The Atelier de Joël Robuchon represents Joël Robuchon’s most accessible restaurant. The workshop represents an opportunity to experience one of the world’s most celebrated chefs that included earning 32 Michelin Stars and being awarded the “Chef of the Century”. The contemporary Atelier de Joël Robuchon offers a different experience than the fine dining restaurant of Joël Robuchon. However, what does it really cost to dine at the Atelier de Joël Robuchon restaurant? Read on to see our analysis and where the Atelier de Joël Robuchon compares to others in this elevated category.

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This post is one chapter on a weekend trip from Canada to Las Vegas Nevada, United States of America. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. For parts of the trip, please see this index.

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How Much Does It Actually Cost to Eat at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Restaurant Las Vegas, USA?

This post is about how much it actually costs to eat at L’Atelier Joël Robuchon – Las Vegas. If you’d care to read about our review of dining at L’Atelier Joël Robuchon, please see my other post on Review: L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Restaurant – Las Vegas.

This compliments our other post featuring Joël Robuchon’s fine dining restaurant:

• Review: Joël Robuchon Restaurant Las Vegas.
• How Much does it Actually Cost to Eat at Joël Robuchon – Las Vegas

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On a recent trip to Las Vegas, and in honour of a wedding anniversary, I took Mrs WT 73 and myself to the Atelier de Joël Robuchon Restaurant. As I indicated in my other post, my experience dining there was an enjoyable dining experience with an approachable menu for all, filled with complexity, layered tastes and solid execution.

But how much does it cost to eat at one of the most elite and prestigious restaurants in the United States? In this post, I’ll aim to tackle the other side of the equation, how much it costs to enjoy a dinner at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon.

About L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Restaurant:

Mr Joël Robuchon was a French chef and the most awarded French chef in history. During the course of his career, he had received the thirty two Michelin Stars over the course of his career, the most of any chef in the world. He was awarded the “Chef of the Century” by Guide Maillau in 1989.

The Joël Robuchon restaurant was rated 3 stars in the year 2009 by the Michelin Guide, whereas the L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Las Vegas had also been awarded a single Michelin star the last time inspectors visited.

It’s flagship Joël Robuchon fine dining restaurant had been awarded 5 stars by the Forbes Travel Guide, and has been ranked by Wine Spectator and Travel and Leisure to be among the finest restaurants the world. As if that wasn’t enough, it was ranked as one of the Top 5 best restaurants in the United States by Gourmet magazine.

That sort of pedigree alone should be enough for any chef to command reasonably high prices.

Quite cleverly, Joël Robuchon menus and prices are not displayed on forward facing websites for their restaurants. It’s only when you arrive to the front doors, are you able to take a look at the displays to see what is on offer. At this point, or perhaps with some intense research on the internet, the price points are slowly revealed.

Looking at the displays, The Atelier de Joël Robuchon offers a hint of its price point(s). Immediately outside the Atelier de Joël Robuchon, there is a menu table that offers some insight into most of of the dishes available on order.

The Atelier de Joël Robuchon restaurant proudly displays its tasting and a – la – carte menus and its awards listed on complex looking menus. All of the door posted menus are priced upon display in 10 point font on elaborate lists of menus. It’s your first indication of how much things may cost.

The Atelier de Joël Robuchon Menus:

Once seated at the counter bar of the Atelier de Joël Robuchon, menus are presented. There is both a Seasonal Tasting Discovery menu, and an a – la – carte menu.

If you have made special arrangements at the time of your reservation, there is also a Vegetarian Tasting Discovery Menu offered at the same price point as the Seasonal Tasting Menu. Much like next door, this is when the serious math and decision making trees start.

In our visit post pandemic, the Atelier de Joël Robuchon offers a simpler approach than the fine dining version next door of Joël Robuchon restaurant.

The Atelier de Joël Robuchon menus offer both A – La – Carte or Seasonal Discovery Tasting Menu options a variety of price points and range as follows, from least to most expensive:

• $33 – 75 USD a course – Les Entrées – Appetizers
• $54 – $149 USD a course – Les Plats – Main Courses
• $21 – $28 USD a course – Les Desserts – Desserts

Followed by the flagship:

• $255 USD – Seasonal Tasting Menu – Nine Courses (Amuse + Appetizer + Main + Desserts)

While there are not the same bread cart or dessert cart inclusions found next door at Joël Robuchon, each Atelier diner receives a presentation of Atelier’s small bread basket with 3 types of freshly baked bread accompanied by french butter flown in from France.

Each option has advantages and disadvantages, with most visitors opting for the Seasonal Tasting Discovery Menu.

Choosing Atelier de Joël Robuchon A La Carte Menus:

The Atelier de Joël Robuchon A La Carte Menus are available for individual ordering for those looking for the lowest price points or are time constrained. While its hard to imagine rushing through this experience, it’s nice to know there are options.

The A La Carte menus offer access to some of the more popular Robuchon dishes that don’t usually turn up on the Seasonal Tasting Menu. These include Le Burger (wagyu burger sliders with foie gras), le Tartare (Westholme wagyu tartare with fries), les Spaghettis (squid ink spaghetti with lobster, caviar and sauce americane) or La Calette (quail foie gras, soy glaze and potato puree).

There is also a dessert menu available. Consistent with the avant garde theme of the Atelier de Joël Robuchon, the desserts are modern. It’s also worth mentioning that the A – La – Carte dessert menu is usually the only place where french cheese is offered. The Seasonal Tasting Menu usually doesn’t incorporate cheese into the tasting; a critique of some restaurant diners looking for a typically french haute cuisine experience.

There is quite a large price band range of the starters and main courses. Desserts are mostly priced the same across the spectrum.

An “A – La – Carte” Menu summary:

• The average price of Atelier’s appetizers are $45.75 USD
• The average price of Atelier’s main courses are $105.14 USD
• The average price of Atelier’s desserts are $23.71 USD

Adding up a three course meal consisting of an appetizer, a main course and a dessert will run approximately per $174.60 USD person.

During my most recent Atelier visit, I happened to see only one couple during our entire three hour stay ordering off the a – la – carte menu.

Choosing Atelier de Joël Robuchon Seasonal Discovery Tasting Menu:

The Atelier de Joël Robuchon Seasonal Discovery Tasting menu is the restaurant’s flagship experience. After the restaurant’s re-opening after the pandemic, the nine course menu is now priced at $255 USD.

The Seasonal Discovery Menu clearly represents a better value than A – La – Carte, as you get the inclusion of an additional six courses for an additional $80 USD.

During our visit, there was a $45 USD offer to upgrade to Kagoshima A5 Rib Eye, and and the seasonal off menu $189 USD Truffle Risotto with parmesan regianno cheese. Otherwise, the Seasonal Discovery Tasting menu is all inclusive.

Clearly, the Atelier de Joël Robuchon Seasonal Tasting Menu offering nine courses represents the best value from the Atelier combinations. On a dollar cost average basis, the Seasonal Tasting Menu offers each course at about $28.33 USD per course.

Choosing The Tasting Menu Wine Pairing:

If nine tasting menu items weren’t enough to navigate through, you’ll then need to decide on wines. While you can opt for a bottle (or half bottle) from the extensive wine list, the Atelier de Joël Robuchon Restaurant also offers three levels of wine pairings to accompany the Seasonal Discovery Tasting Menu:

• $175 USD – Village Wine Pairing
• $295 USD – Premier Cru Wine Pairing
• $575 USD – Grand Cru Wine Pairing

Much like my experience next door at Joël Robuchon, even the village wine pairing tasting that I enjoyed was excellent in quality. Visitors can expect a fully french series of wines, representing the best viniculture regions of France.

With access to a Wine Spectator award winning wine cellar, it’s easy to do some serious damage at this restaurant.

What it Actually Costs:

The Atelier de Joël Robuchon is a much more approachable version of the fine dining Joël Robuchon restaurant next door. Like with any experience, the costs can escalate upwards quite considerably if you’re not careful.

Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that a gratuity is not included in the displayed pricing. A gratuity is generally expected between 18 – 20% of the total menu cost.

As inspired by others, we’ve enhanced this table that represents the current post pandemic prices:

Atelier de Joël Robuchon Menu Cost (A La Carte Items Cost Averaged)	Base Cost	Add Las Vegas, Nevada Restaurant Tax at 8.1% + Gratuity at 20%
		For One	For Two	For Four
A La Carte Menu Main Course – Dessert	$128.75	$140.25	$280.50	$561
A La Carte Menu Entreé – Main – Dessert	$174.60	$226.50	$452.92	$905.96
A La Carte Menu 2 Entreés – Main – Dessert	$220.35	$285.84	$571.68	$1,143.35
A La Carte Menu 2 Entrées – 2 Mains – Dessert	$325.49	$422.23	$844.46	$1,688.90
$255 Tasting Menu 12 Courses	$255	$330.79	$661.58	$1,323.16
Add Tasting Wine Pairings to base $255 Atelier Tasting Menu
+$175 Village Wine Pairing	$430	$557.80	$1,115.60	$2,231.18
+$295 Premier Cru Wine Pairing	$550	$713.46	$1426.92	$2,853.84
+$575 Grand Cru Wine Pairing	$830	$1,076.68	$2,135.35	$4,306.70

It’s pretty easy to do some serious damage here without much fore-thought. Some highlights from the above chart:

• The cheapest possible meal combination for two is $280.50 USD (without wine / drinks).
• The cheapest tasting menu, with the lowest level wine pairing for two, is $1,115.60 USD.
• A Single Diner can spend up to $1076.80 USD on a tasting menu, paired with a top level Grand Cru Tasting wine pairing.
• A Tasting Dinner for 4 of your Favourite Friends, with a top level Grand Cru Tasting, will cost $4,306.70 USD.

These prices become much easier to swallow if you come in knowing what to expect.

How does this compare to other Michelin Starred restaurants that offer tasting menus?

The Atelier de Joël Robuchon Restaurant Las Vegas is around the same or underneath the most expensive restaurants in the United States today.

Next door at the fine dining of Joël Robuchon, a tasting menu will now run you $525 USD for eleven wonderful courses. This makes nine courses at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon a near bargain in terms of value, provided you can settle with countertop seating.

We did a little comparison of Michelin starred restaurants that offer tasting menus throughout the United States. This is what we have come up with:

• The French Laundry, Yountville, California, USA: $350 USD (13 courses without wine)
• Per Se, New York, New York, USA: $355 USD (13 courses without wine)
• Eleven Madison Park, New York, New York, USA: $365 USD (12 courses without wine)
• Joël Robochon Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: $485 USD (12 courses without wine)
• Guy Savoy Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: $615 USD (7 courses – including wine pairing)
• Masa Omakase Menu, New York, New York, USA: $750 USD (26 courses – including gratuity)

Based on our list, in this post pandemic world, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon represents value and access into the world and cuisine of Joël Robuchon. It is priced a step point well under Guy Savoy’s Las Vegas dining (that includes wine in its prices), and Masa that offers Japanese tasting at a staggering 26 courses, along with an optional $200 corkage.

Clearly, Joël Robuchon is near the top of its game and is among the pinnacle of French Restaurants in America. Clearly, to eat wonderful food, you have to pay to play.

The best part is, the food is well worth the price of admission. The food structure, service and attention to detail are world class and the experience will most certainly be a very memorable evening.

My Thoughts on How Much it Costs to Eat at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon:

The Atelier de Joël Robuchon Las Vegas represents the most inexpensive entry point into the world of Joël Robuchon. Like the fine dining at it’s elevated Joël Robuchon restaurant. the whole experience has been calibrated by one of the worlds most acclaimed chefs.

The Seasonal Tasting Menu represents the best value of the menu price points. You can expect to have a variety of complex flavours presented in a world class manner. For those like me, it helps to have a plan of attack coming into the restaurant. At least, you’ll be able to see what dishes and menus are of interest to you, and adjust your tasting or general wine budget accordingly.

It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to dine like this, so make sure you make the most of it, through a little advance research.

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If you have visited Joël Robuchon or other Fine Restaurants, how do you prepare for sticker shock ?

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