Aureole at Mandalay Bay

We came here for my sister's bachelorette dinner and we had a pretty good time here! The service was excellent, but the food is just good... not GREAT. The tuna tartare was a bit too spicy, but extremely fresh. I had a steak (which i think was a bit too chewy and I didn't like the sauce)

At the end of the dinner, our waiter came by and asked us if we needed anything else... and he goes, "coffee, tea, want a picture in the kitchen?" We thought that he was joking so we replied with, "sure" Then he goes, "okay, let me ask the chef" We ended up in the very clean kitchen and met the very friendly chef!

The wine tower is so cool! We saw two girls climbing up the tower to find wine.

Pros: Excellent service, pretty decor, amazing wine tower

Cons: food should be superb for the price

Posted 06/06/09

Aureole is excellent in every way. The room is dramatic and quiet. The food is very good by any standard. The sweet pea ravioli starter and beef duo entree are worth a mention. The e-winebook makes navigating a large wine list a snap. The meyer lemon gelee pre-dessert was also perfect as was the service.Aureole is worth every penny

Posted 03/04/09

I've been to Aureole twice now and sat in the bar both times. We received immaculate service from our waiter Manuel, who after our drinks and appetizers walked us back to the kitchen to meet the chef, then back to the secret pond full of swans in the back!! As we sat down out there, he disappeared only to reappeat with special mini-muffins we could rip apart and feed the swans with! Magical magical magical. We didn't even have to slip him a $20 -- he was just fantastic as was our immaculate food. Try it!!!

Pros: Amazing food and service

Cons: Pricey, but justified

Posted 04/01/08

Service was terrible, food mediocre, meal took forever, and bill was huge. The fixed price menu and automatic gratuity (large group) meant they could neglect us and we'd still have to give them a good tip.

May not matter to everyone, but there were no vegetarian or chicken entrees on the menu (they did make a chicken dish on request though) and the worst part--they served us bread with bacon and did not tell us! Half of us do not eat pork for ethical and religious reasons, but we did that night, much to our horror!

There are so many better restaurants in Vegas. Don't waste your time or money at Aureole.

Posted 01/22/08

OMG This place sucked. Don't waste your time or your money. I wanted this to be a good restuarant. But it just wasn't. I have been to many Vegas places and there are so many other, better restuarants to eat at. This is supposed to be a "wine restuarant." I had to request the menu. After ordering, I got the wrong wine. We waited for over three hours for 2 of the 3 courses we ordered. Finally, we just left. The ambiance is average. The service sucked. The food was not good. There are so many great places to eat is Vegas. This place is a mistake.

Pros: It's at Mandalay Bay and close to Red Square, which Rocks.

Cons: It si awful on every level: service, food, ambiance

Posted 10/04/07

I have to admit that I had very little expectations beyond the wine tower when I made a dinner reservation here. However, once I was there, I was very impressed by everything. The restaurant is very intimate feeling, and our table had a great view of the wine tower. Our waiter was very knowledgeable of the food they were offering that night, and was able to answer all of our questions. And the wine list... wow! They have their whole list on a PC tablet, which allows you to view their selections in several different ways (by type, region, price, etc). Everything we ordered was fantastic, and we had a wonderful dining experience. I would highly recommend this place!

Pros: amazing wine list, romantic ambience, great service

Cons: very pricey

Posted 09/15/06

I had better food and service (at 1/4 of the price) during almost every other experience in vegas. It was stuffy, expensive and my wife and I had much more romantic evenings...

Pros: Good Desserts, nice room

Cons: Way too pricey, average food, average service

Posted 06/16/06

Aueole, in Las Vegas, is a large restaurant with a very large glass enclosed wine tower. Women in harnesses travel up and down the tower retrieving bottles of wine. The wine list is extensive. However, they provide the list on a small computer which is slow. The menu is a pre-fix of $75 for 3 cousrses and a tasting menu for $95. The food was good however, it was not special enough to be worth the price. In New York, Charlie Palmer's Kitchen 22 has a pre-fix of $25 for 3 courses and the food is just as good. As a matter of fact, my husband had the butternut squash soup at both restaurants and preferred Kitchen 22 better. Several items appeared on both menus. With drinks, the bill will be well over a hundred dollars per person and the overall experience is worth less then that.

Pros: glass wine tower, service

Cons: price

Posted 03/22/06

Snooty staff. Food mediocre. Wine list long. Ambiance okay. Wouldn't go back.

Posted 03/08/06

We were in Vegas during a slow weekend, so when we got there they were not busy at all, therefore the service was just spectacular. They were very attentive and polite and very responsive towards all questions we had about the menu. The place is amazing, the wine cellar is nothing like I've seen before. The food was great and overall we enjoyed our dinner. It's very pricey, so if you're looking for just a one course meal, then there are other places to go to that are as nice and not as expensive.

Pros: Service, Food

Cons: Price

Posted 12/26/05

As a former service professional, now working in the wine industry, I was looking forward to Aureole. Everything went from bad to worse after we were seated. The busser asked for our water preference and it was promptly delivered (without the requested winelist). We saw a group seated after us delivered menus and deinks before we were. After 15 minutes, our server came over and said, "You need menus." At that point, we were still waiting for the wine list. Honestly, it was an unreal experience considering where we were, and we walked out to speak with the hostess and a manger. I gave them my card after politely explaining our circumstances. With their jaws dropped, they stated, "That doesn't happen." Got a call last week(because I had given them my card)from a different manager asking about the private party I was inquiring about(What party? How about the service?).

Pros: Wine, Ambience

Cons: Service, Follow-Up

Posted 11/08/05

The service was excellent and the wine list is amazing. But the thing that would bring me back again was the food. The Sonoma chicken was incredible - I've never tasted anything that was so perfectly seasoned. Be prepared - if you say you'd like water, your choices are all pricey. They also have a bar and it's unclear if you can choose just to drink at the bar - if so, it would be a fun place to have cocktails.

Pros: Food, food, food

Cons: price, decor a bit stark

Posted 08/19/05

Everything is this restaurant carries the label of quality and excellence.
Especially the wine list is very diverse with real "finds" and at affordable prices.
The interior is enchanting, the service more than perfect and the food, oh the food ... no words can describe the sensations on the palate. Try it yourself.

Pros: wine good value, sevice, food

Posted 07/08/04

Our dining experience at Aureole was incredible. The service was flawless and the food was delicious.

I really like the price fixed menu and I look forward to going back soon and having the soft shell crab, it was cooked to perfection.

Posted 06/06/04

Our party of four visits an exceptional restaurant in the valley once a month. We enjoy a variety of cuisine, decor, and amenities. We selected Aureole, in part, because of the unique wine cellar with the flying fairies. The night we were there not one fairy flew. Additionally, the driver at our table was charged $4.50 for each refill of his iced tea glass. We could have done better at I-Hop.

Posted 01/27/04

We had a large group (17) so perhaps our servers were a bit more attentive. Our room was intimate and everything flowed at a great pace. The maitre d' kept us on time for our show reservations without making us feel rushed. My filet was perfect and everyone else in the group was very satisifed with their choices. I really enjoyed the pastry assortment chosen for our group especially the carrot sorbet -what a treat! I would definitely host a dinner event here again.

Posted 03/06/03

A very nice atmosphere. Staff was very attentive.
Food was good, but not exceptional. Computerized wine list was not as functional as it could be, however it was fun to play with. Overall, had a very good experience. Would recommend it to others.

Posted 11/28/02

Spectacular food, incredible setting - if you like modern architecture. Make your special reservations for the Swan Court section; so your table can order the chef's tasting menu. When I was there, I thought, "this is where I will propose to my dream woman". Then I realized, she'll have to appreciate fine food, fine wine, fine service, and fine architecture - my dream woman just got more expensive!

Posted 11/13/02

The wine list and fun wine fairies are very good, I only wish I could say the same about the food. It seems like the folks here forgot that no matter how good the food LOOKS, it still has to TASTE good, and none of ours did. From the starters to the deserts, I could do better at home. This middle of the road food was then served by a waiter who seemed to think he was doing us the favor of eating there. I'm not going back, and with all of the other top notch choices in town, you can do better!

Pros: Wine list, menu variety, location

Cons: nose in the air feel, loud

Posted 11/04/02

A very inconsistent restaurant. The first time I dined there everything was perfect. The food was intriguing, the staff helpful but not intrusive, the space elegant. The second time, only the room retained it's charm. The food was uninspired, the waitstaff unattentive. I wonder if it makes a difference if Charlie Palmer is there or not. Typical of the Vegas outpost syndrome - no consistency.

Pros: beautiful space, broad wine selection

Cons: indifferent waitstaff, poor timing, overpriced

Posted 08/20/02

Fine dining restaurants should be held to a higher standard, and Aureole failed. Most of the food was (surprisingly) far too salty, including the skate & lobster gnocchi appetizer, spinach and braised veal. The service was atrocious. After seating us in a corner the waiters could not reach, we had to HELP them serve the whole meal. They also were not attentive enough to details like refilling the water glasses. Definitely not worth it!

Posted 08/07/02

We, too, got psyched by the name brand hype- but hand-held techno-toys and Cirque du Soleil wanna be's does not compensate for lack of a solid program or foundation- or the ability to be civil. What is lacking is depth, both in terms of the vintages available on the list as well as maturity of the senior wine staff. Granted, this is Vegas and by history and reputation, it's glitz. However, not all of us arrive looking for the single most expensive bottle of "bubbly". If you come expecting staff to collaborate with you to determine your tastes and interests with respect to the list, then forget it....Unfortunately, they don't keep the showboats on stage..The better staff are actually the "junior" members, in terms of their ability to relate. My recommendation is to go elsewhere for serious wine exploration, unless all you want is superficial show.

Posted 06/04/02