand prices either.

It's a shame to see this happen. Perhaps it's a fluke? One can only hope but I doubt I'll be back there soon.

And go for dinner, they have a few more items on the menu compared to lunch and you can only get the scalloped potatoes at dinnertime.

Other items that are good are the dover sole, quiche with salad, cheeseburger (on a very nice freshly baked roll), and the escargot.

Their ham and cheese sandwich isn't as good as Pinot Brasserie (at the Venetian) and neither are their fries.

The bread they serve at the table is usually very fresh and comes hot in a little white bag. However, we have had them deliver a stale loaf a couple of times so if that happens to you, be sure to send it back and tell them you want a fresh one. This is VERY good bread and it would be a shame to eat a day old baguette.

The escargot is $9.95 and the "hanger steak" is $19.95.

Decent food and a nice patio to eat on. The steak is good here. All the wait staff have these french accents and you know damn well that they arent french but its cool anyways.

Favorite Dish: steak, bread, dessert (dont remember what I had but it was good)

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The ambience was wonderful, we were seated immediately, and the service was impeccable. I was a little non-plussed by the actual food. I had the Steak Bourdelaise with Pomme Frittes. It was good, but I was expecting much better. I order medium rare and it was cooked all the way through. My husband's side dish was macaroni & cheese, which was the best thing that hit our table. The escargot couldn't hold a candle to escargot that I had in Paris and other restaurants.

Favorite Dish: I ordered a glass of pinot noir, sold by the glass, and it was really good

Cuisine: French Bistro

Mon Ami is a dependable eatery serving standard bistro style fare. Their prices are more than reasonable and if you sit outside on their patio you'll be afforded a wonderful view of the dancing Bellagio fountains.

Favorite Dish: Escargots de Bourgogne
Steak Bordelaise
Grilled Ahi Tuna Salad
Steak Roquefort with Steak Frites

Great restaurant located inside the Paris Hotel. Try to get a window seat or sit outside, where you can watch the water show in front of the Bellagio Hotel, located across the street.

Favorite Dish: Wonderful French Onion soup, Filet Minon and Creme Brulle'.