Las Vegas: Payard Patisserie & Bistro

Wow. That is all I can say about this place. Just wow. On Saturday (05/10/2014), we went to Payard Patisserie & Bistro @ Caesar's Palace. We've been to the bakery before to buy desserts and coffee, but had never tried their restaurant or any of the savory menu items. We STILL have not tried their crepes, but I aim to next year. After a hot walk from our hotel at Aria, which took a good 30 minutes or so, we only had to wait about 15 - 20 minutes. The dining room is intimate and small, I think their maximum occupancy sign stated somewhere between 40 - 50 people. The kitchen is set up in the center of the restaurant and the dining area sort of wraps around, a circular restaurant setting if you will. Looking in to the right are sofas up against the wall - we didn't get an opportunity to sit on that side and instead sat at the same table two days in a row. We ended up on the left where the window facing some of the shops were.

I already knew what I was ordering for mom before we got here since she LOVES lobster. And since Francois Payard is well-known for his pastries and buttery croissants, I ordered mom the Lobster Eggs Benedict on Croissant. It comes with generous chunks of lobster atop a buttery croissant split in half with two poached eggs slathered in hollandaise sauce. I had a bite and the first thing I noticed was how crispy the exterior of the croissant was, but not dry. The butter aroma was so fresh! I mean, I have never tasted a true butter croissant until that day. It was the perfect balance of slight sweetness, crispy but yet flaky crust, and moist but not soggy inside. The eggs of course were perfectly poached, whites were not runny and yolk was not overcooked. And the hollandaise! I haven't had really good hollandaise but this was not too overwhelming and complemented the dish very well. Especially with the chunks of fresh and succulent lobster which was cooked to just done and not rubbery. Can you see how happy mom is with her plate?

Unfortunately, I stuffed my face too much from the day before and did not end up ordering the lobster eggs benedict. I wanted to try their brioch french toast since it is one of their signature items, but I was too sugared and buttered out. Instead, I ordered oatmeal. I know it sounds boring, but after trying it with their sauteed berries, I was a super happy girl. The steel cut oats were cooked to a creamy consistency with the perfect bite. The portion was generous as you can see. The sauteed berries were a mixture of raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. I'm sure sugar was added and the berries were quickly sauteed to release the juices but maintain a slight bite and not turn into a pile of mush.

I absolutely loved this idea of sauteed berries over my oatmeal. I do have a bias towards oatmeal since I love it so much, but really, this was good even if you don't like oatmeal. We came here again on Sunday for Mother's Day! I had a feeling it would be booked, so I made reservations that morning and I'm so glad I did - I saw them turn away all those who did not have appointments. Annnnndddddd.... we ordered the same thing again lol.

Except this time I ordered the oatmeal with caramelized apples. The waitress then asked me if I had tried their sauteed berries... So when I did try the apples, I asked for the berries again! The apples were good, but I just like mine a little bit more tender and this didn't come out warm like the berries did. But I still ate both the apples and berries with my oatmeal. I'm still dreaming about the oatmeal and I'll need to force myself to order something else the next time I come back.

As per usual for breakfast, I ordered mom a cappuccino. I think Payard by far had the best cappuccino of all the restaurants we dined at in Vegas this year. The aroma was dark and bold, but not bitter or acidic. It had the light smoky flavor characteristic of a lot of french-style roasts. The milk was not overly foamed here, yielding a creamy consistency. I find some places over-foam their milk and the cappuccino ends up being dry. I had my oatmeal with coffee and was offered coffee to-go as well! Service here was excellent both days.

So I cannot just drop by Payard and not buy anything to take home. I browsed through their chocolate assortment and decided to buy this container of chocolate covered nougat. It was not cheap. But you get what you pay for.

I have a habit at looking of ingredients when buying anything, especially chocolate and sweets. I just really like to know I'm getting real chocolate and not PGPR or some kind of imitation. That's not something you really have to worry about with a lot of the french bakeries and chocolatiers, but I still like to look for my own entertainment (yes, I know I'm odd, leave me alone).

Enough babble about the ingredients - moving on to funner things - eating it! So I was a little taken by surprise when I bit into one. I thought it would be a soft nougat center, like the nougat I got from Jean Philippe. But it was crunchy with small pieces of nuts ground into it. It was still good mind you. The green ones were white chocolate and the brown ones were dark chocolate. This was a satisfying crunch of sweetness and I may be buying more of these types of chocolates as I find them. It's probably less unhealthy to get the crunch from an actual nut (like chocolate covered almonds), but that sugar rush from the crunchy sugar is just so much more fun. Not to mention it's got caramel notes to it.

All in all, my experience at Payard was amazing. Did I mention I saw Francois Payard on Sunday!? I am always starstruck when I see chefs. More so than when I see non-chef celebrities. Is that weird?

Anyway, you can find Payard Patisserie and Bistro inside Caesar's Palace. From the front lobby entrance, go towards the casino and go straight to the back. It is diagonally across from the buffet and directly across from Rao's. The bakery is obvious the but the restaurant is a little hidden - facing the bakery, go to your left and it's right next door. I recommend reservations as the restaurant is small.