The day after our wedding, we took the opportunity to have lunch with T’s sister, his brother-in-law and niece before they headed back home to California. Since they were staying at the Luxor, we went to The Strip for lunch. T picked one of the few places on The Strip he’s actually eaten at and liked. The Rainforest Cafe, which his sister brought him to the first time he went.
Outside the cafe, they had a crazy rainforest-themed gift shop (as with the entire restaurant). We ended up buying a plushie for T’s niece (my new niece) Sophia. I was a little confused as to what it actually was though – either a lemur or a slow loris. Whatever it is, it had huge eyes and a pink tail (just the day before, Sophia told me her favourite colour was pink… then purple and blue). What is it? It’s that thing T is holding in the photo. Can anyone identify it for me?
This place I feel is largely a restaurant for children, okay, family-friendly. It is a little pricier than what you’d pay for the exact same quality for food. The ambience, decor and animatronics, as well as the fact that it is in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip does justify it. I mean, one does not walk into MGM Grand everyday for a casual lunch, right?
The kids menu was pretty decent and there was more than 1 vegetarian option for us to pick from (not just salads). They also told us that they could get the chef to swop out some ingredients and customise certain sauces for vegetarians. On top of that, Sophia was also given some crayons and a colouring sheet to entertain herself with.
The crazy animal feet bar stools and the gift shop aside, there were at least 2 salt-water fish tanks, a regular thunderstorm booming, and animatronics (inside the gift shop and the restaurant). Gorillas, elephants, butterflies etc, all moved in different parts of the restaurant. This makes it a great place for families to bring their children BUT don’t bring the tiny ones or they might be freaked out when the random animatronics are set off.
On the day we went, our server was kept real busy, but still very attentive. I noticed a major spill at a nearby table that was efficiently cleaned up – guys in safari suits and their walkies just swooped in and mopped up the liquid, cleared up the ice cubes.
We spent a total of about $110 for the 5 of us, including the 20% gratuity (at the bottom of the bill, they calculate the suggested 15, 18 & 20% tip for you so you can just choose what you want to add to the payment without having to work out the sum yourself). It’s a little more than we usually spend when we eat out though I think it’s not a place we’d go to very often. Seeing as it was a special day and we don’t really know when we’ll see them again, for the experience, it was a steal!
RAINFOREST CAFE
MGM Casino & Hotel
3799 Las Vegas Boulevard
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 891-8580
An Exercise In Trivial Pursuits 