Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

Looks good, but I don't see a lot of liquor bottles. Do Aria's restaurants/bars use guns for most of their pours, like Bellagio does? Bellagio says you can't tell the difference, but I can, unless it's all psychological. Regardless, I order what I know comes from a bottle.

Posted by Hunter

Interesting question. I know Aria has a facility downstairs like Bellagio's to handle the gun system.

I recall bottles at JG Steakhouse but I can't remember either way at Fish.

Bottles at The Deuce, Bar Moderno, and Julian Serrano.

This is one of the more distinct and quality new bars in town. It has stunningly good looks, but service is spotty (mainly because it never has more than a couple patrons). The tree trunk bar top is great and the depth illusion (caused by a mirrored wall about 5 feet beyond the trees) of the forest background works well. I am not a particular fan of American Fish (but this is more because I don't care for fresh water fish).

There are bottles behind the bar and more in the well. Even when guns are used to pour liquor, they are usually limited to only the most common 5-6 brands. When guns are used for alcohol, special lines are needed to prevent polymer leeching. This is the reason most hard alcohol is still sold in glass bottles and not plastic containers (although they now have plastics that avoid this issue). Typically, I will ask for a bottle pour even if the liquor is on-gun.

Michael Mina really is an amazing chef. His namesake Bellagio restaurant is stunning, and I really need to try American Fish soon. Do they have a lot of veggie dishes? One reason I so enjoy Michael Mina at Bellagio is his vegetarian tasting menu that gives veggies the culinary respect they deserve. :-)

When Bellagio opened, Aqua was an outstanding restaurant. Chef Mark LoRusso and the entire staff made it great. Then, LoRusso and many staffers went to Tableau at Wynn. As nice as Tableau was, it didn't seem to find its niche. Perhaps its location and image as a private restaurant for the Tower Suites contributed to its lack of business. Now, from everything I've heard, LoRusso is doing terrific business at Encore's Botero.
In the meantime, at Bellagio, Aqua was renamed Michael Mina, and I've heard it also has its excellence back in large part due to more personal attention by Mina.