Pierre Gagnaire is one of the biggest names of modern cooking that has really pushed the art and craft to the next level. Even though his earlier restaurants have not always been as successful as his “modern French” cuisine has been (for a lack of a better term) he’s one of the most influential chefs currently active. His signature restaurant, Pierre Gagnaire Restaurant in Paris, has three Michelin stars and has been ranked as the third best in the world from 2006-2008. He has been on a streak since the mid 2000’s opening multiple restaurants throughout Europe and Asia, some of them featuring his signature high level gastronomic cuisine and others following a slightly different route that’s tailored to the target market.
He’s long held a dream of opening a restaurant in the US and felt the time was right when Mandarin Oriental approached him. They offered him the opportunity to create a signature restaurant in their new hotel in the City Center development in Las Vegas. Pierre Gagnaire and Mandarin Oriental have a successful history together that started with the restaurant Pierre in Hong Kong in 2006 which gave him the confidence to pursue what he believe was the right thing to do. He put one of his most trusted chefs, Pascal Sanchez, in charge of the day to day operations and Twist opened in 2009.
For Twist he wanted to create something more casual than traditional fine dining, a mix or twist of his own philosophy and the playfulness of Las Vegas. The artistic take and emotion of each dish is still a major driver but some of the molecular components and more elaborate preparations that has made him known are left out. He likes to take chances and experiment, as a guest you’re allowed to mix and match components or leave something that you feel are not appropriate for the dish. For being Gagnaire, it’s a very accessible experience made to be easily enjoyed and not taken too seriously, even though the cooking is far from trivial.
The entrance to Twist by Pierre Gagnaire in Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas.
Contrary to many star chefs that has opened restaurants in Las Vegas, Gagnaire has kept Twist relatively small, it only has 72 seats, simply because he doesn’t know how to run a bigger operation and wants to stay true to himself. The restaurant has a very modern and sophisticated design by Adam D. Tihany using purple and metallic grey as cornerstones. The wine cellar is actually a wine loft with a see-through stair to the kitchen and 300 suspended and illuminated globes provide soft lighting and feels like champagne bubbles floating in the air. All tables has views over the Las Vegas skyline from the restaurants 23rd floor location through dual story windows.
Even though Gagnaire describes Twist as not being a fine dining restaurant, it very decidedly is. They follow all demands for being a Forbs Five-Star establishment (which they are), and that means that in some aspects the overall experience is a little bit stiffer and more formal than I would think Gagnaire had in mind when developing the concept. Don’t get me wrong, the service is both warm and attentive but I got the feeling that the staff feels a little restricted and are not quite as relaxed and open as I think the plan really was.
The full six course Grand Tasting Menu is $175, a choice of four of the courses is available for $135 and a six course vegetarian menu ($115/$85) works in the same way. A la carte dining is also available. The wine package is very well matched and provides good value, $85 for the standard pairing for the 4 course menu and $145 Grand Pairing with a bit more exclusive wines is also offered. To really reach into the cellar you can order the $777 “Lucky Number Seven” wine pairing package that includes the Grand Tasting Menu.
We chose the 4 course tasting menu with wine pairings. The meal was paced perfectly, never rushed and we never had to wait. Right out the gate the amuse bouche were actually four small bites, each better than the next. Most exciting, although perhaps not best, of the these was the lardon wrapped squid-ink colored cracker cylinder. From the looks and description I didn’t expect something so sweet; it would’ve worked equally well to the coffee after the meal.
No fine dining menu is complete without foie gras and the terrine on artichoke cream and charred onion gelée was delicate and rich with both acidic and textural contrast. Very successful as a dish even though the foie gras itself was quite basic in its preparation. Sometimes you don’t have to fire on all cylinders just because you can.
However, not all dishes were instant pure joy, the texture of the smoked haddock reminded me of Scandinavian fish balls that I always thought were challenging during my years in elementary school. Another example was the combination of chanterelle soup with shrimps that was new to me and also required some recalibration both for texture and overall style. I’ve always though about shrimps as “bright” food, but this preparation with coffee morel ravioli was very earthy. The lightly cooked shrimps was also a stark contrast to the smooth soup. It left me confused and several months later I’m still not sure if I loved it, liked it or don’t care, but it still pops up in my mind whenever I think of Twist.
Grilled beef with black truffles.
In the four course menu the there was a choice of appetizers but there was only one option for the meat main course and dessert. No quabbles with those choices though, the beef dish was one of the best I’ve ever eaten. My notes says something about grilled beef with fresh herb butter but all I could think of was the incredible rich butteriness of the meat and the decadent combination with truffels. Evident was also the technique in preparing the meat, using sous-vide or some other modern technique to make it just perfect and then searing the surface.
The dessert was the first time we saw what others seem to experience more often than not at Twist, a table quite literally filled with platters. The Grand Dessert this time around was five distinct dishes going on a tour of all things sweet. I didn’t find a theme that binds them together other than being sweet and none has really stuck in my memory, but it was quite an experience just going from dessert to dessert for pure indulgence.
Two months after my visit I still quite haven’t made up my mind how much I liked Twist. There’s no question that it’s one of the more memorable restaurant visits of my life, but compared to Sage next doors at the Aria it’s not as quite as easily enjoyed and has left me confused. Was I supposed to like the mushroom soup more than I did? What was the meaning of the texture of the smoked haddock? The reason I keep thinking is because when everything comes together, like the beef dish, it’s a beautiful display of concept, technique and final execution that’s more than the sum of its parts. Something that could not have been done by someone who’s only a technician.
Gagnaire doesn’t really like recipes, some dishes doesn’t have one at all for the others he provides 95 percent and expects his chefs to fill out the rest depending on the ingredients and until it feels right. It’s almost the exact opposite of how chef Ashley Palmer-Watts description of how “everything is a recipe” at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal (also necessitated by it serving around 280 covers per day). Even though the approach to cooking is completely different the overall experience is surprisingly similar, a casual take on a very high end food experience in a fine dining setting. I guess Mandarin Oriental knows what they want from their restaurants.
When it comes to Twist, I really need to return and try more dishes. I want steak but I also want to be surprised, because when that feeling comes from trying something new and unexpected that just works with you, it’s unbeatable.
