The Mandarin Bar is located on the 23rd Floor of the newly opened Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas' City Center. The layout of this hotel is extremely unique and unlike any other I have seen. When you enter on the first floor there is no one to greet you... just elevators and lavishly chic Asian decor. When you enter the elevator, there are only two buttons to pick from, one of them being the 23rd floor. When you arrive on the 23rd floor you enter a "sky lobby" with large check-in desk and adjacent Tea Room (a place where you can enjoy English tea and cupcakes all day). To the left is the restaurant, Twist by Pierre Gagnaire (which was closed as it was a Monday) and to the right, Mandarin Bar.
The view was breathtaking. Just awesome. I usually wouldn't blog about a bar/lounge experience but this one was particularly memorable. The first page of the bar menu was entitled "Little Spoons of the Mandarin Bar" and it had 7 appetizer choices including: Smoked Duck with Asian Slaw and Plum Sauce, Lobster Cocktail with Siamese Relish, Spanish Chorizo with Potato and Olive, and Japanese Kobe Beef with Crab and Ponzu Emulsion. All dishes included two spoons of food in each order. It was a fabulous take on "tapas-style" dishes with some serious Asian flair.
We ordered two of the house cocktails and they were the most well-balanced drinks I have ever tasted. These cocktails were created by a mixology master and then were executed perfectly by the bartender. I could have stayed there all night. The prices were steep - martinis and cocktails were $18-20 - but they were honestly worth every penny. We tried the Cucumber and Cilantro Margarita made with Milagro Reposado tequila, garden fresh cucumber, cilantro, agave nectar, and fresh lime juice and the Silver Whistle which was a creation of Lillet Rouge, vodka, fresh watermelon, Italian Maresca cherries, silver dust and Champagne served tall over crushed ice. Yes, you read it correctly,
silver dust was sprinkled over the chunk of watermelon garnishing the champagne cocktail.
For more information click,
HERE.
*Photos of Mandarin Bar interior are courtesy of MGM Mirage
