04.20.08
Review of Trader Vic’s, Las Vegas, Saturday lunch February 2008
in the Planet Hollywood, 702-405-4700
Great for: sharing food and huge crazy drinks, tiki enthusiasts, eating outside, nostalgia
Trader Vic’s at the Plaza in New York used to be a hot spot, or so I heard, until the Plaza decided to become overpriced condos. Which was very sad to me, because I never got to go. So when I discovered that they’d transplanted it to Vegas, I insisted that we pay a visit.
I wasn’t expecting a lot from the food – I knew it would be “Polynesian”, which in America seems to mean Chinese food but sweeter. I liked the preliminary toasted flatbread, which was very yummy. The hot dipping sauce was the best of the four provided. Basically I wanted a pu pu platter, which they didn’t have on the menu, so we created our own. Everything was pretty good; the slightly chewy coconut rock shrimp (the best thing), Malaysian beef satay marinated in lemongrass and Kafir lime, very saucy barbecue spare ribs and even the spiced calamari with wasabi aïoli which was, ironically, a little bland. We wanted to get the all-in-one rice as well, with chicken, prawns, char siu pork and lobster, but were too full.
We very much enjoyed our drinks. The mai tai, their specialty, was tasty. So was the Menehune juice of island rums and nectars. The Zombie, of light and dark rums, grenadine and curaçao was sweet and packed quite a punch. We also really liked our waiter. He was super sweet and attentive. I’m sure it helped that it was 4 pm and not busy, but he really went above and beyond for us in many thoughtful little ways.
Of course, the place is over-the-top with the tiki décor. It’s huge and a bit tacky as almost everywhere is in Vegas. But I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food and service, and I’m still thinking about that all-in-one rice we didn’t have.
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Our cost: $80
Noise level: probably a loud party when it’s packed
Chance of walking in: probably better on weekdays.
