🍽️ 2023/Q4 Bouchon Bakery Las Vegas

Published:
  Lastmod: 2024-12-21
Bakery
by Ernest Chiang

(Illustration: Takeout from Bouchon Bakery, photographed in the morning in a room at The Venetian Resort, Las Vegas, USA. Image source: Ernest)

About

The Venetian Resort Las Vegas features multiple rooms spread across two areas (The Venetian and The Palazzo), with three tower entrances running from south to north: Venezia Tower (The Venetian South Tower), Venetian Tower, and Palazzo Tower. The Venezia Tower (The Venetian South Tower) sits above The Venetian’s check-in area, and its tenth floor houses a Las Vegas branch of the Michelin-starred French restaurant Bouchon. Chef Thomas Keller has also opened a bakery at The Venetian, which is the Bouchon Bakery we’ll be introducing today.

The French-style Bouchon Bakery is hidden in a mysterious spot, tucked beneath and behind an escalator, making it quite challenging to locate within The Venetian Resort Las Vegas casino, yet it still draws long queues. Here’s a tip: Bouchon Bakery is located at the Venetian North Tower entrance. Another way to find Bouchon Bakery is to first locate the Grand Lux Cafe at The Venetian, then look for where people are queuing - that’s Bouchon Bakery, as there’s really nothing else nearby that would attract such lines. (Sorry, Grand Lux Cafe :p you’re great too, at least you’re open 24 hours!)

On this day, I had planned to join a hiking excursion and thought to bring a sandwich for lunch, along with getting some breakfast to enjoy in my room. Bouchon Bakery opens quite early - as I recall, they start operating at 6am, though I didn’t head down until around 8am that day. Since I was staying in the Venetian Tower, I only needed to go downstairs, which helped offset some of my reluctance to queue.

Directions

(As soon as you exit the Venetian North Tower, you’ll see Bouchon Bakery.)

(Looking back after placing your order and waiting to pay, you can see the first-floor security entrance of the Venetian North Tower.)

(Let’s hurry and get in line. We need to head out soon for hiking at Valley of Fire.)

Environment

(To be honest, I was initially drawn here by all these croissants and chocolate breads…)

(Looking around, there are even more choices of breads, cakes, and cookies to choose from.)

(I wish I had the stomach capacity to try every single item.)

(The cookies display…)

(Coffee cakes…)

(Cheese danishes…)

(Various types of cakes…)

(More cookies…)

(Croissants and oatmeal)

(Close-up of the oatmeal)

(Deciding between croissants and chocolate breads…)

(Ended up choosing chocolate :p)

(As the queue slowly moves forward, taking a photo looking back.)

(Different sizes of takeout boxes and today’s beverages menu.)

(The staff are quite friendly. Here’s a bonus shot of the beverage price list.)

(The refrigerated display case contains other French pastries and fruit combinations that need to be kept chilled.)

(“Oh-oh!” Looks sweet?!)

(These stacks are tempting too!)

(Bottled beverage section.)

(Breakfast plus a turkey sandwich for lunch.)

(The pickup counter.)

(Time to take this French breakfast back to the room to enjoy…)

Dishes

Hot Americano (USD 4.75)

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5

A decent cup of hot coffee that’s easily accessible just downstairs. (Though I still prefer ordering Verve or Cometeer - easy to brew and no queuing needed.)

(Standard large Americano takeout cup, which I’ll later pour into the room’s glass for my camera to “drink.”)

(The packaging items.)

Turkey Sandwich (USD 13.25)

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5

From my annual European business trips before the pandemic, I’ve grown quite accustomed to cold turkey sandwiches. Grabbing a sandwich from train stations, airports, or roadside bakeries has always been a relatively safe option that provides some protein and vegetables (for me), and they’re very portable with no need for reheating. While this might be an issue in winter, today we’re heading to Valley of Fire near Las Vegas, where we saw “High Temperature Warning” signs before getting off. This made the cold sandwich a perfect hiking companion.

It’s rare to find such authentic French bakery in the US, and compared to the turkey sandwiches you’d find at any Starbucks, I’m more than willing to pay the extra four or five dollars for this.

(Later, while taking a break during the hike, I was extremely happy with my choice of this sandwich. It was easy to carry (no oil leaks or mess), and it really suited my taste with a good balance of meat and vegetables, and well-balanced flavors.)

Chocolate Croissant (USD 5.75)

⭐️⭐️⭐⭐ 4/5

While the chocolate croissant wasn’t mind-blowing, it definitely falls into the “delicious” category. Croissants with their buttery base paired with dark chocolate chunks are usually a safe choice. Bouchon’s version passes this test with flying colors.

(Let’s take photos from every angle.)

(I really enjoy crispy croissants paired with hot coffee or tea.)

(Here’s a portrait-orientation shot.)

Lemon Tart (USD 8.25)

⭐️⭐️⭐⭐ 4/5

The most impressive item of the day was this lemon tart! The meringue topping created a beautiful balance of texture and flavor! The fact that I made it the cover photo for this article shows how highly I recommend it! Simply put, if you see it available, grab it immediately. The crust thickness is just right, and I absolutely love the meringue layer. Additionally, the base is thoughtfully secured with a small amount of sugar - the whole thing is meticulously designed.

(It sits elegantly alone in its own box.)

(The morning light streaming in almost made it look like a candle XDD)

(The color of this meringue is truly tempting!)

(The cross-section view and profile view.)

(The base is thoughtfully secured with a small amount of sugar.)

(Couldn’t resist anymore, I dug in with both hands and mouth :p)

(A perfectly-thick tart crust base.)

Bottom line

(The most unforgettable lemon tart to date.)

Everything I tried was great, and I unexpectedly found what’s become my most memorable lemon tart. Next time you’re passing by The Venetian Las Vegas, definitely stop by to take away some baked treats. It’s absolutely a perfect complement among Las Vegas’ various dining options.

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