The Barrymore in the renovated Royal Resort is cool, clever and quiet, and that’s the way they want it.
“To be able to do whatever I want with the food is exciting and fun,” executive chef Anthony Meidenbauer says. The octopus grilled is amazingly tender, and the roast veal loin dish – one of the throwback Vegas dishes the kitchen prepares in its traditional way – is totally satisfying, paper-thin slices of meat drenched in crème fraiche and oily Spanish tuna sauce. It’s a crazy time-traveling bite. People used to eat food like this. But most start their dinner here with a classic Caesar or the lobster deviled eggs with caviar.
After sampling a salad of Bibb lettuce and hearts of palm in a dressing much more savory and substantial than its description of champagne vinaigrette, I eat the Barrymore steakhouse burger, on a fresh-baked English muffin bun with bacon marmalade and Gruyére cheese, and then adoringly devour beautifully braised short ribs. The meat floats on a cloud of carrot mousseline, kind of a vegetable whipped cream that I would like in a big bowl for dessert, with pickled pearl onions on the side.
“We are geared toward locals,” Billy Richardson, Block 16 partner, says. He knows we will hit a near-Strip location as long as it brings the goods. “Right now, if you look at what’s happening downtown, people are finding things in that area and coming back because they don’t want it to go away.”
But The Barrymore at The Barrymore claims our Best Signature Cocktail crown: This smoky, citrus-inflected whiskey cocktail made with Gentleman Jack, orange liqueur, vermouth and orange bitters, zest and marmalade is classy, complex but jaunty — with an alcohol jolt that grabs my lapels and urges, “Say my name!”
Best of the City 2015, "Best Signature Drink"
