Bazaar Meat by José Andrés, Las Vegas

This was the last dinner of our Californian holiday and we were hoping it would fit the bill. The restaurant was chosen as American Express had kindly offered to chip in to the cost, but the menu was appealing.

When the online booking was made the form asked if it was for a special occasion. One of our party was nine days short of a significant birthday and so we felt that qualified. This brought two unexpected benefits. Firstly, we were given a complementary glass of fizz each (Cava, I think) and later a complementary plate of individual portion desserts, plus a special for the birthday boy.

We took some time understanding the menu options but chose three appetisers. One shared portion of croquettas de polo, one of albondigas, veal meatballs in a rich sauce, and one single cotton candy fois gras, which I have been told was delicious. This came as a white, flufy ball on a stick concealing a small taster of fois gras.

One shared Chateaubriand, one rack of lamb and one secreto pork, all accompanied with carrots, Brussels sprouts and potato puree.

The sprouts had a lovely lemon dressing and reassembled young cabbage more than the Christmas staple, and one portion of potato puree, served to accompany the pork, had what was described as pork grease that needed to be mixed in. Gorgeous.

All washed down with a bottle of Ribera del Duero.

The ambience, food and service were all excellent.

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