I Really Wanted to Like BOA Steakhouse in Las Vegas

Of all the restaurants I have ever been to, I can’t think of one I wanted to like more than BOA Steakhouse in Las Vegas. BOA steak used to have a location in Vegas, and I believe it closed down just over 10 years ago. I had largely forgotten about it until I was at the Palazzo one day and saw a boarded up location announcing that BOA Steak was opening there. It jogged my memory about the place and I remembered it as one of my first go to spots when I initially started coming to Vegas often in the early 2000s. Since it was so long since I had been, I was excited to relive the memories of why I had been so fond of the place. I searched my phone and saw I had the old GMs number so I must of frequented often for some reason. I put a note in my calendar for the opening day and made a reservation once it was open. Turns out, I would visit for dinner on the 2nd day they have been open.

As the opening day drew near, I saw that they had a 50% off promo for locals. Even better! On the day of my reservation, things started off poorly and would foreshadow the rest of the night. First, the hostesses took forever to seat us, seating guests who were arriving even after us. Then, she asked if I mind if she sat us in the lounge area. There are three main areas from what I could tell: the main dining room, the “patio: (which is basically outside the restaurant where the Venetian/Palazzo mall retail stores are), and the lounge. There was no one else dining in the lounge. The main dining room itself is beautifully done, and I declined the lounge seating. Eventually, we were seated outside, in a small table beside some planters. I don’t know why things started this way, but it may be due to the fact that they underestimated how busy it would be, and decided to seat locals, who they would have to give discounts to, in sub optimal locations. If this was the case, this is shortsighted thinking on the part of the restaurant. As the night progressed, there would be another couple in the same situation who were seated beside us, but they complained and were moved to a “better” table.

Anyway, the server took forever to come, and when he finally came, we ordered some drinks. The drinks, including bottled sparkling water, also took forever to come. After a while of neglect, a different server noticed that we had not ordered and told our initial server he would fill in. We started with the caviar cones and deviled eggs topped with caviar. Neither was anything special although they were visually appealing.

As the night progressed, the GM came to introduce himself and we chatted briefly about how we used to love the old BOA and that we had also frequented their other restaurants in Vegas. In the end, even that didn’t matter as the service continued to decline from there. The next course they brought out was the caviar. It was not exceptional by any means though for about $100 for 30 grams, it represents good value. The caviar was served in an amateur fashion with a metal spoon instead of a pearl one. When I asked for a pearl spoon, the server said he would check, left, never came back, and only until I asked a second time was I informed that they had not arrived yet. This was understandable; things happen). Anyway, another flaw was that the caviar was not served with a full array of traditional accoutrements like chopped hard boiled egg. Just chives and creme fraiche.

After another long wait, the tableside Ceasar finally came. She was explaining what made their Caesar so special but was hard to hear through her mask. The Caesar was decent but could of benefit from some shaved parm, a bit more acidity, more garlic and more savory punch.

In between courses, there were long waits for drinks and even bottled water. Then something strange happened. A third server came by the table and told us that the chef had timed our steaks wrong and they were ready even though we were still eating our salads. No big deal. I told them to bring it. After a while, we finished the salads, but still no steaks. I thought they were ready? After more time, a 4th server for the evening brought out the sides we ordered. The creme brulee corn and fries. He was surprised and asked “where’s the steaks”? At this point we started to eat sides with no steaks. The corn was actually very good, but the fries were terrible. Soggy. After just experiencing the amazing fries at High Steaks, these were almost laughable. Finally, the steaks came. A 15 day dry aged rib eye and the iwate wagyu.

The Wagyu was good, and cooked properly (Med-Rare). Seasoning and flavors were on point. As regular readers know, I am not a huge fan of Japanese Wagyu which I find analogous to biting a stick of butter. I much prefer Korean Hanwoo beef because its less marbled and more balanced. This was how the iwate was described on the menu, and it was accurate. Maybe the only winner of the night. The rib eye on the other hand, was cooked WAY beyond medium rare and had zero aged flavor. I hate sending food back, but this was an obvious error. I called for one of the 5 servers who were randomly providing “service” to our table to point out the mistake on the rib eye temperature. He said he would call a manager to verify and apologized and offered a comp’d dessert. While waiting for a manager, our original server also came by to check on us. I told him the issue and he took the plate away while I was telling him that a manager was on the way to check. Anyway, when the manager finally came, there was some confusion about the now missing dish and they said they would prepare another.

When the new dish came, it was perfect. Night and day.

The aged flavor was shining through. Maybe the 3rd best steak I’ve had in Vegas. When they came to check I told them the feedback and the manager said he hand selected this one. At the end of the meal, we ordered a dessert. After 20-30 minutes, it still had not come so we cancelled it. Our server apologized for the delay (remember the other guy told us it would be comp’d so you’d think they would be on top of it) and I proceeded to pay.

Overall, this was a highly disappointing experience at a place I genuinely tried to like. I looked over many of the initial failures like not requesting a better table. Some people might say “give them a chance they are new”. I don’t subscribe to this line of thinking:

1. They aren’t new. They have experience running many restaurants in other states and many employees from those restaurants were present that night to ensure things went “smooth” which they obviously did not.
2. Saying “give them a chance” is like a recent grad demanding a 6-figure salary and justifying it by saying that although they are new and not 100% now, they will get better. That’s not how this works. Also, not every restaurant has opening day issues. I recently went to High Steaks on the day before they formally opened and the service was flawless. That’s how you run a food service establishment. I also went to Cote a week after they opened in Vegas. Also flawless service.

Needless to say, I won’t be back and I would not recommend.