With last week being Valentine’s Day I wanted to take my wife somewhere special for dinner. I wanted to go old school to a vintage Las Vegas restaurant, one I hate to admit I had not gone to yet and has been in Las Vegas for 45 years.
We ventured downtown to the 4 Queens and went to dinner at Hugo’s Cellar. The name says it all as the restaurant is below street level, and that street would be the world famous Fremont Street. When you go to Hugo’s Cellar it’s like stepping back in time and enjoying a piece of Las Vegas history.
From the moment you walk down the steps from the casino floor to the underground paradise you know you are in for a fantastic evening. The first thing that happens when you arrive is every lady that dines at Hugo’s is greeted with one long stem rose. Yes guys, Hugo’s is stepping up your game without you even doing a thing.
Once seated you will be waited on by a bevy of waiters, usually 2-3 different people attending to your needs and yes, in old school fashion are dressed in black tux.
Every meal comes with a salad. No big deal right? Well, these salads are prepared individually tableside. Your waiter will custom build it for you putting all the toppings of your choosing in it. You can get everything from hard-boiled eggs to artichokes and even baby shrimp. It is a nice touch to be included with every meal and the tableside presentation is even better.
After your salad and before your entrée comes out they serve you a baby cone filled will lemon sorbet to cleanse your pallet. Again, this is another nice touch that is very old school.
For dinner my wife ordered the filet with the red potatoes and I went with the seafood trio consisting of Chilean sea bass, a lump crab cake and sautéed shrimp in garlic with sun dried tomatoes. Both dishes were very good with nice size portions.
Next up was some after dinner coffee as my wife ordered the Cappuccino and she said it was one of the best she has had. The table next to us ordered the Kona Coffee Experience, which is for two. They actually brew fresh ground Hawaiian Kona coffee right at the table. If you love coffee this is a pretty cool way to have it. Again, it’s all about the presentation.
With every dinner each table receives a complimentary dessert platter featuring chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate dipped apricots and while chocolate dipped baby figs. If you want to impress your lady Hugo’s is stepping up your game with style points here.
Be sure to save room for one of Hugo’s signature tableside desserts. You can order either Cherries Jubilee or Bananas Foster. Both are very good but my favorite is the Banana’s Foster. Again, the tableside preparation is almost as good as the dessert itself. I highly recommend saving room for dessert. If you don’t want either of the tableside desserts they have a full dessert cart as well.
Many times when I go to a restaurant that has had a lot of hype I leave disappointed but that wasn’t the case here. Hugo’s Cellar was everything I thought it would be and I’m glad I got to experience a true Las Vegas landmark. If you want to impress a special someone with a night out on the town you can’t go wrong there. I give Hugo’s Cellar 3.75 Forks out of 4.