I ate at Gordon Ramsay, Lisa Vanderpump, and Giada De Laurentiis’ Las Vegas restaurants. One got every dish right.

• I compared Las Vegas restaurants owned by Gordon Ramsay, Lisa Vanderpump, and Giada De Laurentiis.
• Vanderpump has wild cocktails, while De Laurentiis sticks to Italian-American classics.
• My favorite was Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen restaurant, where every dish was perfectly executed.

Trips to Las Vegas have started to look a little different since I entered my 30s.

Gone are the days when my friends and I would solely survive on McDonald’s or Panda Express, lugging grease-stained brown bags or heaving cartons of orange chicken as we rushed from the pool party to the nightclub.

Oh, to be young. Or at least that young!

I’m still going to the clubs, but you won’t catch me at the Venetian food court anymore. Dining in Sin City has never been better, and I treat each visit as an opportunity to explore.

On my most recent Vegas trip to review The Vanderpump Hotel, I got the chance to try three very different restaurants by three very big names: Lisa Vanderpump, Gordon Ramsay, and Giada De Laurentiis.

There were highs, there were lows, there were cocktails covered in smoke. There were birdcages stuffed with charcuterie, towers stacked with crostini and crepes, and who could forget the world’s most famous beef Wellington?

Here’s how it all went.

My first meal of the trip was lunch at Giada, located at the brand-new Vanderpump Hotel.

Giada was De Laurentiis’ very first restaurant, opening at The Cromwell hotel in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip in June 2014. The property has since been completely revamped by Vanderpump and now bears her name, but Giada remains in the same space.

When I walked into the restaurant, something about the interior design felt distinctly ’90s.

The nearly orange glow of the lighting and the multicolored patterns on the chairs made me feel like I was back in a quirky coffee shop from my childhood. Waiting on each marble table were red water glasses decorated with stars and salmon-pink cloth napkins.

My friend Kayla and I sat down in a comfy crescent-shaped booth that faced the floor-to-ceiling windows, offering front-row seats to the Strip. Our server said the view was even better at night, when everything was lit up and you could watch the Fountains of Bellagio.

We decided to start with the $40 Brunch Favorites Tower.

We loved the crostini, which arrived in thin logs with a generous piping of ricotta on top. The cheese was lightly kissed with truffle and hot honey, creating a sweet-and-savory bite that felt indulgent.

The crepes — which came with either Nutella and strawberry or smoked salmon and caviar — were less impressive. The savory crepe was surprisingly bland, and we couldn’t taste any of the caviar. The bacon-wrapped dates at the bottom of the tower were a bit heavy, but the creamy gorgonzola dipping crema added some balance.

Next up was the chopped Italian salad.

We figured we needed some balance before a round of pasta, but the chopped salad was lacking in ingredients and flavor. There wasn’t enough salami or baby tomatoes, and, overall, everything needed a big punch of salt.

I tried a couple of additional Giada appetizers while getting room service at The Vanderpump Hotel and would recommend the (really delicious) $17 orzo meatballs or $34 salumi and formaggi dish instead.

We tried the breakfast risotto, rigatoni alla vodka, and cavatelli pasta for our entrées.

The star of the trio was the $22 rigatoni alla vodka, which features pomodoro, a dollop of ricotta, and basil. The noodles, covered in sauce and dusted in cheese, looked beautiful on the plate. Each bite was satisfyingly creamy and rich, with a hint of sweetness.

We also liked the breakfast risotto, a fun Italian-American fusion breakfast that featured sunny-side-up eggs, applewood-smoked bacon, and sugar snap peas. It wasn’t the most memorable dish, but the risotto was cooked well, and I liked the extra crunch from the peas and bacon.

Our least favorite dish of the day was the $25 cavatelli. We ordered the pasta since it uses the same lemon crema as the signature lemon spaghetti on Giada’s dinner menu, but we could barely taste any lemon. The shrimp on top was dry and looked unappetizing against the pale cavatelli, which had been topped with crispy capers. Nothing about the dish seemed to work.

A Caesars representative declined to comment on the food at Giada.

The next day, we headed across the street to Caesars Palace for lunch at Hell’s Kitchen.

Although I’ve never seen “Hell’s Kitchen,” which is now in its 25th season, I’m a huge fan of Gordon Ramsay. I’ve been to a number of his restaurants in London — including his very fun bottomless pizza spot — and love whipping up his recipes at home (my favorite is his 15-minute Bolognese).

So I was super excited to finally dine at one of his Hell’s Kitchen restaurants, all of which serve his signature beef Wellington dish.

The restaurant’s interior is designed to make guests feel as if they’re on the show’s set.

The Hell’s Kitchen restaurant features a massive open kitchen split into a red and blue side, with chefs wearing either red or blue bandanas to signify their team — just like on the show.

Dangling from the ceiling are dozens of light fixtures shaped like golden pitchforks, part of the series’ iconic logo.

We decided to start our day with cocktails that we could eat and drink.

There’s nothing like a good Bloody Mary — or in this case, the Hell’s Mary — to start your day in Vegas. Hell’s Kitchen’s $25 version includes Absolut Tabasco vodka mixed with a tomato-spice blend and a smoked paprika rim. It was one of the best Bloody Marys I’ve had in a long time, refreshing while still packing a spicy punch.

The $24 shrimp cocktail was pretty pricey for four shrimp, but they were extremely plump and fresh — clearly high-quality. The bright and tangy gin cocktail sauce was so delicious, we swept up every last drop.

Next up were the pan-seared scallops.

As someone who watches a lot of cooking competitions, I know how tricky scallops can be. I also learned that they’re a frequent challenge on “Hell’s Kitchen,” with Ramsay known to scream “IT’S RAW” to anyone who dares undercook the pesky bivalve.

There was no such mistake during our lunch. The scallops, perched in a lovely citrus beurre blanc, were butter-soft. The bacon lardons provided some smoky crunch against their tender sweetness, and the English pea purée added a beautiful burst of color.

I couldn’t resist trying the onion soup.

If you’ve read any of my cooking articles, you’ll know that I’m a massive soup fan. I’m in a group chat dedicated to sharing pictures and soup recipes (shout-out to my “soup girlz”), and I make a massive batch of homemade chicken stock at least once a year. So the 110-degree Vegas heat did not dissuade me from trying Ramsay’s $19 onion soup.

And I’m so glad, because this dish truly felt gourmet. Mixed with lobster, black truffle, and potato hash, each sip was creamy and decadent. I would definitely order it again.

The beef Wellington lived up to its hype.

Every famous chef has their iconic dish. For Julia Child, it was beef bourguignon. For Wolfgang Puck, it’s the smoked salmon pizza. And for Ramsay, it’s beef Wellington.

While I’ve dined at a handful of Ramsay’s restaurants, this was the first time I got to see his legendary recipe up close. The puff pastry that encased the beef had been baked to a beautiful caramel color, while the medium-rare filet glowed pink. Tucked into the accompanying potato purée was a pool of red-wine demi-glace, presented without a drop out of place. It was a beautiful plate.

And just like every other dish at Hell’s Kitchen, the $73.95 beef Wellington was excellent. The puff pastry was flaky and warm, hugging the tender beef inside. I’d run each piece through the velvety potatoes for the perfect comforting bite. The flavors immediately brought me back to the Sunday roast dinners I’d eat while living in London.

We capped off our meal with the $15.95 sticky toffee pudding, which I highly recommend. It was the exact amount of sweetness we needed after such a big lunch.

For our last dinner in Vegas, we decided to travel to Vanderpump’s Parisian escape — no passport required.

In addition to her hotel, Vanderpump has four restaurants and bars in Vegas: Pinky’s at the Flamingo, Vanderpump à Paris at Paris Las Vegas, Vanderpump Cocktail Garden at Caesars Palace, and Gigolo at The Vanderpump Hotel.

I tried all four places during my recent trip, going on my own Vanderpump Vegas crawl. Vanderpump à Paris was one of my favorite spots thanks to its stunning decor, imaginative cocktails, and a delicious spread of carbs.

Vanderpump à Paris is designed to evoke a rainy night in the City of Light.

We strolled beneath the restaurant’s high stone archways and were transported into a moody, romantic space that felt worlds away from the nearby slot machines. The dim lighting and velvet purple booths made the restaurant feel cozy, while the chandeliers, marble tables, and fountains added drama and elegance.

Behind the marble bar, you’ll find a fake window, designed to look like raindrops on glass. Stare long enough, and you’ll notice the Eiffel Tower winking back.

After ordering a round of espresso martinis, we dug into our first app.

I love a good charcuterie board, so I couldn’t resist trying Vanderpump’s $45 Birdcage Á Charcuterie.

The meats — including salami, capocollo, and mini baguette rosettes, a traditional French sandwich — were all delicious, and I loved the housemade potato chips, which were crisped to perfection. My one wish was that they had a creamy dipping sauce to offset that salty crunch. The birdcage comes with a sharp mustard for the meat, but it didn’t pair well with the chips. Vanderpump has a fantastic Boursin dip at Gigolo that would be perfect for them.

The $30 Truffle-Stuffed Vanderpump Baguette was my favorite dish of the night.

I wasn’t planning to dig into a baguette covered with black summer truffles and triple crème Brie before a long night out in Vegas, but, honestly, I have no regrets.

The golden baguette had a lovely crust that wasn’t too crunchy, giving way to the ultra-creamy cheese. And the truffle honey added extra umami — it all tasted so decadent! I have thought about this baguette a lot since leaving Vegas.

And the Louvre at First Sight was the best cocktail of my entire trip.

Only the garnish of my $27 drink was visible at first, peeking through a miniature Louvre pyramid filled with smoke. Tendrils were already seeping from the base, turning the dinner table into our own little club.

A cloud of smoke escaped as the server lifted the case, revealing the pink mezcal cocktail sitting atop fresh flower petals. The drink was both smoky and sweet, with a lovely freshness from the prickly pear and a kick of jalapeño honey. It went down easily (and quickly).

We also tried the $50 Lovelocked, which comes with two cocktails, plus a padlock, key, and marker.

The drink was inspired by Paris’ former Love Lock Bridge, which nearly sank from the weight of one million tourists’ pledges of love. Now you can re-create the moment at Vanderpump’s “Wall of Love.”

The concept was cute, but I didn’t love the gin and hibiscus drink as much as the Louvre at First Sight, which provided more flavor and drama at a lower price.

The $23 Mini Monsieurs were delicious, but I wouldn’t recommend ordering them alongside the baguette.

I ordered our entrées after a few cocktails, which is probably why I decided on sandwiches stuffed with Gruyère and covered in béchamel, along with a $17 tub of Gruyère frites. If I’m having more than one drink, an order of fries is almost guaranteed.

The frites were deliciously seasoned, and the Mini Monsieurs were a cheesy dream. But overall, there were too many carbs for one meal, a fault of my own ordering!

We were completely stuffed, but when the waiter asked if we wanted dessert, how could we say no? The $16 Rose & Rosé Eclairs are light, bite-sized, and a nice little treat to end the night.

There was never a dull moment during my Vegas feast, but there was a clear favorite.

From the cocktails to the dessert, every dish at Hell’s Kitchen was perfectly executed. If this were a competition, Ramsay would have won easily.

But that’s not to say I wouldn’t go back to Vanderpump à Paris for another smoking cocktail and truffle-stuffed baguette. And if you’re staying at The Vanderpump Hotel, I highly recommend ordering Giada’s orzo meatballs and the salumi and formaggi plate for room service.

The best part about Vegas is that there’s truly something for every mood at every hour — even a 40-piece chicken-nugget box, if that’s what your young heart desires.

Read the original article on Business Insider