We went to Beauty & Essex (Las Vegas), which is on the third floor of the Cosmopolitan Hotel.
Interestingly, the restaurant is behind an unmarked door in a “pawn-inspired retail shop,” where one-of-a-kind items are actually available for purchase.
Since it has locations in New York (Lower East Side) and Hollywood (California), friends wanted to give their Vegas outpost a try.
While we found the whole “clubby,” ”speakeasy,” atmosphere quite interesting, we just weren’t impressed with the food.
On its website, the company proudly notes that their chef pioneered the “small, share plate trend” — which is apparently code for “be prepared to pay a lot for little.”
[See our reviews of the “Chicken Meatballs,” (Wednesday, “F”), and “Tuna Tacos,” (Thursday, “C-).]
Consistent with the other items we sampled, this “Thai Style Deep-Fried Shrimp,” with green papaya slaw ($24), was also equally disappointing.
I don’t know about you, but when I think of this dish, I’m looking forward to biting into some succulent deep-fried shrimp, covered in a light, coconut-flavored or spicy-edged, tempura-like batter. Not here.
The five (5) small shrimp had a hardened coating that masked any recognizable fish taste with a greasy unpleasantness.
Because it was totally unenjoyable (and certainly not worth the $24 price tag), we rated this dish an “F.”
[Unwilling to suffer any further, we immediately asked our server for our check and quickly exited this overhyped establishment so that we could find a place to get a real meal.]
Follow Lucas on Instagram: @lucasaferrara
