Located in the Golden Nugget casino, it's a solid choice to grab a cocktail/wine and dine at the bar when seeking a diversion from gambling floor and/or don't want to leave the casino to eat. We ordered the soup, two of their pasta dishes of chicken parm, spaghetti and meatballs, and chicken Caesar. All were good Italian just not remarkable but good bar scene pleasant experience.
Melinda Pool
Grotto - Golden Nugget Lake Charles, February 17, 2024Pizza had charred black bottom and partial top of pizza charred. Very apparent there is a lack of quality controls starting with the chef themself for it to be presented to me for dinner with the assumption I would pay at least $21 for. When asked , the waiter even commented he could smell the burnt aroma. I was not charged for the entree but decided not to accept replacement and have the other 3 persons in my party who had finished their meals watch me eat my entree. I suggested manager should asked chef if they would like to try the charred pizza they prepared.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Our server Jordon was fabulous! Very attentive! However the food was very mediocre compared to the Galveston and Houston locations. We had the lasagne and cheese ravioli.The bread they brought out was extremely dry. So overall disappointing other than our great waiter.
Derek Johnson
Pretty lackluster experience across the board. Service was slow, the spaghetti taste like it was made with Prego at home, and the tables are cramped for 4 people.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
We loved dining at Grotto in Galveston and were excited to visit the location in the golden nugget. I understand why they have a limited menu, but they need to reevaluate the offerings. I had the shrimp and crab capellini- for $38, I should not have to salt & pepper my food. We also had the pizza which was good, however if we want Grotto- we will stick to one of the Houston locations.
TonyP
Pizza was charred black 1 1/2 half on one entire side of pizza. Bottom was charred black in places. Served with expectation I was going to eat and pay$20+ for this. Waiter even commented he could smell the burnt aroma. Horrible quality control for this pizza to make it to the customer ‘s table. Chef doesn't even look at his end product or doesn't care
Tracie C.
Second time around, the experience was sadly largely the same as the first time. This time the service was MUCH better! Our white sangrias were delicious and a great way to start our meal. The caprese salad was divine with the creamiest mozzarella and sweet beefsteak tomatoes. My chicken picatta was fantastic, but the pasta served with it was perfectly tasteless. The others ordered spaghetti bolognese (gave it a 5/10) and the ravioli (4/10.) we prob won't spend another of our hard earned $200 bucks here again.
Robin M.
The spaghetti we ordered was delicious and the meatballs were huge. The service was exceptional. I will definitely be back
Shane Johnson
I've eaten at the Grotto in Houston many times and never ever had a bad meal or experience. The one in Lake Charles was a disaster.A basic principle of cooking pasta is to salt the water. My wife ordered a pasta with shrimp and crab meat dish. The pasta had essentially no taste having been cooked in plain water. There were five shrimp and about a teaspoon of crab meat. This, for $38! I would have been disappointed had it been $8.My wife ordered a French 75, which should be a cocktail made from gin, champagne, lemon juice, and sugar. The bartender rang it up as a glass of prosecco and a glass of vodka for a total of $21. For comparison other cocktails were about $12.I am growing increasingly disappointed with Landry's brand restaurants.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 1
JessK
Enjoyed our dinner! Service was great. Our waitress was very helpful and attentive and was very knowledgeable about gluten sensitivity and ensuring our food was safe! The food was good. I enjoyed the modified Ceasar salad and the cauliflower crusted pizza. My husband said his meat pizza was also very flavorful. Since it's a Casino environment and we went on a weekend became very loud once it got crowded. The ambiance was decent. Price was ok - a little inflated since it was a tourist area / casino environment but overall I believe it to be competitive. Would definitely return on our next trip to Lake Charles and do recommend to other visitors.
The service was terrible. They were not busy and took 15 min once we sat down to get just water and another 10 min to get our drinks. The margarita pizza looked like it had tomato's for a sandwich on it not the way it should have looked or tasted. The chicken parmigiana was burned. Please keep in mind I like it a little done but not burned. Manager basically had to take care of us. Do not recommend nor will we be back. Go to Olive Garden it's much better.
CourtneyK
The new breadsticks were terrible! They were like hot dog buns. They were dry, cold and flavorless. The chicken picatta was dry, tough and flavorless. The angel hair pasta was cold and stuck together. The tomatoes caprice were done wrong. They are suppose to be on Roma tomatoes and the oversized thick motzarella was on regular hamburger tomatoes. My husband ordered the ravioli and it was good as were the meatballs. I asked for sweet tea and kept getting unsweetened. I should have asked to have a new dinner but my daughter was getting fussy and we needed to leave. I will not be back and I hope the one in Galveston has not gone down hill also.
By making a reservation days in advance, my expectation was to have a table. Our party of 3 was seated on barstools at a 24” round high top that was barely big enough to hold our drinks, much less 3 adults meals. The food was ok but the wait person seemed too busy to do anything other than set our food down and run. It was just disappointing since I always have a good experience at Grotto- Houston.
The grotto has a small menu selection. I just prefer the other restaurants at Golden Nugget over the grotto. The only reason we dined was becuase the other restaurants had no availability
Happyfoodiemama
The food was superb . Starting w the beat Bread , cold butter . The chicken picatta was perfection including the angel Hair pasta and grilled asparagus. My husband loved his ravioli. I told everyone I had the best meal there I ever had in a casino . Kudos to the organization
Located in the Golden Nugget casino, it's a solid choice to grab a cocktail/wine and dine at the bar when seeking a diversion from gambling floor and/or don't want to leave the casino to eat. We ordered the soup, two of their pasta dishes of chicken parm, spaghetti and meatballs, and chicken Caesar. All were good Italian just not remarkable but good bar scene pleasant experience.
Grotto - Golden Nugget Lake Charles, February 17, 2024Pizza had charred black bottom and partial top of pizza charred. Very apparent there is a lack of quality controls starting with the chef themself for it to be presented to me for dinner with the assumption I would pay at least $21 for. When asked , the waiter even commented he could smell the burnt aroma. I was not charged for the entree but decided not to accept replacement and have the other 3 persons in my party who had finished their meals watch me eat my entree. I suggested manager should asked chef if they would like to try the charred pizza they prepared.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Our server Jordon was fabulous! Very attentive! However the food was very mediocre compared to the Galveston and Houston locations. We had the lasagne and cheese ravioli.The bread they brought out was extremely dry. So overall disappointing other than our great waiter.
Pretty lackluster experience across the board. Service was slow, the spaghetti taste like it was made with Prego at home, and the tables are cramped for 4 people.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
We loved dining at Grotto in Galveston and were excited to visit the location in the golden nugget. I understand why they have a limited menu, but they need to reevaluate the offerings. I had the shrimp and crab capellini- for $38, I should not have to salt & pepper my food. We also had the pizza which was good, however if we want Grotto- we will stick to one of the Houston locations.
Pizza was charred black 1 1/2 half on one entire side of pizza. Bottom was charred black in places. Served with expectation I was going to eat and pay$20+ for this. Waiter even commented he could smell the burnt aroma. Horrible quality control for this pizza to make it to the customer ‘s table. Chef doesn't even look at his end product or doesn't care
Second time around, the experience was sadly largely the same as the first time. This time the service was MUCH better! Our white sangrias were delicious and a great way to start our meal. The caprese salad was divine with the creamiest mozzarella and sweet beefsteak tomatoes. My chicken picatta was fantastic, but the pasta served with it was perfectly tasteless. The others ordered spaghetti bolognese (gave it a 5/10) and the ravioli (4/10.) we prob won't spend another of our hard earned $200 bucks here again.
The spaghetti we ordered was delicious and the meatballs were huge. The service was exceptional. I will definitely be back
I've eaten at the Grotto in Houston many times and never ever had a bad meal or experience. The one in Lake Charles was a disaster.A basic principle of cooking pasta is to salt the water. My wife ordered a pasta with shrimp and crab meat dish. The pasta had essentially no taste having been cooked in plain water. There were five shrimp and about a teaspoon of crab meat. This, for $38! I would have been disappointed had it been $8.My wife ordered a French 75, which should be a cocktail made from gin, champagne, lemon juice, and sugar. The bartender rang it up as a glass of prosecco and a glass of vodka for a total of $21. For comparison other cocktails were about $12.I am growing increasingly disappointed with Landry's brand restaurants.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 1
Enjoyed our dinner! Service was great. Our waitress was very helpful and attentive and was very knowledgeable about gluten sensitivity and ensuring our food was safe! The food was good. I enjoyed the modified Ceasar salad and the cauliflower crusted pizza. My husband said his meat pizza was also very flavorful. Since it's a Casino environment and we went on a weekend became very loud once it got crowded. The ambiance was decent. Price was ok - a little inflated since it was a tourist area / casino environment but overall I believe it to be competitive. Would definitely return on our next trip to Lake Charles and do recommend to other visitors.
Restaurantji Recommends
The service was terrible. They were not busy and took 15 min once we sat down to get just water and another 10 min to get our drinks. The margarita pizza looked like it had tomato's for a sandwich on it not the way it should have looked or tasted. The chicken parmigiana was burned. Please keep in mind I like it a little done but not burned. Manager basically had to take care of us. Do not recommend nor will we be back. Go to Olive Garden it's much better.
The new breadsticks were terrible! They were like hot dog buns. They were dry, cold and flavorless. The chicken picatta was dry, tough and flavorless. The angel hair pasta was cold and stuck together. The tomatoes caprice were done wrong. They are suppose to be on Roma tomatoes and the oversized thick motzarella was on regular hamburger tomatoes. My husband ordered the ravioli and it was good as were the meatballs. I asked for sweet tea and kept getting unsweetened. I should have asked to have a new dinner but my daughter was getting fussy and we needed to leave. I will not be back and I hope the one in Galveston has not gone down hill also.
By making a reservation days in advance, my expectation was to have a table. Our party of 3 was seated on barstools at a 24” round high top that was barely big enough to hold our drinks, much less 3 adults meals. The food was ok but the wait person seemed too busy to do anything other than set our food down and run. It was just disappointing since I always have a good experience at Grotto- Houston.
The grotto has a small menu selection. I just prefer the other restaurants at Golden Nugget over the grotto. The only reason we dined was becuase the other restaurants had no availability
The food was superb . Starting w the beat Bread , cold butter . The chicken picatta was perfection including the angel Hair pasta and grilled asparagus. My husband loved his ravioli. I told everyone I had the best meal there I ever had in a casino . Kudos to the organization