I don't think I'm the best to answer, and I haven't been to Kame. But Kabuto and Yui Edomae are going to be similar experiences (with yui a little more "upscale").

Hiroyoshi has more of a family feel. When I went with my girlfriend, it wasn't too crowded that night and we were chatting with him and his wife and I think it made for a more personal experience.

But like... I don't think you can go wrong with whatever you choose. Kabuto/Yui are closesr to strip. Hiroyoshi and Kame are further.

Last trip we ate at Cut and had a drink at the bar - friendly bartender, good service. My brother ordered a bud lite and he said " I like Bud lite - order it when I'm ****ed up so I can sober up"

So I suppose it depends on your sense of humor....

MM MD

Have certainly had the opposite experience eating at the bar at nicer places. The bartenders are typically extremely friendly, really enjoy explaining things about the menu, and sometimes will do you a solid and put in a good word for you with a chick that is by herself. With that said, everyone is prone to a bad night or two. Don't discourage yourself from enjoying a lot of the nicer restaurants at the bar imo

That reminds me of a conversation I had with a bartender at Cut, after I noticed they had cans of Red Bull behind the bar for all the mopes that would come into a place like that and ask for Grey Goose and Red Bull. Could read between the lines that he found some lack of dignity in having to serve it, and I was completely on his side. Really, any bar that has Macallan 1966 shouldn't also have Red Bull.

And yes, if you're cool the bartenders at the high end places will be too. I have never encountered a bad bartender anywhere but I'm also not ordering vodka/Red Bull or SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS.

Vegas bombs!

I was at Sage. not ordering shots, just chilling, grabbing a bite. bartenders seemed to act like they could give a f about the being friendly/ talkative part of customer service

Out of curiosity, do you know how much they charge for the Macallan 1966?

When a friend of mine went to the Macallan distillery to get his own cask filled (will be ready in 2034) he could sample the 1948 and 1966. Best free booze of his life.

Don't know and can't say with dead certainty that they have it (was generalizing a point). Last time I remember seeing it in the wild though was at SW a while back, for something like $1200.

Mad, eco:

Just in case you find yourself looking to drop a ton on whisky sometime soon...

Unlike wine, which ages and matures in the bottle, whisky (distilled spirits in general) doesn't really age after bottling.

So a distillation or bottling year means much less in whisky vs how much it has been aged before bottling. For example, you can get an 18yo 1966 macallan bottled in 1985 for a bargain price of like $3-4k vs a 35yo 1966 macallan bottled in 2001 for $20k+. If they release a 50yo version of that bottled in 2016, it won't be cheap!

Just keep that in mind next time you're buying multi-thousand dollar shots.

I will keep that in mind next time I'm spending thousands on shots

And yes, I know it doesn't age in the bottle. The price of whiskey has far more to do with availability than quality. Just ask anyone who has ever bought Pappy.

While you are totally right in general, "1948 Macallan" usually refers to the 51yo whiskey bottled in 1999 and "1966 Macallan" usually refers to the 18yo that's available on the open market. There's also the 35yo 1966 (as seen on Better Call Saul) and several others from third parties but they are so rare I highly doubt any of those makes it to a regular bar?

I know it's a sidetrack but just in case you're Euroing around any time soon I've had a few meals to comment on:

Joel Robuchon (Monte Carlo): Not as tasty as the one in Vegas and similarly priced. Also, Euros bring their dogs into restaurants and there was a yapper at the table next to me. The dog was well behaved but I still didn't like it. English was an issue for some of the staff but most were well capable. All in all I don't feel like it's worth a trip.

Le Pily (Cherbourg, France): Ate here last week, did 5 courses with which they additionally served amuse, soup, and mignardises. Was excellent for the price (100 euro a head with wine) but the service ground to a halt for about thirty minutes in the middle. Something clearly went wrong as nobody was getting food. No apology for the delay. The food is creative and deserves its Michelin star, but the service was lacking.

Marcus (London): Advertises its 2 stars on a menu that's traditional British food elevated. I was skeptical but it was available and the reviews pretty amazing. Can't say I was blown away, Picasso better, but it's worth a dinner. Service was great, not too stuffy overall, and everything was well thought out and prepared. Would recommend but just barely.

Alain Ducasse (London): So, um, this may be the best value in fine dining I've ever seen. Definitely deserves its 3 stars and wife and I went for lunch (three courses with amuse, mignardises, bread, and 2 glasses of wine) and got out of there for 200GBP total which included a 50GBP tip because it was so amazing. Service was ****ing impeccable. My wife finds bread that she likes and just does not stop eating it. They kept offering her choices throughout the entire meal just as she was finishing the previous choice. Even long after I'd stopped they didn't let her down. They servers noticed EVERYTHING in that restaurant and the food was delectable. I really can't recommend it highly enough. The 7 course dinner menu (without wine) is three times as expensive and I just couldn't see myself throwing down prices like that after spending 400 bucks at Marcus the night before but if we go back to London I'm probably doing dinner there. It was that good.

on deck: Gasthaus Klaus Erfort in Saarbrucken which is, unfortunately at its elevated price point, only about 45 minutes from my house.

Mad: good to know next time I'm buying 1948 macallan! I just mentioned this because I was price searching 1966 and found the two different bottlings, and didn't want you and eco to overspend $15k on whiskey next time you have dinner in Vegas.

Eco: makes me sad to think of all the sub-$100 bottles of pappy and Hirsch I bought in the early 2000s!

Depending on which direction of Saarbrücken you live, Schwarzwaldstube in Tonbach might only be 90 minutes away from your house. Haven't been to Gästehaus Erfort but everybody I know that has been to both says that Harald Wohlfahrt > Klaus Erfort.

Wow, thanks for looking out. Hadn't heard of it. Probably just have to try both!

Loosekanen, thanks for the Rubichon review. We're going to Monte Carlo next week and I was toying with going there. I think I'm going to pass now.

Schwarzwaldstube just celebrated 25 consecutive years of 3 Michelin stars. It's been some time since I've been there but I think they're still the gold standard of fine dining in Germany.

Since loosekanen was impressed with Alain Ducasse's London restaurant, he also has one in Monte Carlo "Le Louis XV" that friends of mine have been raving about.

Le Louis XV was the best meal of my life. Get a table outside


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The one I wish I had stocked up on was the Yamazaki 18, which I used to buy all the time for around $100 (and you could find it EVERYWHERE) and is now like a $500 bottle. I guess I shouldn't have drank it all

Le Louis XV sold out via online booking.

Going to try my hotel concierge.

Let's hope my full house comes in

I will be heading to Vegas pretty soon, I am considering Picasso, What kind of price would the Prix Fixe or the Degustation menu set me back ?

Went to Eatt gourmet bistro and was pretty impressed. Food is healthy, fresh, tasty and beautifully presented.

Some items were a miss tho : broccoli guacamole was bland. Carrots and peas main was really uninspired IMO, felt more like a side dish than a main vegan dish.

But everything else was really good. Gazpacho, Asparagus soup, Duck breast, salmon and the special sea bass that day.
Best of all were the desserts !!

Price is more than fair, I would happily go back, I recommend you check it out.

118/128

Of course this is pre-tax, pre-tip, pre-wine pairing if you want that (usually a 60-75 option and a ~150 premium option), and pre-upgrades (like if you choose a wagyu option it's an extra ~$150).

Last time I ate at Picasso I think I was $250/pp out the door with wine pairings.

Two folks degustation, no wine is about 325. With wine is about 500. I still think it's really good value and an absolutely phenomenal introduction to fine dining.