Surprisingly, we never got around to trying Mon Ami Gabi until last night. We had tickets to The Producers at 8pm so it seemed like a perfect fit; I made reservations for 6pm a week in advance. For a few years now, I’ve heard nothing but solid praises for the food, value and ambience at Mon Ami Gabi. I wish I could say our experience earned such regards. And I’m sure I’ll ruffle some feathers, but the entire meal was lackluster, the service was slow, and we witnessed the most disorganized staff I’ve encountered in recent memory.
Upon arrival we had to wait in line to give our name to the hostess. Then it took three girls tapping on the computer before they were able to locate our reservation. We, along with the group ahead of us, were herded alongside the bar and told to wait to be seated. A few moments passed and then we were led to our table in a small room with approx. eight tables. The room had two large windows: one overlooks Las Vegas Blvd with a faint view of Bellagio in the distance – and the other had views of the casino floor through the shear drapery. The atmosphere was nice, although the main dining area was bustling and a bit loud.
The wine list was quite impressive; it’s too bad we’re not wine drinkers. We flipped the menu and glanced over the food selection. I had an idea of what I wanted before we arrived so I was quick to settle on the Onion Soup and New York Strip Steak with shallot and burgundy sauce. Frank took longer to make his choice. No entrees on the menu caught his eye, so he instead ordered the Monday night special, filet mignon with truffle cream sauce. We nibbled on the fresh bread while we awaited our soup. It took some time for the waiter to return with our drink order; and when he did he gave the iced tea to me and diet Pepsi to Frank. It should’ve been reversed. This is a minor flaw, one that I’d typically pay little attention to, but in this case it set the tone for the rest of the meal.
Soup was mistakenly delivered to the two men sitting beside us to our right. A few minutes later, soup du jour and crab cakes were brought to us in error. They were intended for the couple seated to our left. After we polished off the tasty French bread our onion soup finally arrived. The soup was good, right on par with other French onion soups I’ve tried. Frank, however, felt the three onion soup at The Range (Harrah’s) is better, both, in taste and presentation. I’ve never been so I can’t compare.
When we finished our soup, the gentlemen dining to our right received their entrees, but they had to wait for flatware before they could dig in, they seemed annoyed. We received ours right after them, as did the table to our left. There was a long lull between the time we finished our soup and when our entrees were delivered. Yet again, they tried to deliver our neighbors’ (to the left) selection. We refused and were beginning to get impatient. Then finally, our entrees were delivered, but Frank was served mine and received his. After a quick swap it was finally time to dig in. We thought the frites reminded us of shoe strings… fancier than French fries, but nothing to be excited about. Both steaks were prepared to our liking. My Strip Steak was fattier and less tender than I expected and the sauce was uninspired. Frank’s filet had more fat and it was less tender than we are used to as well. But, the truffle sauce was wonderful. Frank definitely made the better choice by ordering the special.
Towards the end of our meal, Frank was in need of a refill, the waiter returned with a diet Pepsi. He even noted the mistake, but he never returned with an iced tea. In the meantime, both parties seated beside us had left. We were slightly annoyed because the table to our left was seated after us. When the waiter asked us if we’d like dessert we passed and requested that the check be brought promptly since we had a show to catch. He returned several minutes later to deliver the bill, $88 before tip. Overall, we felt Mon Ami Gabi was overrated and we failed to see the value. Maybe our expectations were too high? Perhaps we caught them on an off night? Could be that we’re jaded… Either way, they didn't earn praises from us.
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