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Andre's - CLOSED
Category: Restaurants French French [Edit]
401 S 6th StreetLas Vegas, NV 89101
Neighborhood: Downtown
(702) 385-5016
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Valet
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Price Range:
-
$$$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
8 reviews for Andre's
8 reviews in English
-
Review from Jenny D.
Glendale, CA
11/10/2008
This restaurant is the original and last piece in a set of powerhouse French establishments in Las Vegas. After dining at Alize at the Palms and Andres at the Monte Carlo, coming to Andres (the Original) was like, well, coming home.
Being off-strip and closer to downtown gave one a sense of what old Vegas must have been like. At first sight, Andres is a very unassuming house in a quiet neighborhood. After a prompt and friendly greeting, we were shown to our table. The interior was like stepping into maison de la grand-mare (grandma's house). It was warm, inviting, intimate and very cozy.
Our menus were handed to us and because we made reservations in advance, they were customized with our names on it. What a nice and personal touch that was! The menu was chock full of French traditional and comfort foods. A surprising and welcome change from all the fusion, eclectic and nouveau selections seem that dominate the Vegas culinary landscape.
If I'd eaten lighter during the day, I would have gone for the 7-course tasting menu. However, I was anxious to try Andre's house specialties. French being my cuisine of choice made ordering decidedly easy.
I had the Seared Fois Gras on a lightly sweet, caramelized apple, creme anglaise and aged port wine reduction and my friend, the Melange of Field Greens with a yummy herbed goat cheese, circular cardamom cracker and light balsamic vinaigrette. That really got our appetite going.
Even though I knew I wouldn't be able to finish it, I bravely ordered the Lobster Thermador - which has been a staple on their menu for decades. As promised, it was decadent - the full lobster, split down the middle, filled with big chunks of lobster meat and a sublime creme sauce with mushrooms and white wine. I absolutely enjoyed it!
My friend ordered the veal chop, topped with Gruyere cheese and stuffed with the less-salty French ham. He polished off his plate fast! I was able to try a little bite. Though not a fan of veal, I thought the meat was tender and the Chanterelles Veal Jus Madeira sauce was excellent!
Because I saw the dessert cart ahead of time, I opted out my usual souffle. I chose the brulee lemon tart on a shortbread crust. It came with a raspberry sauce with some fruit and was fabulous. I was happy to see the light texture mirror the lemon curd I make at home. My friend had the chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.
This dining experience was fabulous and very memorable. The friendly and attentive staff were definitely the creme de la creme! ;) Note: I just read that this location will be closing down which saddens me a little. However, I'll take comfort knowing that its spirit will live on in similar surroundings that will pay homage to the original Andres. -
Review from Daria J.
Oakland, CA
6/24/2007
Out of three locations, this is not only the original, but where Andre himself is still the executive chef. Which means there's no excuse to go anywhere else.
It is right in downtown area, where casino noises won't bother you. A rather exclusive feeling place, the side street bears the chef's own name, which tells me that the government buildings nearby has gotten some quite good meals. Inside decor is an imitation of a basement cellar, with those rough stucco walls and random oversized bottles. A very quiet place, even though there were other diners present. My silverware clanging on the plates seemed to be echoing to both my and everyone else's horror. I tried my best to not make a mess, but we all know what happens.
For appetizers we tried the heirloom tomato salad layered with buffalo mozzarella, a very refreshing and sweet dish, and pan-seared foie gras (my mandatory item!), a light but had that great savory goodness. Not quite melt-in-your-mouth good that I have had at other places, but very good quality and this one gets points for being properly de-veined.
I had honey-glazed rack of lamb for my entree, cooked rare, it was served with a yogurt based sauce and a little dab of spinach puree. My date had the duck, which had sliced breast meat as well as thigh meat confit, it came with slices of small boiled potato layered with bits of bacon that covered the entire potato with bacon essence. All was prepared very well, as they should be, but it lives up to its reputation.
But where it really won us was in the desserts. We both ordered souffles, one chocolate and one Grand Marnier, and both were cooked to a moist level, and did not feel like soggy bread as you see in too many other places. Both were served with insanely rich sauces. Easily the best souffles I have ever had.
With kind and attentive service, this is the fancy place to go for special occasions. Expert kitchen skills, strong drinks from the bar, yet not so fancy that it requires a tie. -
Review from Mr N.
Las Vegas, NV
10/22/2008
Adieu Andre's!
You are closing your original doors downtown and moving your staff to the Monte Carlo and Palms property by end of year. I don't know if the other locations will be able to compete, but I will be visiting you before you close to enjoy your luxurious and well prepared tastes. Ross has been my waiter at Andre's on numerous occasions and always looks after his guests. (He is the one who informed me they were closing when we ran into each other at Terra Verde)
Folks, make your reservations for this place in advanced, they setup a custom menu with your name on it that you can take home as a reminder of your fantastic meal and time spent there.
I've taken a few people here, a true gem of Las Vegas off the strip with style and fantastic food, drinks and desserts. -
Review from Teri C.
10/11/2006 11 photos
I found myself at Andre's on a Saturday evening after many recommendations. We were seated promptly by the very friendly hostess after arriving late. (We later discovered she was more than the hostess, she was upper management!) We had high expectations going in.
We had requested a specific seating area and a specific waitress to give us the ultimate Andre experience. We were slightly disappointed when Laurie wasn't our waitress after all.
After perusing the menu and debating between the tasting menu or going all out on appetizers, we decided on the latter. When the waiter finally returned to take our order, we began by telling him our interest in the appetizers first. He was quick to point out that we should really decide on our main entrees while we order our appetizers and was adamant about this, indicating he would return when we had made our final decision. I was looking up at this man in disbelief. Surely, he must have misunderstood us. I then pointed out, "Uh, we plan on ordering all the appetizers..." "Oh."
After he took our order, my companion and I looked at each other in complete bewilderment. We actually felt intimated to order due to his aggressiveness. He was a bit pushy on the wine list, which was a bit challenging to order from since we were going to go through so many different flavors from the appetizers alone.
Compliments of the chef, we began with a cold butternut squash soup and a tapenade of some sort on a blini. The soup was yummy, but served in a tiny bowl that was challenging to drink from. My companion was impressed with the tapenade thing more so than I was.
Next to arrive was the Caspian Sea Caviar, Golden Osestra served with buckwheat blinis and condiments (hard boiled egg yolks, egg whites, chives, sour green, capers, and red onions). The caviar was lovely, but the blinis took away from the smooth taste. We ended up ditching the blinis and using the french bread that had arrived earlier. We asked the waiter if they had crackers or some other bread for the caviar, but could not come up with anything else. We found that the french bread did not take away from the extravagance of the caviar.
Next to arrive was the Scandinavian Smoked Salmon and Caviar Parfait, Creamy Lemon-Dill Dressing and Horseradish Cream ($16). Can I say yum? The combination of flavors going on was absolutely wonderful to the palate. There were so many layers going on and it was such a joy to eat.
Next was the Tuna Tartare on Eggplant Caviar with Green Tomato Brunoise and Lavendar Sesame Seed Toast ($13). The tuna was good, a bit average. The tomatoes were okay with the tuna, but not particularly tasty on its own.
An Heirloom Tomato and Jumbo Lump Crab Salad with a Ginger Sorbet and Red Onion Vinaigrette ($17) graced our table next. This was such a light and refreshing salad. The sorbet was a fabulous touch and really pulled the dish together. You felt good after eating this.
Moving onto the warmer dishes, our Cauliflower Soup with Duck Confit arrived. I normally would not have chosen such a soup, but was surprised with the flavors they were able to create in what is usually a pretty bland vegetable. The buttery toasted bits on the top were a lovely accent, but the real surprise came when we discovered the duck in the bottom of the bowl. Salty, but very yummy with the soup.
The most disappointing dish of all - Lobster Sausage with Spicy Crayfish Sauce and Fleuron ($15). It was mushy and I could not be bothered. We learned this was one of their more popular appetizers, but this was left untouched by us.
The Jumbo Sea Scallops wrapped in a Macadamia Nut Crust with Citrus Beurre Blanc and Mango Chutney ($15) came next. They were light and tasty, but I think I felt a bit burned out by now with our hot apps.
We still had the Escargots de Bourgogne ($13) coming. Six snails simmering in butter and herbs were laid in front of us. I was reminded of the garlic and parsley taste from the Gordon Biersch's Garlic fries. I wasn't so impressed with this dish.
We had been waiting for this dish all evening - Foie Gras from their daily special menu. The savory taste of the foie gras with the sweetness of the bread underneath was not a pleasant combination. This was also combined with a sweet sauce and pine nuts. Although the foie gras itself was good, it was far from spectacular.
To close our meal, the Sauteed Veal Sweetbreads Provencale with Egg Yolk and Ricotta Cheese Filled Ravioli ($17) came. The ravioli tasted quite plain to me, flavorless. And the sweetbreads were nothing to rave about.
We never made it to dessert.
In such fine establishments, I usually expect the waiters to wait until all the diners are seated before putting our plates down in front of us. This was not the case for us. It was a bit awkward to have our food sitting there as I waited for my companion to return.
A bit noisy.
Valet parking.
Pics above! -
Review from Dave R.
Seattle, WA
11/25/2007
Looks like the other reviewers have never been to France per se. We went to this joint(!) expecting French style dining. It was basically your local steakhouse, albeit a good, with lots of folks hanging around acting serious. Lacking a week's bowel movements I could easily imitate these stuffy waiter wanna be's. A waiter in France is your pilot and guide, going where you tell the pilot to go, but always giving you a tour that fits your flight path. These folks were all faux accent and stupid stern faces. French waiters don't need stern faces, they are in command de facto and don't need to show it.
The first thing to tip us off that this was faux French was the lack of Badoit water on the 'menu d'eau.' Any Frenchman worth his fizzies knows that God himself springs forth from the bubbling cauldron of Badoit. Drink Badoit and all other clear liquids not alcoholic will pale like a gay pastel-adulterated tempera mixed with day-glo and tarted up under a black light.
The waiter, frustrated at being unable to car-jack us with bottled water, asked if we wanted "drinks.:" How about asking us about an 'apertif', "DUDE!". Yes, we start with an apertif, preferably a nice Pernod. Nope, straight to 'what would you like for starters?', Damn, I might have felt all loose and ordered the table a round of Kir Royales, but instead had to forego this,and head straight to.......the dinner wine!
What, no white with our nice foie gras with quince(the foie gras arriving in a rather morgue like chill)?. Look, no white with pate or foie gras and I am ready to kill the little idiot. He wants into my wallet, which is trolling for food like a Parisian whore carrying a French Bulldog in the Bois d' Bologne trolls for trannys but NO! The guy with the pine cone kicked up his rear rushes us for the dinner bottle. Woe is me. And mind you, he didn't ask if I wanted my salad midway, just trotted it out with the rest of the starters. Shitheaded savage.
The mains arrived and the dish covers came off with a flourish and a shouted "Voila!" to get us going. Gee, thanks, I think. By this time I am washing my tonsils on a passable Margaux our friends decided on. The main courses were good, but only steakhouse good. The lamb was rare as asked for which was nice. I was getting a glow on as the sleazy guys in silk shirts with pneumatic girlfriends started to roll in. That was the AHA! moment! They are catering to guys who have a wallet and want to show it so everyone can see. They don't want French, they want a tarted up steakhouse to impress the silicone leaden floozy they plan groping soon after! Mais Oui! Now I get it!
The dessert souffle was indeed well done, but it must be said that if you told a French chef that the last course had made the meal, or god forbid the cheese course, he would be gravely insulted. Why? Its a left handed compliment against the main course. Get it?
Hilariously enough we trotted back to our hotel on very light feet after the helium intense effect on our wallets and tried to order a whisky cask aged ale. And guess what no merde? The waiter was a young Frenchman! He apologized profusely that the taps were bust on this keg. We asked his choice instead and he confidently stated that while France was not a huge beer country, we might like to try the Kronenburg beer. We knew the beer and agreed. When he brought them out we asked his home of origin and he noted that his city was famous for pastis, Henri Bardouin, if I remember correctly. We spoke a bit about our favorites, from the Henri to the basic Rickard or Pernod. He was so happy that we had heard of this that he comped a couple of Pernods! We told him that while its odd to drink with beer, the kindness was appreciated. And it truly was.
So avoid this place unless you just hit the big one and have the bimbo of your dreams at hand. If you want real French, come visit Rover's in Seattle, or even Campangne. You won't get the stuffy BS, and you will get good food without the attitude. Bon Chance! -
Review from Tim C.
Las Vegas, NV
1/1/2008
This is the original Andre's restaurant not the one in the Monte Carlo. Andre himself prefers this location. The decor is very simple and as another reviewer accurately describes as "country french".
Our server was excellent and the sommelier was very helpful selecting our wine.
The food while very good was not good enough given the price range of the restaurant to give it 5 stars. -
Review from Charles S.
Las Vegas, NV
5/18/2008
Absolutely a diamond in the rough! A trip to Andre's downtown restaurant is really a treat. Just took my wife for our thirtieth anniversary dinner last week. A quiet, comfortable atmosphere, friendly staff, and a wonderful dining experience awaits those who find this place. A little off the beaten path, which makes this a special spot. Awesome!
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Review from Reggie M.
Las Vegas, NV
12/15/2006
this restaurant has been on my rader for quite a long time. this restaurant has received so much accolades, and has been recommended to me so many times. i just had to go, but not without my fantastic dining companion. because we were late, my request for Laurie, who was suggested to me as the epitome of waiters at Andre's, was cancelled and we ended up with a sub par waiter. he was quite aggressive, intimidating, and quite loud. this made it very difficult to communicate with him . he misunderstood that we wanted to order a tour of all the appetizers only b/c he was trying to get us to decide on an entree. . there were so many appetizers to choose from.
we started off with a delicious cold butternut squash soup with a tapanade that totally bursting with flavors. im beginning to really like these cold soups. we thne moved on to the caspian sea caviar (golden osestra) to be eaten with these bland bitter taste-removing buckwheat blinis...that took away the flavor from the caviar. this was the first time i was given condiments (hard boiled egg yolks, egg whites, chives, sour green, capers, and red onions) for the caviar. we ended up using the french bread to enjoy the caviar. my favorite appetizer was the scandinavian smoked Salmon accompanied with a caviar parfait and drizzled with creamy lemon-dill dressing and mmmm...horseradish cream...so many flavors in my mouth...wow!!! this was followed by the tuna tartare on eggplant caviar with green tomato brunoise and lavendar sesame seed toast. and to finish off our cold appetizer selection, we had an heirloom tomato and lump crab salad with a ginger sorbet and red onion vinaigrette
we then went on to the cauliflower soup with duck confit. im not into cauliflower, but i do love duck confit, so i was very curious. it was a very savory soup with shredded duck meat at the bottom of the soup, which was accentuated with crunchy toast bits with each spoonful of soup. this was followed by the often suggested lobster sausage with spicy crayfish sauce....mushy...heavy...didnt like it. this was followed by the jumbo sea scallops wrapped in macadamia nut crust with citrus beurre blanc and mango chutney. i also had to order my escargots de bourgogne soaking in butter, herbs, and garlic. finally we arrived to the foie gras. it was alright. it was nothing to what we had in paris. our final dish was the sauteed veal sweetbreads provencale with ravioli filled with egg yolk and ricotta cheese. i couldnt taste a thing at this point b/c i was just too full.
our waiter forgot to mention to us that they could have created a sampling of our appetizers, instead of us ordering so many full appetitzer dishes. i do have to admit that our eyes were bigger than our stomach, for we ate ourselve silly. we enjoyed most of the dishes, but were very disappointed by the service of our waiter...next time we're gonna have Laurie. this place looks like a little villa right in the heart of ghetto/old downtown.. the decor inside is of a french countryside home with lots of rooster picturres, really homey...i have gone back to this place and will return again. they have email reminders of special menus for the holidays...i cant wait....Listed in: Top Restaurants
