With the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in town for its annual summer run I always like to highlight a place or two that is either close to the Rio or would suit the odd hours of a poker player.
I have found such a place, as the El Dorado Cantina Restaurant & Bar is open 24/7 and suits the schedule of a poker player because you never know when that juicy cash game is going to break up or if you are going to go the distance in a tournament and be bagging chips to come back for Day 2 of the event.
So, if you are looking for a late-night meal and want to wash it down with a margarita or two, check out the Cantina at 3025 Sammy Davis Jr. Drive. Now if that address seems familiar to you it’s because it’s the same as Sapphire Gentleman’s Club. The restaurant is attached to Sapphire’s but has its own separate entrance in front. So, unless you want to go next-door you can feel totally comfortable going to El Dorado.
When you enter there is a main bar in the center of the restaurant with a couple of TV’s if you want to watch a game. There are booths and tables located all around the bar area. The booths are throw backs to old Vegas with nice leather seats and red velvet walls. I loved the cool vibe of the restaurant.
They start you out as most Mexican restaurants do with fresh chips and salsa. The chips were excellent, and the two sauces were good as they served a mild and a spicy salsa.
If you like guacamole I highly recommend trying the tableside guacamole. This is one of their signature offerings as they prepare it fresh tableside.
To star, I ordered an appetizer, the Imperial Shrimp, and it was excellent. You get four large Pacific shrimp wrapped in bacon, stuffed with seafood and lightly fried. These were so good and a great way to start your meal.
Next up was my entrée. I went with their signature Grilled Mahi Tacos. The mahi had a citrus marinade that gave it great flavor and the taco was topped with a mango salsa that complimented the mahi perfectly. These might have been the best fish tacos I’ve had in Las Vegas as they were that good.
You can’t go to a Mexican restaurant and not have Fried Ice Cream for dessert. It was good, but I have had better at other places in town.
If you like tequila, El Dorado has over 100 different ones to choose from. It must be noted all the produce, dairy products, beef, seafood, chicken and pork come from specially selected farms that are free of antibiotics, pesticides and steroids. You can actually look on their website at the farms they order from. All of the ingredients they use are of the highest quality and always fresh.
The food and service were both excellent. I give El Dorado 3.75 Forks.