Julian Serrano Restaurant Review, Las Vegas

Julian Serrano is a new Spanish Tapas (small plates) restaurant in the new Las Vegas City Center Aria Hotel. Open in late December 2009, it is run by celebrity chef Julian Serrano who also runs top rated Picasso in Bellagio. He focuses on his native Spanish fare for lunch and dinner.

Decor, Vibe – Located right next to Hotel registration, Julian Serrano is an beautiful open restaurant on the main level of the Aria. Black faux trees and tables, Spanish music, glitzy vibrant colors, shelves of ornamental glassware, fancy red boothes, open kitchens, and delicate crystal pervade the restaurant. The place was filled with fellow tourists when we went for lunch.

Menu (Click to zoom into any picture)

Tapas Menu

Menu

Julian Serrano Menu has lots of tapas options, from soups to salads to lots of vegetarian options to meats to cerviches to expensive paella. They suggest 4-5 items per person.

Picks:

Non Alcoholic Sangria ($6) Made to order with Fresh fruit juices and Fruit was sweet, refreshing, and tasted a lot like grape juice.

Valenciana Paella ($40) Is designed for two people and takes 35 minutes to prepare, so order early. Chicken, rabbit, chorizo, vegetables, saffron rice. It looks big but it is very shallow. Terrible value for $40. Nice chewy flavored rice, especially good chorizo, a tad bit salty.

Shrimp Cerviche ($10) with vegetable relish, yellow pepper, red pepper, cilantro, lime juice, avacado. Nice finely chopped textures and a not too sour marinade.

Grilled Lamb Chops ($14) with alioli sauce were two thin medium rare pieces. Very tasty, wish there was more.

Escalibada ($8) Roasted eggplant, red pepper, tomato was a cold, refreshing dish especially good on warm days.

Brava Potato ($8) with spicy tomato, garlic alioli sauce came to us hot out of the kitchen and lightly fried. A solid dish.

Sauteed Baby Spinach ($8) with pine nuts, raisins, apple, shallots was lightly cooked and a nice light salad like dish.

OK:
None

Pans:

Lobster & Pineapple ($14) was part of their ‘New Tapas’ line. Lobster tail, molecular pineapple, sesame oil. 4 small pieces with excellent lobster and a weird pineapple concoction. It was chilled and then redone to make it soggy and jello-ey. Try molecular gastronomy elsewhere.

Julian Serrano had decent service but the waiter did not come by very often after taking our order, especially when the place was filled. The food was good but portion size was small making value low. The paella was extremely overpriced for what we got. If you are in the mood for tapas, this place is a safe bet, but stick to cheaper items. Bocadillos in San Francisco is a lot cheaper and in the same quality neighborhood.

Extensive 16 page wine selection, high wine markup with bottles from $23, glasses from $7.

$25 Dining Certificate for $5

Julian Serrano Overall Rating: (Very Good 2.5)

Come Back?

Food Rating:	(Very Good)
Service Rating:	(Average)
Atmosphere Rating:	(Excellent)
Value Rating:	(Average)

Guide: 0 = poor, 1 = Below/Average, 2 = Good, 2.5 = Very Good, 3 = Excellent , 4 = Extraordinary

Alcohol:	Full Bar
Attire:	Casual
Hours:	Daily 11am - 11pm
Parking:	Street
Reservations:	Yes
Prices:	$8 - $50