Bagatelle Restaurant taking different approach

"We offer a different kind of dining experience for Las Vegas," says Bagatelle Restaurant and Supper Club marketing manager Joe Pickens.

The restaurant, adjacent to the Tropicana at 3801 Las Vegas Blvd. South, offers a French-Mediterranean menu, nightly entertainment and indoor and outdoor dining. In March, the pool just outside will open and patrons can dine poolside. There will also be a concert venue that can hold 3,000 people.

Bagatelle is an airy, spacious room with decor highlighted by a dazzling $200,000 crystal chandelier. The main dining room seats 250 and two private rooms seat 20 each.

It's open daily for dinner from 6 p.m. until closing and for weekend brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. At 2 p.m. daily, the room "definitely turns into a party, with entertainment and cranked-up music," Pickens says.

Bagatelle also has an extensive selection of beer, wine and liquor served at the table or at either of two bars.

Some dishes are designed to be shared, such as chateaubriand with truffled potato puree, red wine and peppercorn sauce ($53 per person); bone-in rib-eye (26 ounce minimum) with pommes frites and blue cheese salad ($47 per person); and chilled shellfish platter ($38 per person).

People with allergies are encouraged to tell their server so accommodations can be made.

Servers also have the information on desserts, which are not listed on the menu because they frequently change.

Some menu items have two prices. The first is for a small serving, the second for a large.

Salads: blue cheese salad, endives, walnuts, Asian pear and blue cheese with sherry vinaigrette dressing ($14); grilled seasonal vegetables with tabbouleh, hummus, olives, pita bread ($15); king crab citrus salad with Alaskan king crab, fennel, frisee, avocado and citrus lemon vinaigrette dressing ($29)

Appetizers: tuna tartare with avocado, lime soy vinaigrette, taro chips ($18/$26); filet mignon tartare, quail egg, frisee, crispy shallots, truffle butter crostini ($20/$30); golden Osetra caviar, 1 ounce (market price); seared foie gras on brioche with pear marmalade, toasted hazelnuts ($22); truffle gnocchi "a la Parisienne," gnocchi, black truffle pesto filling, truffle sauce ($16/$24); charcuterie board, artisanal meats, pickled vegetables, crostini ($24)

Entrees: grilled wild salmon with asparagus, hollandaise sauce ($28); steamed filet of sea bass with fennel, onion, lemon, white wine, extra virgin olive oil ($32); truffled chicken, soaked in a truffle brine for 24 hours, served with country style potatoes, mushrooms, chicken jus ($27/$52); filet mignon with bearnaise sauce, spinach, pommes puree ($45); steak au poivre, with pommes frites, classic peppercorn sauce ($42); herb-crusted roasted rack of Colorado lamb with haricots verts, lamb jus ($48)

Sides: shaved truffle pomme frites ($15); sauteed or steamed spinach, haricots verts, ratatouille, saffron rice, mixed mushrooms ($9 each)

Information: 701-0200