Las Vegas started as a cowboy town. When the Hoover Dam was built, it became a gambling destination. Not long after, the general tourist crowds followed. The dining scene too has grown from afterthought coffee shops and buffets to celebrity chef-helmed meccas and so-called "Gourmet Rooms" galore. Today Las Vegas covers just about every genre of food imaginable at every price point. Here's a guide to help you dig in where it matters.
Table Of Contents (all h2's added automatically)
welcome to celebrity Chef land
Nowhere in the world can you find as many celebrity chefs in one compact space as in Las Vegas. Almost 40 big-name chefs have hung their shingles at one of the resorts along the Strip, giving the 41 million tourists who visit Sin City every year an ample variety of very good and very splashy places to dine.
If you're in the market for a fancy dinner, there's sushi from Nobu Matsuhisa at either Caesars Palace or the Hard Rock Hotel. Grab truffle and artichoke soup at Guy Savoy’s namesake French restaurant at Caesars Palace, or — if you like modern renditions of French cuisine — dine at Pierre Gagnaire’s only restaurant in the United States: Twist at Mandarin Oriental. Of course there's always 240-day dry-aged beef at Carnevino from Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. You can also go all in with steaks and a pre-nightclub party scene at STK at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. See what all the tableside service is about at Carbone at Aria, or find out about Rick Moonen’s love affair with endangered fish and seafood at RM Seafood.
But Las Vegas is so much more than fancy dinners, too. Catch breakfast, lunch or dinner round the clock at the legendary Peppermill or gorge on some of the best tacos in the city at Tacos El Gordo with its long fast-service lines.
Where to Start on Eater Vegas' Best Maps
Eater publishes tons of different maps and guides that detail the top places and things to eat and drink in Las Vegas. Below, we cherry pick the most important points from some of our most popular maps.
Las Vegas Strip. [Photo: Amelinda B Lee]
Hot Restaurant: The hottest restaurants in Las Vegas right now are Beauty & Essex, the new restaurant from Chopped judge Chris Santos at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, neighboring Eggslut, the breakfast sandwich haven out of Los Angeles from chef Alvin Cailan, the local farm-to-table restaurant Owl, Las Vegas' first conveyor belt restaurant Chubby Cattle, Manhattan street cart turned restaurant The Halal Guys, and Kerry Simon's final restaurant Standard & Pour.
Essential Restaurants: When you need to narrow down the Essential 38, hit up Joël Robuchon's only restaurant in the United States at the MGM Grand, where carts full of breads, chocolates and desserts bombard diners. Other top picks are Abriya Raku for extraordinary Japanese small plates served late and Other Mama, the raw bar and casual libation spot on the west side.
Pizza: Tony Gemignani dominates the pizza scene in Las Vegas with two Pizza Rocks and Little Tony's, the gems of the pizza map. On the Strip, head to The Pizzeria (a.k.a. "Secret Pizza") at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas for your late-night cravings.
Gelatology. [Photo: Amelinda B Lee]
Ice Cream: If you must narrow down the ice cream map, hit Art of Flavors or Gelatology for some of the best flavors out there.
Sushi: The most essential sushi spot on our sushi map? Yui Edomae, where Gen Mizoguchi uses fish flown in from Japan for his omotenashi style of serving nigiri and omakase.
Beer: If you only go to one Las Vegas-area brewery, make it CraftHaus, the go-to for local restaurants that want a special beer made just for them.
Bar: Your best bet for a great cocktail? Herbs & Rye with its amazing Prohibition-era cocktails. Consider this a decent starting point on the Essential Bars map.
Brunch: Las Vegas owns brunch, with options available to suit just about every whim. Try the Sterling Brunch at BLT Steak for one of the most decadent in the city or Bardot Brasserie for an eggs Benedict riff made with waffles and duck confit.
Las Vegas Strip. [Photo: Amelinda B Lee]
las vegas Food 'Hoods To Know
Sin City has more key areas to eat that the Strip. Here are all the neighborhoods every self-proclaimed food lover needs to get acquainted with — complete with what to eat and drink in each.
Wicked Spoon. Photo: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
Are buffets worth it?
Vegas is home to so many buffets that a diner could eat at a different one for each meal and never visit the same place twice in a month. Are they worth it? Sure, but choose wisely. Try the Buffet at Wynn for high-end fare like Frank Sinatra’s family recipe for spaghetti and meatballs. Hit the super fancy Buffet at Bellagio, or go for breadth — from fried chicken and waffles to Waygu sliders at the largest buffet in town, Bacchanal Buffet.
The Strip:
The three and a half miles of the Strip is the most egalitarian, all-encompassing, and high-quality eating arena in any major North American city. Graze from the most insane multi-course menu you can find at é by José Andrés to cheap eats to fashionable restaurants where you can see celebrities on the regular. Dine on real Kobe beef at SW Steakhouse and Mizumi at Wynn Las Vegas or Bazaar Meat at SLS Las Vegas, three of a handful of restaurants nationwide that serve this buttery Japanese treasure.
Downtown:
Want to try some true Vegas flavors with a solid meal without the big bill? Head to Downtown Las Vegas and the Fremont East district, the walkable and more approachable neighborhood in Las Vegas, where some of the biggest growth in the restaurant industry has taken place. In 2012, only Le Thai brought diners outside the canopy of the flashier Fremont Street Experience with its smaller casinos. Since then, another 22 restaurants opened, bringing everything from ramen and sushi to vegan and Cajun fare. Look for sushi at Bocho, ramen at Itsy Bitsy Ramen & Whisky, great breakfast fare at Eat, vegetarian dishes at VegeNation, an all-night cafe at Siegel’s 1941 and so much more.
Chinatown. [Photo: Amelinda B Lee]
Chinatown:
This neighborhood's name is misleading as just about every type of Asian fare can be found here. Some of the city’s best Japanese restaurants reside here, including the izakaya Abriya Raku, Monta Ramen and the desserts and sandwiches spot Sweets Raku. Head to District One Kitchen & Bar for Vietnamese pho, or sister restaurants Chada Thai & Wine and Chada Street for Thai cuisine.
Las Vegas Glossary of Terms
Joël Robuchon:
French chef Robuchon earned the nickname Chef of the Century for his 28 Michelin stars worldwide. In 2005, he came out of retirement to open Joël Robuchon and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand. For now, these two restaurants represent the only places in the United States to eat his exquisite food, which is worth every penny. His namesake restaurant features degustation menus and carts galore with bread, tea, dessert, cognacs and more, while L'Atelier, the workshop, has bar seating to watch the chefs in action.
Joël Robuchon. [Photo: MGM Grand]
Gordon Ramsay:
The shouty chef is probably best known for his television shows such as Hell's Kitchen. Originally from Scotland, Ramsay brought Gordon Ramsay Steak to Vegas in 2012 (Order the beef Wellington.). He followed those up with Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill at Caesars Palace with its Piccadilly Circus theme and Gordon Ramsay BurGR at Planet Hollywood Resort with a wall of flames.
Wolfgang Puck:
The Austrian chef who hawks his wares on HSN has six restaurants in Las Vegas. He ushered in the era of celebrity chefs on the Strip when he opened Spago at the Forum Shops at Caesars with his salmon pizza and California fare in 1992. His restaurant Cut at the Palazzo is often considered one of the best steakhouses in Las Vegas.
Emeril Lagasse:
This chef from New Orleans is perhaps best known for his interjections of "Bam!" Lagasse's oldest restaurant, Emeril's New Orleans Fish House at the MGM Grand puts the chef's Creole cooking in the spotlight while Delmonico Steakhouse at the Venetian has one of the best books of whiskeys in Las Vegas.
Fremont East. [Photo: Amelinda B Lee]
Shrimp Cocktail:
The shrimp cocktail earned its place in Vegas dining lore when casinos put it on the menu for 50 cents to lure gamblers in 1959. Other places might have cheaper shrimp cocktails (Think the Skyline Restaurant on Boulder Highway with its 24-hour $1.49 version.), but Du-par's serves up the Original Shrimp Cocktail for $3.49. The Golden Gate started selling shrimp cocktails for 50 cents in a tulip sundae glass in 1959. The sheer quantity of shrimp sold gives the small hotel the leverage of a large mega-resort with orders.
Prime Rib:
Long before the celebrity chefs took over the Strip, Las Vegas relied on cheap prime rib to drive diners into the restaurants and have enough money leftover to keep gambling. That era kicked off in 1942 with The Last Frontier, which served up "juicy rich prime ribs of Eastern steer beef, cooked in rock salt, served from the cart at your table with Idaho baked potato with chives, tossed salad, rolls and coffee" all for $1.50. Prime rib isn’t so much the draw anymore, but you can find it at Planet Dailies at Planet Hollywood Resort, where an eight-ounce prime rib goes for $9.99 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily with a salad, baked potato, and vegetable. The deal ends when they run out.
Gourmet Rooms:
Gourmet rooms got their start in the early ’60s, focusing on French cuisine, seafood, Italian dishes or steak. The first, The Sultan’s Table at the Dunes, came before places such as the Delmonico at the Riviera, the Dome of the Sea at the Dunes, the Candlelight Room at the Flamingo, the Regency Room at the Sands, and Le Gourmet Room at the Tropicana. Chefs came from the Ritz in Paris and Savoy in London. Head down to South Point to dine at the last one standing — Michael's Gourmet Room — for romantic booths, table-side service, captains serving and a romantic dining room straight out of that bygone era.
Joël Robuchon [Photo: MGM Grand]
Reservations to Make in Advance
Joël Robuchon; L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon; Restaurant Guy Savoy; é Bar by José Andrés; Abriya Raku; SW Steakhouse; Lotus of Siam; Eiffel Tower Restaurant
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