Craftsteak at MGM Grand at Foxwoods - Expensive, but worth it
Written: Sep 24 '09
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Pros: Amazing steaks, Great service, Nice atmosphere
Cons: Expensive
The Bottom Line: While Craftsteak is an expensive restaurant, you do get what you pay for
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| jps246's Full Review: Craftsteak |
I'm not usually one to spend upwards of $100 a person at a restaurant, but we were staying at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods and a group of us decided to treat ourselves and have dinner at Craftsteak. This restaurant, created by Tom Colicchio (of Top Chef fame), offers some really mouth watering steaks in a classy atmosphere.
Nothing about Craftsteak is inexpensive, though there is a fixed priced menu that offers filet mignon or salmon along with a salad, a side dish and a small dessert. Beyond that, you are looking at an ala carte menu that can add up pretty fast.
Where is Craftsteak
Craftsteak is located inside the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Casino, which is located in Ledyard, Connecticut.
Getting In
The six of us visited Craftsteak on a Wednesday evening and did not need reservations, though we had checked in earlier to confirm that. I would think on a busier night like Friday or Saturday, you are most likely going to need a reservation.
Ambiance, Atmosphere and Service
When you're paying this much money, I expect there to be a lot of ambiance and some great service and I wasn't let down at Craftsteak. We were quickly seated and staff quickly took our drink orders. While we had a main waiter, it seems almost all the wait staff back up one another as we were constantly being asked if we needed water, refills and if everything was okay.
The atmosphere inside the restaurant is a world away from the casino floor outside. The design is modern, lighting is subdued and the entire restaurant looks out into a field outside the casino and hotel. The seating provides enough space between tables so you don't feel like you're on top of other diners and it's comfortable enough that we were there for over two hours and never felt uncomfortable in our seats.
The wait staff was very attentive to our table. The meal was well paced as most of us started with salads. Then the steaks and sides came out and that was followed by coffee and dessert for most of us. I don't think any of us were missing or wanting anything during that whole time. Our water and drinks were kept full, the table was cleared quickly of finished plates and the staff was always checking to see if we needed something.
In addition to all that, the food presentation was outstanding too.
Menu
Steak, steak and steak...you are at Craftsteak after all. That said, there are also several different seafood dishes available. There is a fixed priced menu that changes monthly. The month we were there it was a choice between filet mignon or salmon and for a salad, the entree, a side and a small dessert, the total was $45.
The rest of the menu is ala carte and you can mix and match pretty much anything. Two of our party got the fixed priced entree, while the rest of us got individual items. We almost all had salads, which were either mixed greens or a caesar salad. My caesar salad was great.
There are several different kinds of steaks available including corn-fed and grass-fed beef along with Wagyu Beef from Japan (I'm guessing it's very tender, but it's also tremendously expensive). I went with a grass-fed sirloin steak and split a side of fries with my partner. My partner got the lobster, which was a lazy-man lobster so all he had to do was enjoy the lobster, instead of breaking it apart. He said it was one of the best lobsters he's ever had.
All the steaks come out sliced after they have been cooked. This is to show you that it's cooked correctly, makes it easier to share and just makes the steak easier to handle. I had never seen it before, but I liked it.
In addition to the steaks and seafoods, there are a number of different side dishes you can get with your meal. The side dishes that include potato and vegetables are sized so that they can feed two people. My partner and I easily shared an order of fries and not only that, but we basically all just shared the sides we got at the table so everyone was able to get a little of everything.
The dessert menu was my favorite when I saw that a chocolate soufflé was on the menu. I finished up with the soufflé, while others tried the brownie root beer float and several other dishes.
Prices
This is a fine-dining restaurant and it is located in a casino, so you can expect to spend plenty of money when you have a meal at Craftsteak. For the six of us, our bill came to about $500 since two people had the fixed price menu entree. For the rest of us, I'd guess we spent somewhere between about $65 to $100 per person between the salads, entrees, sides, desserts and drinks.
Experience
While I find it hard to swallow a check that is upwards of $100 a person, I have to admit that the meal that we had at Craftsteak was worth what we paid for it. The entire experience was great, from being seated at the table to finishing our desserts.
I really enjoyed the attentive wait staff service, as this made the experience better since even though we knew we were having an expensive meal, we were never left wanting through the entire meal.
The overall food quality was excellent and it was really enjoyable to eat everything that we had, even something as simple as french fries or green beans. Out of the six of us, none of us has anything that we didn't like and we all enjoyed our meals. The steak I had was simply amazing...it was so tender it was great.
The fact that Craftsteak offered a chocolate soufflé was music to my ears and really topped off the experience. I don't run across a fresh dessert like this very often and when I do, especially when it tastes as good as it did at Craftsteak, I'm a happy guy.
Final Thoughts
While Craftsteak is an expensive restaurant, you do get what you pay for. When we were there we had impeccable service, the atmosphere was perfect and we had some really great food.
I was really impressed with the entire experience.
I do not think I will be eating at Craftsteak every time I visit MGM Grand at Foxwoods, but it is a restaurant I would like to eat at again when we have a special occasion and we're looking to splurge a little bit on ourselves.
More MGM Grand at Foxwoods and Foxwoods Resort Reviews
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Gelato Cafe at MGM Grand at Foxwoods
Junior's Restaurant at MGM Grand at Foxwoods
Foxwoods
Cedars Steak House at Foxwoods
Veranda Cafe at Foxwoods
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: No
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations The fixed price menu gets you a lot for a reasonable price
Best Suited For: Romantic Evening
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