estiatorio Milos

When I saw that estiatorio Milos was opening in the Venetian the same week I was going to be in Vegas I could not pass up the opportunity to try it out! All of my dinners are already spoken for so I decided to try their lunch….plus, its a tasting menu!

With a dear friend that is an excellent Greek cook (Hi Stacy!) and having been to several cities across Greece, this was definitely something I was looking forward to. Plus, Michael would not be in town until later in the afternoon and this restaurant is not something he would be heartbroken that he was missing.

If you are not familiar with Milos, it is a Greek restaurant with seven locations worldwide. The Las Vegas location had been in the Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino until last year when it was announced that the Cosmo location would be closing down and the restaurant would be opening in The Venetian Hotel & Casino.

Firstly the space is beautiful! Very open and airy.

It is a totally open kitchen and there were employees setting up the fish and produce displays with fresh ingredients.

I ordered the fixed price three course lunch menu ($36) with the Greek wine pairing ($18).

Before the first course arrived, I was served warm grilled bread and olive oil was poured in a bowl. Then an employee came around with a live oregano plant, and snipped fresh oregano into the oil. It was certainly cool to watch, but I don’t know that it flavored the oil at all. The bread, however, was spectacular! In addition, the olive oil on its own was very good. Greece is not as famous for their olive oil as some other Mediterranean countries, but I can confirm first hand that it is a hidden gem and this oil was absolutely brilliant on its own. You can read about my olive oil tasting adventure in Katakolon here.

Then the first course, The Greek Spreads. Three Greek dips with pita and grilled vegetables. Served with a glass of sparkling wine.

Okay, so I had heard about the tzatziki prior to eating here. I had heard specifically that it is not to be missed as it is a true Greek Tzatziki, not the thinner American version we are all used to. Well I can confirm, that tzatziki is delicious. Thick and flavorful with a perfect balance of dill and lemon. The problem with this one was the sparkling wine. It was not a good pairing at all for the spread, but when you have a dish with multiple independent flavors, the pairing is exceedingly tricky.

Next up I tried the orange one in the middle, htipiti. This is a spicy roasted red pepper, feta cheese dip. I am not a big fan of spicy food, but this was just fine. Not SPICY, just a bit of a kick…kind of like a smooth pimento cheese dip (all y’all Southerners know what I am talking about!). But because of this little kick, the pairing with the sparkling wine was perfect, the best of the three dips.

Before we get to that third dip, I have a little story to tell you about my time in Athens. We stopped at a sidewalk café in Plaka for lunch. I ordered the lamb meatballs and fries which was delicious, but it came with aa dip and some pita bread on the side. I fell absolutely in love with that dip. It was almost embarrassing how much I gushed over it. The owner of the cafe, however, would not tell me what was in it. When I got home, I went straight to my Greek food connection and asked her. She told me most likely it was a bread and fish dip that is very common in Greece.

Well, I put that third dip in my mouth and I knew…THAT WAS IT! That was the one I had tried in that sidewalk café in Plaka. Taramasalata, Greek fish roe dip. I guess I understand why the owner wouldn’t tell me, many American tourists would have made icky faces when they heard fish roe but I loved it then, and I loved it at Milos. Now my biggest problem was that I did not have enough pita. Still, I used the grilled bread and vegetables and anything else I could to smear that stuff on. It was amazing. Thank you estiatorio Milos, for taking me back to that day, it was an unexpected delight!

Up next, I chose the lobster pasta. This was an additional $20 charge so I was hoping it was worth it. I was served a Greek red wine to pair with the pasta dish.

This dish is delicious. It is chock full of lobster meat so I certainly didn’t feel like the $20 charge was unwarranted, especially in Vegas! The lobster was perfectly cooked. The red wine was a solid choice with this, even though I was skeptical of pairing red with shellfish, it worked in this dish. Needless to say, after all that food, I was stuffed! But I still had one course left…dessert!

So this was my ONLY disappointment about my meal…and its not that it tasted bad, it was delicious! You see, the menu description online (posted above) describes this as Greek yogurt with Thyme honey. Well I love me some Greek honey so I was really looking forward to that. However, when I was seated with the menu the description read, “Greek yogurt served with daily spoon sweets.” Well today’s “Spoon Sweets” are these delicious cherries you see in the picture. And they were delicious, truly. But they were not the thyme honey I had hoped for. I know, I know…first world problems and all that. And you’re right, it was still a delicious, lighter ending to an amazing meal. Sigh, I will just have to go back again and see if I can get some honey!

My total bill before tip came to $82.24 (I also had an espresso and a bottle of sparkling water). Again, it is a fairly pricy lunch for one…even in Las Vegas. But the food was excellent and the service was top notch. I would absolutely eat at estiatorio Milos again, either for lunch or dinner. There is plenty more on the menu I would like to try!

Up next? Michael finally arrives and we have dinner at the first of THREE steakhouses we ate at this trip!