Gordon Ramsay is a new star on The Strip in Las Vegas. He has a deal with the Caesar’s Palace Group adding his name to Gordon Ramsay Burgr in Planet Hollywood, Gordon Ramsay’s Pub and Grill in Caesar’s Palace in addition to Gordon Ramsay Steak  at Paris Las Vegas.

Originally we were going to hit up Burgr. The joint takes no reservations and the long line snaked into the casino meaning a 20 minute wait for a deuce.  In order to wait in the line, you need to stand in front of Ramsay’s flaming Burgr logo.

This is not a cool place to wait on an already 100 degree Las Vegas day.

After flipping through the menu, and seeing decor of the place – some reviewers on Yelp have rightfully described it as having the ambiance of a mall food court, we decided to dump out of line and head up The Strip to his Pub and Grill.

To get to Caesar’s you need to walk past Paris. We spied Ramsay’s name and face plastered all over the Arc de Triomphe replica and hemmed and hawed about sweating out another 15 minute walk to the Pub and Grill or ducking in to the air conditioning and eating at Steak.

We chose Gordon Ramsay Steak.

While the reservation side of the restaurant was full, we were escorted right into the lounge and easily found a comfortable table. The same menu is on both sides. Sure, the table is smaller and the view isn’t as wonderful, but without a reservation, this was an easy and convenient choice.

Ramsay’s restaurants use iPads for their wine list, and while this geeky and clever, I don’t find it particularly convenient. You have to bump back and forth between varietals, prices, regions, and the menu trees are never easy to decipher. We eventually gave up and asked for the sommelier, Jeffrey, to walk us through some pairings for our orders.

I was in a beer mood, and Jeffrey steered me towards Rogue’s Oatmeal Stout. Jennifer is on a white kick, and selected a half bottle of chardonnay from Miner. (Pro tip: never look up the retail prices of wine to compare with restaurant list prices. An $11 half bottle becomes a $47 half bottle when marked up).

The service at Gordon Ramsay Steak was spectacular. It was upbeat and happy without getting in the way. Our water glasses were never empty, and the staff were never sought when we needed something.  The uniforms in the lounge were upscale cocktail. Sexy, without being distracting.

The restaurant decor looks ripped straight from the set of Hell’s Kitchen with a big winding stairway and an open kitchen. The ceiling has a bold Union Jack and a signature scribble of red neon that appears everywhere in the restaurant from the menus to the stemware. Another unique touch? The toilets in the restrooms are black. I have no idea why.

After years of watching Gordon Ramsay‘s Hell’s Kitchen on tv, you’ll come to appreciate a few things about the British chef: risotto and Beef Wellington. The two are mainstays in his red and blue kitchens, and you’ll find the Beef Wellington at Gordon Ramsay Steak. I had to have the wellington to see what all the fuss is about. It is only served medium rare and takes nearly 40 minutes to be served. No worries, we were served some fresh pretzel breads with a side of butter dusted with black volcanic salt from Hawaii. (Love this touch, I have a similar black volcanic salt from Iceland).

When dinner was served, the wellington was delightful. The center was pink, the edges were well done and the pastry just melted when blended with the mushroom coating.  I do have making one of these treasures on my bucket list. Now that I know what to expect, I just might have to dig through the recipe for Gordon Ramsay‘s Beef Wellington to see if I can’t accomplish it.

The dish itself is a little large, and presented as 2 halves. We saw one of the $52 entrees come out on two plates, an excellent idea to split this main if you have a couple of starters with your cocktails.

We skipped out on the toffee pudding (which our server promised is “life changing”), but noticed on the menu at his other restaurants on The Strip as well. Until our next vegas trip we will be practicing our poker skills and maybe even playing some real money games to pass the time.

Total bill: $190 for 2 entrees, a half bottle of wine and a 1 litre beer.