Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux Scores at Harrah’s Las Vegas
Originally published at Vital Vegas
Harrah’s has hit a grand slam, pulled off a hat trick, bowled a turkey, and won the Triple Crown with its new Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux. Choose your sports metaphor, we’ll wait.
Walk-On’s comes from NFL great Drew Brees, so we’ll go with scoring a touchdown. At least until we find out the curling equivalent.
Bottom line: We quite enjoyed our visit to Walk-On’s, and we think you’ll like it, too.
We need to say upfront the apostrophe in “Walk-On’s” bothers us, too, but we’ve learned to cope, you can, too. Once you visit and try the food, you’ll get over it.
In college sports, a “walk-on” is an athlete who has not been recruited and has no athletic scholarship. The founders of Walk-On’s, Brandon Landry and Jack Warner, were walk-on players for the Louisiana State University basketball team. We should’ve included “slam dunk” in our list of sports metaphors, damn it.
The pair sketched out their first Walk-On’s on a napkin. That drawing is on all the cocktail napkins at Walk-On’s.
We’re calling B.S. on this being the original drawing. College basketball players aren’t known for their draftsperson skills.
Fans of the former Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill will feel right at home at Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux.
It’s the same space, and relatively little has been done to rebrand the venue.
The decor is sparse and unremarkable, but all the sports fans are watching the metric buttload of TVs (82, to be exact), so who cares?
Walk-On’s features a big, curvy bar, so it’s perfect for solo dining. The bar is made all the better with 16 video poker machines.
Fair warning: Walk-On’s doesn’t comp drinks for video poker players. Hey, nobody’s perfect.
(Also, not the best pay tables. The Double Double Bonus video poker was 7/5 at the quarter denomination.)
These are a few of our favorite things.
While Walk-On’s is touted as a sports bar and restaurant, the venue strikes the perfect balance when it comes to being sports-friendly. As mentioned, there are plenty of TVs, but there’s no audio from them piped into the venue.
The ambient music is pleasant and played at the perfect volume.
This makes us so happy, as we are not exactly a sports person, and appreciate being able to hold a conversation while we’re dining. And possibly drinking. And definitely gambling.
What we are is a food and drink person, and the food and drink at Walk-On’s is great.
We tried the chicken tenders, and they’re some of the best in Las Vegas.
Destination chicken strips up in here.
The cheeseburger sliders were also really good, and you get three, which is pretty much a full meal, despite the fact they’re included in the “Starters” menu.
We love that the pickles are served on top of the bun so we can more easily discard them.
Yes, alligator is on the menu. No, we didn’t try it.
The menu also has Louisiana classics (like gumbo), salads, wraps, seafood, sandwiches and “po’ boys,” burgers, and “Bistreaux Specials” like lemon butter chicken, ribeye, and the aforementioned Uncle B’s Chicken Tenders.
The bartender said the Boom Boom Shrimp is a popular favorite.
This is the first Walk-On’s to offer a full breakfast menu.
Here’s the drink menu, or as it’s called in the food and beverage business, “the moneymaker.”
The prices at Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux are a tad elevated (our Captain and diet was an uncomfortable $16.99), but about what you’d expect for a restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip. Most of the items on the menu are between $15 and $20. The burgers are in the $20 range, but come with fries to ease the discomfort.
Walk-On’s is being positioned as a stop for conventioneers on their way to and from the Caesars Forum convention space nearby. Conventioneers aren’t as price sensitive, as they use corporate credit cards.
Walk-On’s also offers a to-go menu. Sorry, “to-geaux,” which is adorable.
There are desserts on the Walk-On’s menu, but there’s also a Ben & Jerry’s a few feet away (formerly our beloved Ice Pan). There’s also a Numb slushy drink lounge nearby, formerly a Starbucks.
Overall, Walk-On’s is a great addition to the dining options at Harrah’s, and the chicken tenders alone assure the place will be in our restaurant rotation on The Strip.
Props, as always, to Betty Willis for not copyrighting the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign. So everyone can use it for everything everywhere.
Harrah’s recently confirmed our scoop chef Gordon Ramsay will open Ramsay’s Kitchen in the former buffet space in the fall of 2022.
To succeed in this location, Walk-On’s needs the convention business to come back strong in Las Vegas, but that could be said for any number ventures in town.
Walk-On’s is a great partnership for Caesars Entertainment, owner of Harrah’s. Should this location do well, expect additional Walk-On’s to find their way to other Caesars resorts in Las Vegas and possibly across the country.
We’d love to see that, we’re a big fan.