Top of The World Restaurant, Stratosphere Tower. Las Vegas

...longer and another meal at Top Of the World is planned already!

On our first visit, we were on a budget, due to our visit being our honeymoon and we had just had the expense of a wedding in 2006. This spring, we returned to Las Vegas and the one thing we wanted to experience on our visit this time was to have a meal at 'Top Of The World' restaurant at Stratosphere Hotel.

We didn't stay at Stratosphere, we stayed at the ...
...one way!

Top of the World restaurant is situated 133 floors up, towering 800ft above Las Vegas in the dome of the Stratosphere.

Stratosphere is easily viable from the air as you come into land at McCarran International Airport and indeed from many points on the strip.

BOOKING:
There are a few ways of booking your meal at Top of the World. Be advised, it is easier to get reservations for lunch than ... more

Andrew and I have been lucky enough to visit Las Vegas twice and we loved it so much, our third trip for next June has now been booked, this time we are going for longer and another meal at Top Of the World is planned already!

On our first visit, we were on a budget, due to our visit being our honeymoon and we had just had the expense of a wedding in 2006. This spring, we returned to Las Vegas and the one thing we wanted to experience on our visit this time was to have a meal at 'Top Of The World' restaurant at Stratosphere Hotel.

We didn't stay at Stratosphere, we stayed at the Luxor, which is at the opposite end of the Las Vegas 'Strip' AKA Las Vegas Boulevard.

I will divide this review into section as there is so much one can say about Las Vegas and indeed the restaurant experience itself.

LOCATION:
Stratosphere is located at the bottom or North end of the strip, of course, it wasn't always the bottom end of the strip, however as many hotel have congregated further up the strip towards the airport, it makes Stratosphere feel like miles away. You can walk there from most points on the strip, although Vegas can get very hot so if you do decide to walk, take plenty of fluids with you and take regular breaks. You can take the monorail down to the hotel over the road called Sahara and a single trip will cost you $5 or you can buy an all day ticket for $15. The trolley bus also runs to the entrance foyer of Stratosphere and this costs $5 too. A taxi from Luxor cost us $17 one way!

Top of the World restaurant is situated 133 floors up, towering 800ft above Las Vegas in the dome of the Stratosphere.

Stratosphere is easily viable from the air as you come into land at McCarran International Airport and indeed from many points on the strip.

BOOKING:
There are a few ways of booking your meal at Top of the World. Be advised, it is easier to get reservations for lunch than an evening meal, so you may wish to book as soon as you arrive in Las Vegas if you wanted to have an evening meal here.

1. If you are staying at Stratosphere, you can book a table through the concierge.

2. If you are staying in another hotel, you can book through your own hotel's concierge but they may charge.

3. You can book direct at the Stratosphere reception.

4. Ring Reservations on (702)380-7711 once you are in Las Vegas.

You will need a credit or debit card in order to hold your booking, they don't accept Solo or Visa Electron for this purpose, which surprised us as our travel money was pre-loaded onto a Visa Electron travellers cheque card, so out came the credit card we'd vowed not use! There is no charge to your credit card at this point, although you can choose to have your meal billed to your card if you so wish.

Top of the World offers a lunch menu and evening dining. At lunch, reservations are advised but for evening dinners booking is required.

It is wise to be flexible about the date and time of your meal, for instance, we wanted to dine on a Saturday evening at 7:30pm, but we ended up dining at 9pm on Friday as there were no reservations available until the following Tuesday. I would advise, if you want to eat here. make this your first priority as soon as you get to Vegas so you can get you first choice of dining slot.

DRESS CODE:
Lunch: Smart-Casual
Dinner: Business Casual Dress

We did see some people being turned away for 'inappropriate dress' at security before going up to Top of the World.

LOCATION WITHIN STRATOSPHERE:
Obviously near the top. As you enter Stratosphere, bear left towards the American diner, you will see an escalator upward and there is signposts from there. You will see a reservation desk with a security arch, this is your entrance to Top of the World.

SECURITY:
As Stratosphere is the highest building in Las Vegas, there are obvious security measures in place. One is you have to go through the scanner like at the airport and you also have to be 'ruffed' by a security guard too. You then wait in line to have your bag searched by another security officer and we were 'ruffed' again before being allowed to proceed. It will take you around 10 minutes to clear security, so ensure you leave enough time before your meal as they don't tell you about this when you book.

GOING UP:
A lift will take you up to your dining experience at Top of the World. The lift has a lady or gentleman in telling you a bit about the Stratosphere tower as you go up.
BE WARNED: you travel at 3 floors a second in the lifts and your ears will poop and your stomach may lurch slightly!.
The light drops you off just outside the restaurant reception.

RECEPTION AREA:
After exiting the lifts, you will be overwhelmed with a decadent reception, decorated in red and black, you go through to the restaurant welcome desk and give your name to the staff. They do run a tight ship, so if you are early, like we were, you will be given a buzzer and asked to go the bar area which is situated just above the restaurant on a balcony. This balcony doesn't revolve but you can see other dinner guests below you, revolving!! Your buzzer will beep when your table is ready, ours was ready 10 minutes earlier than our booking so we were very pleased by this!

BAR/LOUNGE:
Both before and after your meal, you have the use of the bar/lounge above the main restaurant, this is again decorated in a black and red theme. You can sit at an array of lounge chairs and coffee tables, booths or at the bar and live music plays from 8:30pm until late. When we were there it was jazz, which mad an excellent backdrop to drinks at Top of The World.
We did think the drinks were slightly pricey, we paid $7 for 2 small diet cokes and we didn't get change from our $10 bill and it was a bit annoying that the bar steward assumed that the $3 was a tip!
We were impressed with the range of drinks, wines and cocktails available at the bar and how relaxed the atmosphere was and I am sure anyone visiting Top of the World should take time to visit the bar. Ideally, go after your meal and extend your dining experience and observe Las Vegas and beyond!

SEATING:
The dining area of Top of The World is split into two sections, both revolve! You have a table area on the 'bottom' area of the restaurant which seat various numbers of diners, then slightly above you have a number of booths (which we sat on) which seat between two and four diners, wherever you sit you get to revolve and see all the sights. The booths do pass slightly closer to the kitchen and whilst you do get to hear a bit more kitchen noise it doesn't have much impact upon the dining experience as a whole.

MENU:
I have to admit to not remembering what was on the main menu as we ate from their set menu, called the Chateaubriand menu. From the website, they state their main menu to have a 'includes an impressive selection of fresh seafood and sizzling steaks, as well as our signature dishes including Colorado Rack of Lamb' and price were upwards of $15+ for starters, $30+ for mains and $15+ for deserts(approximately).

Our meal was $200 for two people and included appropriate, recommended wines for each meal.

I will just run though what we had, briefly

Starters: Soup of the day and Lobster Bisque, accompanied by a white wine

Mains: Aberdeen Angus beef steak with a selection of accompanying vegetables and accompanied by a red wine

Deserts: 2 chocolate 'Stratosphere' deserts, white chocolate tower with a chocolate done, filled with Belgian chocolate mousse. Served with Brandy and Coffee.

Whilst there is a choice of starters and deserts, if you do decide to go for the set menu, you do have to have the same main course as the other diner, so ensure you choose something you both like!

FOOD & WINE QUALITY:
I have to admit to this meal being the best meal I have ever tasted in my life.

I cannot fault the quality of the food and vegetables, all of which were cooked exquisitely. The Chocolate Stratospheres were particularly appealing and come highly recommended from me and hubby!

The wines you are given with your meals are there to compliment your meals without having the worry of picking the right wine for your meal, the waiter tells you a bit about the wine and what notes to pick up whilst drinking the wine and why it compliments your food, so you do get a mini wine tasting course too!!

SERVICE:
Well, when you are paying to eat at the Top of the World, you don't expect anything less than superior service and you are not disappointed here.

The waiting staff are helpful, knowledgeable and extremely polite and professional and they will tell you a bit about the Stratosphere whilst they serve your meals and if you have any questions about the Stratosphere, they are able to answer those for you.

As always in America, you are expected to tip, but don't begrudge these waiting staff 10% of the bill, they really are superb and with the amount of covers that they have, you still do feel like you are their only client.

There is a photographer who goes around the restaurant taking your picture, though these aren't from Stratosphere staff, they are from Cashman Photo and a 2 piece picture set from your dinner will cost about $45 dollars, they aren't particularly great quality so ask the waiting staff to take your picture with your own camera and save the money.

OVERALL:
Top of the World has to be THE best dining experience I have ever had.

It is a certain must if you ever visit Las Vegas and I don't think that any visit to Vegas would be complete without a meal here, whether it be dinner or lunch, you must go here and be in awe of the views of Las Vegas and the surrounding areas.

If you do visit Vegas, budget for this meal and don't be put off by the rather disappointing entrance to Stratosphere but be amazed by the entire experience and enjoy every minute of your meal here.

Afterwards, if you feel able, there is a number of fairground rides placed on the very top of the Stratosphere tower for all you thrill seekers!!

Well worth every penny for quality and atmosphere. 

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