Best Contemporary American Restaurants in Town Square

Beauty & Essex is one of my Las Vegas favorites. The atmosphere is fun, and the music is just right as a precursor to a night out. The servers can be a little slow with cocktails, but overall service is great. Our water glasses were never empty and food was well-paced. As a group of 6, we ordered 10 different dishes and 2 sides. This is a family style / sharing type restaurant. We were hungry, but didn’t finish all the food. I would say a moderately hungry group could probably go with 6-7 dishes with 1-2 sides and be fine (assume 1/person + 1/4 of a side). The downside is most of the dishes that were the favorites, are those that only had one portion per person. In our party those were: chicken meatballs, grilled cheese dumplings, and the kale apple salad. Least favorites: French dip sliders, scallops, and the filet. Of the sides, we got French fries and broccolini- both great (get horseradish aioli with the fries if ranch is your usual go to). The drinks are good, but I didn’t see anything I found particularly creative and different from similar establishments. Beauty & Essex is great for groups due to the family style plates and atmosphere. It’s loud, so maybe not the place to have conversation with everyone at the table. However, if you need a place to eat before hitting the town Beauty & Essex has great food with an energizing ambiance.

Fresh 2.5# lobster was such a delectable surprise! Fabulous setting with stacks and stacks of books, the collection of David Rockefeller’s. A real treat!

Our dinner was incredible, I would recommend the lump crab cake appetizer, the best one I've ever had. Our whole meal was delicious, the steaks were cooked perfectly. Our server Maria answered all of our questions and made some great suggestions, she was extremely pleasant (especially for working on a holiday). I would highly recommend this restaurant, if you are staying on the Vegas strip and want a good meal, head over to Harrah's Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen, you won't be disappointed.

Solid breakfast and brunch spot for reasonable Vegas prices