Twist is a fine dining restaurant on the 23rd floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas. The chef is French, but because of the venue, the dishes all have a French/Oriental leaning, which makes for an interesting dining experience indeed.
That chef is Pierre Gagnaire, the proud owner of 3 Michelin stars. While his name is over the door, we didn’t see him while we were there, so don’t know if he actually cooks there, or just puts his name to the place. Either way, the food was excellent, the service great and the entire experience positive.
The menu is exquisite, meaning you need a refined palate to experience it fully. This isn’t somewhere where you’ll find a strip steak or burgers. This is for those of you who know food, who appreciate complex flavours and who know a good chef when you see one. There is also a dress code, so be aware.
We had the tasting menu, which we thought would give us the widest cross-section of the faire on offer here. We must say we weren’t disappointed! It is called Pierre Gagnaire's Spirit, and is a selection of food across the range that brings out the best in French/Asian cuisine. It’s a great way to sample what the restaurant does.
Each course is paired with a wine to offer a great combination of flavours. It was also a great opportunity to sample the cellar too, which we were also looking forward to.
On paper, many of these dishes either don’t look like they would work, or are at least a curious mix. The only thing we would say here is that you have to try them to believe them. Each dish is delicately balanced and offers a real flavour experience. The wines are perfectly matches to both complement the flavours and to prepare the palate for the next course.
"The balance of flavours, the presentation, the consideration all conspire to make Twist an experience to remember."
First up was Yellow Tail. It came with black olive gelee, asparagus salad, espellette pepper, cerviche of yellow tail and a rhubarb fondue. This came with a 2009 Dominix Servin Chablis. The Chablis was simply awesome, one of the best wines we have ever tasted.
Next was Summer in the City. It consisted of minted prawns, diced pork belly, cauliflower, vegetable broth with lemongrass, scallop mouselline, white summer truffle, steamed leak, foie gras ice cream and diced daikon. This was accompanied by a 2009 Chateau D’Auvernier Pinot Gris.
Third course was langoustine Patchi’s meuniere sautéed langoustine with green curry and parika, Patchi’s broth and baby greens. It came with a glass of 2009 Langworth Von Simmerin, Riesling.
Next came Intermezzo, consisting of grilled aubergine, semi dry cantaloupe and Glenmorangie granite. To drink, we had a 2008 Talbott Chardonnay from the Sleepy Hollow vineyard, St Lucia.
Corn fed chicken was next up. An unlikely name considering what we said earlier. However, this wasn’t an ordinary chicken dish. This was roasted chicken breast stuffed with a paste of almonds and pistachios. It came with grilled tomatoes, black gnocchi, ajo blanco and perls of cucumber. The wine served with this dish was a 2007 Chateau Bouscasse, Brummaire from France.
Finally came dessert, and what a course this was, six desserts! There was passion fruit Wurtz with pineapple sorbet, moscato granite with apple tandoori, muscovado cherries, red pepper confit and ewe cheese, arlette pastry, caramel whisky glace with raisins and a chocolate cube with citrus cocoa syrup.
Words simply cannot do this menu justice, it has to be experienced to be fully comprehended. The balance of flavours, the presentation, the consideration all conspire to make this an experience to remember.
Along with great service and a nice, relaxed atmosphere, this was one of the best dining experiences we have ever had in Las Vegas.
The Bill: £228 per head
