At the top of the Stratosphere hotel in Las Vegas, there’s a restaurant called “The Top of the World”. It rotates very slowly around the top, giving you a tip-top view of the entire city in just over an hour. We got there right before the sun started to set and were able to see the Strip go from day to night in the span of a couple of hours. It was breathtaking!
We started out on the Strip side when we sat down – this was our view from the table.
There are signs up warning diners about possible skyjumpers – just so you don’t freak out as they jump off the edge while you’re dining. We happened to see a few but I wasn’t able to get a shot of any of them jumping!
The view really is just right there in front of you. It’s hard to tell that you’re even moving since it rotates so slowly. It’s subtle. And awesome!
Jake’s pointing out Fremont street in Downtown Vegas, right after the sunset.
[Bread Basket]
We were given a basket of breads to start off with. There was a large Parmesan crisp, and a variety of bread rolls.
[Flavored butters]
We were also given some flavored butters to go with our breads. The one in the back with the sprinkle of green color in it was an herb and garlic flavored butter. The orange one in the front had a ginger flavor to it and I believe the last one was plain. There were four of us at the table (Jake, Chris, Laura and I) so we got two plates of the butters to share. I honed in on the herb/garlic butter and used as much of that one as possible. I didn’t dig the ginger butter quite as much. It had a bit of a tart flavor, but it was fun to try.
[Corn and Plantain Soup – $11]
Laura decided to try the soup of the day, which was a Corn and Plantain soup. When it arrived at the table, our waiter placed a container of corn and plantains and other goodies into the bottom of her dish and then poured the hot soup on top. The two little sticks you see floating above are the plantains. The soup itself is a puree of a bunch of ingredients, making for an intensely flavored and thick soup. We all tried a bite of it, agreeing that it was good and very flavorful. I don’t remember everything that was in it, but it melded together to create an interesting soup.
[Twice Baked Potato – $12]
This is Jake’s side dish – an incredibly large twice baked potato. We saw another table getting this enormous potato and I pointed it out to Jake, who immediately decided that that would be something to get on the side for all of us to share. The baked potato comes with bacon, cheese and green onions (Jake asked for it sans green onions). The potato is very creamy and rich and the bit of bacon gives it a nice extra bit of saltiness and crunch.
[Ricotta gnocchi “Mac and Cheese” – $10]
Browsing the menus and their side items, my eyes lit up at the words “ricotta” and “gnocchi” together. Two things that I love so much… combined together? Is it some kind of magic super food? It comes with white truffle oil, but our waiter asked if I would like it with or without, and chose to have it without. The gnocchi are super light and tender and melt into your mouth as you savor it. Creamy and rich, the gnocchi tastes like little fluffy pillows covered in cheese. I easily could have only ordered this and been a very happy girl.
[Roasted Iowa Pork Tenderloin with Apple and Cranberry Chutney – bacon wrapped tenderloin, demi-glace palm vinegar – $44]
This is Jake’s dinner. He kept flip-flopping between this and the Rib Eye, but in the end decided to go with Pork since he hardly ever has it when he goes out. He’s always afraid of restaurants overcooking the pork and it becoming dry and flavorless. Luckily, he had nothing to worry about here at Top of the World – the pork tenderloin came out perfectly. The dish actually comes with a yam puree, but our waiter offered to substitute it with mashed potatoes for Jake. The sweet, tender pieces of pork are wrapped in bacon, creating an extra layer of flavor on the meat.
[California Muscovy Duck Bread with Orange and Lime Hoisin Sauce – $45]
Laura decided to have the duck for dinner. I had a small taste of the duck – it was succulent and had a nice flavor to it. Laura said that there was something spicy in her dish, but she couldn’t quite tell what it was or where it was coming from (the veggies? the sauce?) and that was the only thing she wasn’t thrilled about.
[Surf and Turf – 10 oz filet, butterflied, with red wine mushroom sauce, Yukon gold mashed potatoes and 1/2 lb Canadian lobster tail – $79]
Chris had the Surf and Turf – a filet, butterflied, along with a lobster tail. I’ve never had a filet butterflied before, but Jake explained to me that it cooked the meat faster and made it a bit bigger. Reminded me of butterflied shrimp a little bit. Chris gave me a little bit of the lobster dipped in butter and it was quite good. I’m not generally a huge fan of lobster (I think it’s a little too rich), but the lobster here was done quite nicely. It retained a good flavor and was cooked really well.
[Surf & Turf with garlic Mexican prawns – $65]
For me – I also got the Surf and Turf – except I got mine with garlic prawns instead of lobster. Shrimp/prawns are one of my most favorite foods and these huge prawns were no exception. They were full of flavor with the garlic and herbs and were nice and succulent. I got my “turf” portion prepared medium rare, non-butterflied. The filet was tender and well cooked to a pretty good medium rare. Filet isn’t my favorite cut of meat, but I thought this was pretty good. The red wine mushroom sauce was especially taste on the meat – and I got a few mushroom poured on top of my filet which I love, love, love. The mashed potatoes were super creamy, buttery and delicious. This was a win-win meal all around!
[Dessert table we did not partake of]
I took a snapshot of the dessert offerings as we scooted on by the dessert tray – there were two in different spots as we rotated around. Can you believe that we didn’t order any dessert? Usually I always want to order dessert but nothing really jumped out at me. It just all sounded like standard fare, so I didn’t push for it. We decided to get dessert somewhere else – but that didn’t pan out either since we all got tired and crashed at the hotel a little while later (after we swung by the Pawn Stars shop that’s featured on the History channel – it’s sadly not really exciting in any way).
After dinner we went up to the outdoor observation deck since deck viewing was included with our meal. I was okay at first, but then my fears started to kick in, especially after I saw this ride above.
I don’t think you could pay me enough to convince me to go on this ride. No way, no how!
It is a bit pricey here at the Top of the World – but you could certainly have a reasonable meal with appetizers and side dishes – it’s worth it just to get up here and enjoy the view. All in all, I thought the Top of the World restaurant offered up a very memorable, one of kind experience. The view is breathtaking, the food is pretty good, and the service is top notch. We even all got dressed up for a night out (it says on the website that proper dress is required, though we saw a few patrons in much more casual clothing…) and it was the perfect way to top off a very fun trip to Vegas!
Top of the World
(at Stratosphere)
2000 Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV
Ooh… ricotta gnocchi sounds fabulous! I bet watching the Strip transform from day to night is fascinating… all those lights coming on all over the city!
I really could have just eaten the gnocchi and been totally happy – but everything else was also very good! The view was stunning – it was so cool to watch the city go from day to night!
Is there any way I can get the recipe for the mashed potatoes??? They were covered with a cheese topping.