Elegant atmosphere makes for peaceful dining at The Angry Butcher in Sam’s Town

Calling birds, rushing water and delicate lighting surround a patio littered with fallen leaves at The Angry Butcher inside Sam’s Town’s Mystic Falls park, 5111 Boulder Highway.

Though the atmosphere is artificial, it lends to a cozy, high-end dining experience at the a la carte locale, whose offerings include a range of delicacies from surf to turf, sure to please even the pickiest of palates.

Upon seating, diners are offered salted bread and butter similar to the Hawaiian style found in supermarkets. That doesn’t pull from the pleasure of eating it, especially when paired with one of the restaurant’s cocktails, such as the traditional mojito I had the evening of Oct. 9.

My dining partner and I followed the bread up with rock shrimp fried in ale batter with shishito peppers and Sriracha cream. The crust on the shrimp was perfect — not too thick or thin, a good preamble to the crunch of the crustaceans inside.

We also tasted the lobster chowder, made with Maine lobster, roasted corn, bacon and fingerling potatoes. While the latter were a bit al dente, the flavor of the chowder — and the lobster especially — were spot-on.

My Pacific halibut was cooked with yet another perfect crust and paired simply with fresh cherry tomatoes and sauteed asparagus, and my dining partner’s bone-in rib-eye steak’s classic Oscar sauce (crabmeat, asparagus and hollandaise) was the highlight of the meal.

We topped it all off with creme brulee (a hugely generous serving) and a large slice of chocolate espresso layer cake, both superb and probably far more than we needed.

The waitstaff and ambience remained exceptional throughout the evening, either never faltering in their ability to please.

The Angry Butcher is open from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Social hours are 4 to 6 p.m. daily.

Visit samstownlv.com/dine/the-angry-butcher.