It’s our anniversary and Winewench’s birthday this weekend, so we decided to forego our regular happy hour at Yardhouse and instead give Todd English P.U.B. a try.

Todd English P.U.B. is located in the Crystals Casino in MGM City Center. After driving around for a while trying to find our way in, we finally managed to get to the valet parking area and secured our vehicle. A short walk finally got us to the P.U.B. and we headed to the bar.

It was packed. This was on a Friday afternoon at about 1:30. After walking the bar twice looking for two open seats, we finally strolled over to an open area at one end of the bar where we could stand together and have a beer. We weren’t there two minutes before one of the many assistant managers and a waiter produced a couple of bar chairs for us. While they call it a P.U.B. and try to give the impression that they are styled after a pub you might find in Great Britain, in reality it’s got more of a feel of a sports bar, all live surfaces, big-screen tvs and very noisy.

Desiree and Michelle were the two bartenders working our area and were quick to produce a beer and food menu. They have 30-40 beers on tap with a decent selection of styles. My first draw was a Fullers ESB, the first time I’ve had it on tap. Winewench tends toward the stronger Belgian Ales, and there the offerings were a little more deficient, as they had nothing she really cared for, so she finally settled for an old fallback, Killian’s Irish Red. One thing to note: the beers are all available as pint servings, even the higher ABV ales that are normally served in 8 ounce goblets, and are priced accordingly.

Perusing the menu, Winewench opted for a set of sausage and pepper sliders, while I succumbed to the draw of 8 ounces of lamb from the carvery. The items arrived promptly, and the lamb was delicious, nice and rare, with a scourge-your-sinuses horseradish sauce, and a fabulous black truffle mayo. The sides were cabbage, beets and asparagus, all pickled. I savored the cabbage and asparagus, while Winewench devoured the highly spiced beets. The sliders were ok, but nothing special. We then decided to try the fish and chips, and they were a BIG disappointment, more batter than fish.

All told, our four beers and three platters ran about $90 with tip, which is not bad for a restaurant located in a casino on the strip. I want to go back to try the carvery duck, and sample the cask beers that are going to be set up in the near future. We’ll keep you informed.

...And This Is Why We Drink™