DaveP
11-03-2005, 09:23 AM
I went to Isla at about 9:00 PM on Monday, 10/10/2005. The place wasn’t crowded, and I was seated right away. The room is very cozy, nothing like some of the huge buffet rooms you find in Vegas.. There’s lots of dark wood around the room between the tables, chairs, walls, and trim, to give it a cozy feeling. One wall is the back of the tequila bar that faces out into the casino, although from within the restaurant, you’re completely isolated from the noise of the casino. Other than occasional cheers from the people in the bar watching Monday night football, this is a nice quiet place for dinner.
The restaurant specialized in tequila. They must have well over 100 different varieties of all degrees of quality and price. I forget what they call it, but they even suggest and sell groups of tequila for tasting. I skipped the straight tequila, and instead started with an Isla Margarita Del Sol for $9.50. It was made with orange and lime juice, and although didn’t taste strong, had a nice aftereffect.
Before the meal, the staff, which was very friendly and very efficient, brought out some warm, thick, fresh tortilla chips and three salsas. There was a fresh salsa with diced tomato and onion, a red salsa with a more liquidy texture, and a green salsa with a nice tang to it. I believe this was made with lime and tomatillos, and turned out to be my favorite of the three.
For starters, I ordered the beef empanadas for $7.00. This is two pastries filled with ground beef, dried cherries, and seasoning, fried to a golden brown. The empanadas were drizzled with green (chili?) and orange (pepper?) sauces, and were also served with fresh salsa. They were excellent.
For an entrée, I ordered the sautéed prawns for $25.00. When these first came out, I thought to myself “That’s it?”. It was 6 good-size shrimp that looked rather bland, served on top of a cheese-stuffed chili pepper, all in a bell pepper sauce. But the shrimp weren’t bland. They were full of flavor, as was the sauce. I also liked the stuffed pepper, which was a maybe 3 inches long, and filled with a medium bodied Mexican cheese. Sorry, can’t remember the name of that. Dinner was served with a small bowl of half rice and half refried black beans. Not a lot, but enough to supplement the meal.
With dinner, I asked the waitress to recommend another margarita, and she pointed me to the fresh pineapple variety, this one at $9.00. The margarita had small chunks of fresh pineapple floating in it, but didn’t have either an overpowering pineapple taste, or a strong taste of tequila. But I can’t complain about the alcohol level in either drink. I felt the effects when I got up later.
Since my Yankees had been eliminated earlier tonight, I had to wash all this down with dessert. I ordered the crepes thinking it would be a light dessert. Not true at all. You get three crepes, smothered in a thick caramel sauce, topped with toasted walnuts and a scoop of fresh cinnamon ice cream sitting in a fortune cookie-like bowl. Dessert was excellent, and well worth the $8.00 to finish it all off.
My server, Meghan, was excellent. She was friendly throughout the meal, as was the rest of the staff. They were all very attentive from start to finish. I don’t know if this is because it was a quiet night, but I would guess not. I would bet it is the norm for the place.
In total, the bill came to $63.03 before tip. If you’re looking for a really nice meal, and you’re looking for something other than a fancy steak restaurant, try Isla. I loved the experience. Next time, I’m trying some of those other tequilas.
The restaurant specialized in tequila. They must have well over 100 different varieties of all degrees of quality and price. I forget what they call it, but they even suggest and sell groups of tequila for tasting. I skipped the straight tequila, and instead started with an Isla Margarita Del Sol for $9.50. It was made with orange and lime juice, and although didn’t taste strong, had a nice aftereffect.
Before the meal, the staff, which was very friendly and very efficient, brought out some warm, thick, fresh tortilla chips and three salsas. There was a fresh salsa with diced tomato and onion, a red salsa with a more liquidy texture, and a green salsa with a nice tang to it. I believe this was made with lime and tomatillos, and turned out to be my favorite of the three.
For starters, I ordered the beef empanadas for $7.00. This is two pastries filled with ground beef, dried cherries, and seasoning, fried to a golden brown. The empanadas were drizzled with green (chili?) and orange (pepper?) sauces, and were also served with fresh salsa. They were excellent.
For an entrée, I ordered the sautéed prawns for $25.00. When these first came out, I thought to myself “That’s it?”. It was 6 good-size shrimp that looked rather bland, served on top of a cheese-stuffed chili pepper, all in a bell pepper sauce. But the shrimp weren’t bland. They were full of flavor, as was the sauce. I also liked the stuffed pepper, which was a maybe 3 inches long, and filled with a medium bodied Mexican cheese. Sorry, can’t remember the name of that. Dinner was served with a small bowl of half rice and half refried black beans. Not a lot, but enough to supplement the meal.
With dinner, I asked the waitress to recommend another margarita, and she pointed me to the fresh pineapple variety, this one at $9.00. The margarita had small chunks of fresh pineapple floating in it, but didn’t have either an overpowering pineapple taste, or a strong taste of tequila. But I can’t complain about the alcohol level in either drink. I felt the effects when I got up later.
Since my Yankees had been eliminated earlier tonight, I had to wash all this down with dessert. I ordered the crepes thinking it would be a light dessert. Not true at all. You get three crepes, smothered in a thick caramel sauce, topped with toasted walnuts and a scoop of fresh cinnamon ice cream sitting in a fortune cookie-like bowl. Dessert was excellent, and well worth the $8.00 to finish it all off.
My server, Meghan, was excellent. She was friendly throughout the meal, as was the rest of the staff. They were all very attentive from start to finish. I don’t know if this is because it was a quiet night, but I would guess not. I would bet it is the norm for the place.
In total, the bill came to $63.03 before tip. If you’re looking for a really nice meal, and you’re looking for something other than a fancy steak restaurant, try Isla. I loved the experience. Next time, I’m trying some of those other tequilas.