Restaurant Review: Max Brenner's Las Vegas

Crispy Chocolate Eggrolls

S'mores Concoction

Max Brenner Las Vegas

This is a more extensive review of Max Brenner's restaurant in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. A shorter review was included in my previously posted October 2010 trip report.

I planned on meeting my friend Claire for dinner on our first night in Vegas, and after a failed attempt to get into Mesa Grill (it was packed and there were no reservations until 10:30 p.m.), she suggested we just walk through Caesars Palace and see what we found. After passing a couple of other crowded and/or expensive places, she suggested Max Brenner’s, and I’m glad she did! It was DELICIOUS!

Located about halfway through the Forum Shops - across from where the old FAO Schwarz store was located - is the newly opened Max Brenner's. While this restaurant is part of a chain, it is certainly worth a visit, and not just for chocolate, which Max Brenner is famous for. We managed to try sweet and savory concoctions during this trip.

The restaurant has a bar area and casual dining area up front and a separate dining room upstairs, but we chose to eat downstairs near the bar. Music played in the background and never overpowered us during the entire meal, so we were able to chat and catch up while we dined. I really appreciate that in a restaurant; I don't want to have to yell, but I also don't want to feel like I have to whisper in order to keep the neighbors from overhearing everything I say.

Our server was a great help to us during the entire meal, and he was cute and funny to boot. We were more interested in trying several different things rather than just filling up on one item, so his suggestion to get individual servings versus full orders was great for our needs. We shared the “Really Cheesy – Really Crunchy Mac n Cheese” appetizer with marinara, fresh tomatoes and bacon baked in. It was a fantastic blend of cheese and savory bits that could make it a meal in itself. We also shared an individual serving of the “Chicken Bacon Cheddar Rolls” with maple glaze and buttermilk dressing. The rolls were four bite-sized portions of chicken breast, wrapped in bacon and cheddar cheese and served with a buttermilk dressing on the side for dipping. Delicious! Even with the individual portions, there was too much for us to finish, and we had to have room for dessert if we were dining at Max Brenner’s!

For dessert, Claire ordered the “S’mores Concoction”, which was served on a plate that looked like graph paper from high school and included some sort of chocolate mousse and what looked like a deconstructed s'more next to the REAL s'more. I had a bite of the 'real' s'more and found it to taste like a...s'more. Not much you could really do with that to make it different, but it WAS good.

I had the “Crispy Chocolate Eggrolls” - served in a Chinese takeout container and looking like regular, savory eggrolls, they were accompanied by two dipping sauces: creamy milk chocolate and a sea salt caramel sauce. They were fantastic, and the ‘banana fudge chocolate filling’ starting oozing out as soon as I bit into one. Again, there were 4 of them in the order, and that was too much for me. I finished one and a half, and took the other 2 to go. This was my second experience with sea salt caramel sauce, and I have to say that I really enjoy the sweet/salty taste combo. It makes the sweetness of chocolate a little less overwhelming, and I think you can actually eat MORE if you have a sweet sauce that includes salt in it. But that's my opinion.

I don't know the price of the entire meal because Claire picked up the tab for my birthday (which she didn't have to do, but I appreciate her sweetness all the same).

For the entire meal and experience, I rate Max Brenner's as a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10. I would love to go again and try some different sweet AND savory items - they are just too good to pass up!

Max Brenner's hours of operation:
Sunday - Thursday from 10:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m.
Friday - Saturday from 10:00 a.m.-12:30 a.m.
Brunch is served from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays
For reservations call (702)462-8790

Check out their menus at www.maxbrenner.com.