Dining Review: House of Blues Foundation Room


Michael James pays a visit to the House of Blues Foundation Room at the Mandalay Bay…

I am a sucker for a nice view of Las Vegas.

It goes back to when I’d watch shows like Vega$ and the opening of the Jerry Lewis telethon when I was a kid. Both shows always offered a lot of B-roll of the Vegas strip.  I’d watch, mesmerized, as the camera panned the flashing neon lights up and down the Strip.  Sure, sometimes the signs were shown in a random order, but to a 10-year old, it didn’t matter.

My favorite of all time was the neon Dunes sign. Watching the red neon go up, around the big, blue DUNES, then back down into darkness is possibly the best thing I’ve ever seen. Some might say that the birth of a child should be higher on the list, and though the event of a child’s birth is far more significant than the Dunes sign, I watched both of my kid’s births… and trust me when I say that I’d rather watch more of the Dunes sign.

Even though the Strip is now infected with LCD displays showing highlights of the resort’s current stage show or adverts for their dining options, the whole of the sight is still magical.

I’ve been to the top of the Stratosphere, I’ve ridden the High Roller, and I’ve dined on the patio at Lago (as I reviewed last week). They all offer majestic views, but for years, I’d heard of the view of the Foundation Room at the top of the Mandalay Bay. So during my April trip to Las Vegas, I made sure to schedule some time.

High Roller
Proof that I’ve been on the High Roller. Well, it is actually just proof that my wife had a height-induced panic attack on the High Roller.

The House of Blues Foundation Room is a private club for dining. However, the lounge and patio are open from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM each day with no cover charge. Not realizing that, I found a Foundation Room lounge entry as a MyVegas reward, so I redeemed my points and E-mailed the operations director to specifically reserve patio seating for the lounge menu for Sunday evening, April 10.

It would be that evening that my wife had just completed the Team portion of the USBC Women’s Championship bowling tournament, and we would need to celebrate a bit. We weren’t celebrating her performance per se, rather that she was able to compete at all.  A few years earlier she was set to bowl in her first national tournament in Reno when she tore some elbow tendons and was unable to compete.  So since she got through the first round of this tournament, I figured that this would be the perfect way to relax and enjoy the view.

And the view certainly did not disappoint. We stepped out onto the patio to enjoy the view and to take a few pictures.

My beautiful bride, safe from the heights by a four foot wall
My beautiful bride, safe from the heights by a four-foot wall

What disappointed, however, was the weather. That evening was the third day of rain, and though the rain had ended the temperature was hovering around 50 degrees and too cold to dine on the patio.

After a few photos, we went back inside the club and found a couch on which to relax.

This is what the inside of the lounge looks like with a flash. That patchwork wallpaper surrounds the lounge.
This is what the inside of the lounge looks like with a flash. That patchwork wallpaper surrounds the lounge.

A few minutes later, the hostess came up to me and asked if we were us, then she apologized for the weather.  I accepted her apology, though as far as I know, she can’t control the weather and therefore it wasn’t really her fault.  She then indicated that since we couldn’t enjoy the patio, she was offering a private room to us for the evening.

She led us back, removed a velvet rope, and in front of us were a couple of leather couches, a coffee table and a room about the size of my living room. However, the room was very dark, and the only photos that turned out were ones where a flash was used.  Unfortunately, the flash ruined the effect.

Again with a flash, the view of the corner of our private room.
Again with a flash, the view of the corner of our private room.
Ganesha is seen here photobombing a picture of my wife in our private dining area.
Ganesha is seen here photobombing a picture of my wife in our private dining area.

The hostess had offered us the lounge menu, which is mainly appetizers and small plates. As my wife and I reviewed it, our waitress came in and asked if we wanted to see the dinner menu.  Since I hadn’t had more than a hot dog since breakfast, I jumped at the opportunity (and as with my review of Lago by Julian Serrano, I did not take pictures of the food, so links to photos of the meals will have to suffice. Mea Culpa.)

We first ordered the Steak Skewers ($19) from the lounge menu as an appetizer, which was wonderfully tender and accentuated with a lovely chimichurri sauce. For dinner, my wife ordered the Lamb Shank Tagine ($34), and I had the Shrimp Thai Curry ($46).  The lamb was fall off the bone tender (which is good, as it would have been sad to see my wife gnawing on a bone in such a nice setting).  The curry was terrific; a little spicy but not overpowering.  The shrimp were nice and big. However, they still had the tails which presented well, but made it a bit sloppy to eat.

My wife had a Diet Pepsi while I had a Cucumber Chill ($16) which was lovely, but not quite as good as the cucumber basil martini that I had a couple of years ago at The Palm inside the Forum Shops. Too full from dinner, we passed on dessert.

There was a slight pause when the waitress asked to see our membership card. It is possible that the hostess that offered us the lounge menu and the room had not informed the waitress that we were not paid members, which is why we may have been offered the full dinner menu.  However, the waitress was most pleasant about it and after (presumably) checking with the hostess it was ultimately a non-issue.

One cocktail, a soft drink with refills, an appetizer, two entrees, tax, and tip came to $154. You know, for all the work I do (my wife calls it “being cheap”) to save $20 off a car rental here, $4 off a BBQ dinner there, $30 off of Uber/Lyft rides as an airport shuttle, etc., it’s all for times like this that I don’t mind spending the extra money at all. I prattle on and on about Las Vegas to my wife and discuss much of what I’ve read on message boards and blogs, stuff I’ve heard on podcasts, etc. I know that sometimes she tunes me out, but this was my opportunity to put that all to work and it couldn’t have worked out better if I had actual money to throw around.

If you’ve never been to the Foundation Room, work your Vegasy magic and have a two-hour experience like we did.

[Photos: Michael James]

8 thoughts on “Dining Review: House of Blues Foundation Room

  1. Glad you both enjoyed it! Foundation Room is normally part of my night 1 ritual in Vegas! The views can’t be beat and the food has never disappointed. The filet and crab cakes are amazing, I definitely don’t mind splurging for the quality here. . . great pictures as well I feel like that over the railing view is familiar. . . .

  2. Hilarious re: the Dunes sign. I tried to youtube it in action and all I got were the implosions. Would still love to see your actual pics as some pics online are pics done for the restaurant and not actual but I’ll take it for now. I love the high roller but after one spin my husband said he is one and done. Thanks for the rollin’ smoke bbq coupon. Has been on my list for a few years but never got a chance to try. Keep the amazing reviews coming.

    1. Also is the foundation room the same as the 007 spectre bar and lounge or did that never come into fruition?

      1. You are referring to Skyfall Lounge and they are different venues. They are similar location and offer similar views. I went to Skyfall just a month ago and absolutely loved it. Although there was no cover charge, I would have gladly paid $ to enjoy the view and the atmosphere. A DJ was playing music that was enjoyable and not obnoxiously loud. Drinks were not as expensive as I expected. All in all, I would say Skyfall is a great place to have a drink or two, relax, listen to some music and take in the view. It will be part of my standard rotation going forward.

        1. Ahh yes!!! That’s it. Thanks so much. I have to jot that down so I don’t forget. Very helpful.

    2. Thank you.

      I rewatch the Dunes implosion infinitely because it is so sad. That Dunes sign is IN ACTION, then killed as if shot by a sniper. I mean, all the neon is doing is going up and down like it is supposed to, all it wants to do is to impress people, and then… I mean… (sniffs)

  3. It was a pretty cool sign. Did watch one of the implosion videos. Didn’t think I was going to find a night one. Awesome vegas history wrapped up in a restaurant review. Love it!

  4. Wow Vega$ and Dan Tanna. That really took me back. Hadn’t heard that song in 30 years.

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