Walking into Grand Lux Cafe, I was immediately struck by the atmosphere — I felt this weird vibe like I was standing inside of a Cheesecake Factory. After flipping through the menu I realized there was more than just a vibe connecting the two. David Overton, Founder of The Cheesecake Factory Restaurants is responsible for Grand Lux Cafe as he was commissioned by the Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas to create an upscale casual restaurant for the Venetian.
With all the execution problems of the Cheesecake Factory, I was certainly a bit wary of what the Grand Lux Cafe was going to offer. I was almost ashamed to give this place a great review because it felt like a chain, but I must be honest, the food I ate was great.
The large portions aren’t an even-swap for quality at Grand Lux Cafe, they are a complement to it. The Jamaican jerk pork tenderloin was perfect. It was cooked perfectly; the flavor was perfect — it merged a sweet and savory flavor into some sort of a dry rub, meets marinade. Accompanying the pork tenderloin were unflavorful white rice, al dente black beans, sweet potato mash, fried wonton skins, and a mango salsa.
Imperfect sides were the only downfalls of the plate, but the juices from the pork helped bring flavor to the white rice where it could. A sweet potato mash is hard to get wrong, and Grand Lux Cafe did not get it wrong. It was very sweet and very smooth. There was a pretty good flavor to the beans, with the obvious hint of cumin and some sort of a spicy pepper, but al dente is not a complement when referring to beans.
Surprise, surprise…I was very surprised indeed.
