Vic & Anthony’s

How Distinctive is Vic & Anthony’s Distinctive Dining Menu?


Michael James reviews Vic & Anthony’s at the Golden Nugget Las Vegas…

As I’ve often mentioned since I’ve begun writing for Vegas Bright, I do so much internet searching for Vegas-related topics (for personal enjoyment and for researching topics) that I often don’t recall where I first learned of something.

Along the way, I’ve amassed quite a list of dining options to try on Vegas trips. One long-standing wish list item has been Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse inside the Golden Nugget, the reason being their Distinctive Dining Deal. This menu is not offered in the restaurant, but you can find out about it on their website.

The Distinctive Dining menu is a three-course, prix-fixe meal. Until recently, the diner was able to choose one starter, one entrée, one side and one dessert for $50. For years as I’d look at the menu, I knew that if I ate there that I’d have the Lobster Bisque, the Filet Mignon, the creamed spinach and the Crème Brulee.

In preparing for this trip, I went on-line to print the menu (which each person needs to present to receive the Deal) and saw that it had changed. The current menu eliminated the selection of the side dish, changed the fish entrée to chicken, and raised the price to $59.  [EDITOR’S NOTE: After initially denying this story, this menu is no longer on the GN site, they have reverted back to $52, no chicken, the fish has returned as well as the side dish-Michael Movestro] 

I rationalized, though, that the cost had been $50 forever, and as long as they had what I wanted, I didn’t mind the price increase.

On Saturday, April 9th, we arrived at Vic & Anthony’s for our 5:00 PM reservation. It is a classic steakhouse, with dark stained woodwork, low lighting, and Frank Sinatra songs in the air. We were seated and handed the menu, which I immediately checked to see if there was any other combination of items for around $59 that I’d rather have. Seeing none, I decided to stick with my original plan.

My wife decided to use the Distinctive Dining Deal as well, ordering the Wedge Salad, the Chicken Paige, and the Chocolate Mousse Cake. However, as I was reviewing the menu for my dinner, I saw that the chicken dinner on the regular menu was $28. With the addition of a $12 salad and a $9 dessert, the cost of ordering off of the regular menu would be a $49… which is $10 LESS than the $59 Distinctive Dining Deal.

At the time, I thought nothing of it, and we told the waiter that only I would be using the Distinctive Dining Deal. The food was fantastic (except for my flavorless Crème Brulee), and the service was spot-on. My wife and I even shared a moment with the waiter when it looked like her chicken was pink in the low light, but the waiter was right there with a flashlight, and it showed to be properly cooked. In theory, this restaurant would be a “Do-It-Againer”.

However the more I thought about it, the more it irked me. Please excuse me for asking here, but what kind of Deal is it that costs $10 more than the regular price? This special menu is presented as a “deal”… if diners were happy with their selections, I could easily envision a scenario where they would order the chicken off the Distinctive Dining menu and never be aware that they were being ripped off for $10.

I am trying not to go overboard. Maybe marketing and the kitchen staff miscommunicated when updating the Distinctive Dining Deal. Maybe.

Or maybe this is another hidden fee, like the CNF fee popping up on the Strip, or parking fees without the opportunity for validation. People describe the Golden Nugget as the closest thing to a Strip property. Unfortunately, it appears that the current Strip trend of increasing revenue by every means possible has made it to the Golden Nugget, too. And don’t get me wrong… $10 is just half of a blackjack bet. But the principle of advertising a “deal” that costs $10 more than the regular price rubs me very wrong.

I don’t patronize businesses with hidden fees, so I doubt I would go back to Vic and Anthony’s because of this. And it is too bad because the food and service were really good.

[Cover Image: Hauteliving]

9 thoughts on “How Distinctive is Vic & Anthony’s Distinctive Dining Menu?

  1. Things packaged as deals which are not deals is something that happens all the time. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes as a weird coincidence. The prix fixe in this case will be priced for its most expensive combinations. But then they need a non red meat entree, and you end up with this scenario. Good catch, but I would not let it bug you.

    Have a friend who once sold a direct mail order comedy book in magazine adverts. $7 for the book, $6 for the t-shirt, or $15 for the combo. You would be shocked how many people ordered the combo.

  2. I agree that in this particular case, it’s not worth getting worked up over. On a multi-option meal there’s going to be variation on the value, and you could (bad) luck into picking the cheapest options each time and coming out behind. On top of that, it looks like current menu may have tweaked options again (adding back fish, maybe changing salad/side options) and brought the price back down to $52, so maybe you were not the only one to notice/give feedback to the place.

    Finally, just want to say that, in a modern Vegas where it feels like service is continuously deteriorating, or at the very least not given the training and emphasis it once was, Vic and Anthony’s has consistently given me really great service, from everything to large group parties to solo dining at the bar.

    1. I have no complaints on the service. Our server (I believe his name was Lombardi or Lombardo) was absolutely spot-on with the service, and the rest of the staff nailed their part of the dinner as well.

  3. Well, I did look on the website and the Distinctive Dining Deal has indeed changed again.

    It has removed the chicken and put the fish back, and returned some side dishes to the menu. The new price is $52.

    So… I guess… disregard that complaint of mine. It may have been an oversight that was quickly corrected and I just happened to have hit that sliver of timing.

    I did bring this up as part of my Open Table follow-up review. Maybe they saw it and corrected it, or maybe maybe they caught it on their own. Either way, my hat is off to Golden Nugget and Vic & Anthony’s for catching this and making a quick correction.

  4. Thanks for the great article! I was wondering if you actually asked either your server or perhaps a manager about the apparent discrepancy in the prices that you were seeing. While I agree with the previous comments that sometimes a pricing structure like this is indeed on purpose, it seems like they wouldn’t do it with such a famous special like this where it had not been structured like that before.

    1. No, I didn’t say something. At the time, it was more like “Hey, look Honey… I can save us $10 by not using the Deal.”

      But we were staying on the Strip, and especially the Strip has become an effort to separate every dime from your pocket (Resort Fees, CNF fees, parking, ad-ons, upsells, etc.,) my mind kind of went to that dark place and I started getting frustrated a day later.

      I feel better now.

      Then again, one could get upset because I just paid $59 for a meal that only costs $52 a week later… :o)

      1. Haha, thanks. Yeah, I understand. I feel that something like that would have bothered me as well, especially if I didn’t notice it until after the fact. That is when I really get upset, usually with myself, for not catching something.

        If I see it, I will usually say something, and will try to always do it in a very nice and friendly fashion. My experience is that it usually helps, or at the very minimum, makes me feel like I tried to do something. :-)

  5. So what you’re saying is if I want a prix fixe steakhouse experience in Las Vegas, I should head to Charlie Palmer for their Cut of the Week menu that’s $58 including bottomless wine?

    1. That is certainly on the list for future visits. The Cut for the second half of the trip was a ribeye (my all-time favorite) but we had too many other meals set to include it.

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