Las Vegas; a mecca of all things naughty and sinful. People from all over the world come here to feast on the forbidden fruit. Vegas is a city built on booze, gambling, prostitution, and now GASTRONOMY. As the city has evolved so has the food scene, from buffets to celebrity chef restaurants, Vegas offers all levels of eateries. So if you are planning a trip in the near future, and want to know where to have your best meals, bookmark this page!
1. Yunnan Garden $
Yes the food on the strip is good, but the rest of the city delivers a pretty spectacular culinary experience. If you have only one chance to eat outside the strip I recommend Yunnan Garden. As authentic Chinese as you can get in the U.S. with focus on the szechuan cuisine. Some things on the deli counter may not be for the faint of hearts, I am talking about pickled pig ears, chicken feet, and a bunch of other things that are definitely from questionable parts of an animal that I still after all the years of going don’t know what they are, if you are a food adventurist you will love these, and if you are not don’t turn your back on this place because there a lot of other deliciousness to put your teeth into. My absolute favorites on the menu are as follows; Beef Dry Pot, Garlic Eggplant, and Spicy Fried Chicken. There is nothing fancy or fussy about this place, totally laid-back Chinese family style. Golden in my book.
2. Bellagio Patisserie $$
I am a sucker for sweets! If you are too, then you definitely need to pay attention to Bellagio Patisserie. I happened to pass by it when I was staying at the Bellagio a couple of years ago, and my eyes immediately got fixed on all the beautiful European style pastries. They are as delicious as they seem. Now, I will not leave Sin City until I have at least one pastry.
3. Momofuku $$$
Thank god for the booming business of food TV, because I would not have known of David Chang if it wasn’t for Netflix. I saw him first time on Mind of a Chef, then Ugly Delicious, and then on Chef’s Table, alongside Christina Tosi. Chang’s restaurant Momofuku had been on my list to try, and now it is on my list of places to go back to. The menu may have changed since last year when I was there, but I had the cold pesto noodles, the branzino baked in kimchi (so much deliciousness), and the Milk Bar Pie for dessert.
After all the hype about what was then still called “crack pie” I came in with high expectations, and honestly, it did not meet them. It was fine, but it wasn’t addictively good. I ordered the pie by itself, it also comes a la mode, with a side of soft serve ice cream, and I can imagine that the pie experience would have been a lot more memorable with the ice cream accompanying it.
4. Wicked Spoon $$
You can’t go to Las Vegas and not go to a buffet. According to Alex Scola at Travel Nevada there are over 136 buffets in the state of Nevada, and 72 of them are in Vegas (as of 2015). So, if you want to try one out, I suggest Wicked Spoon, at The Cosmopolitan. Yes it is a bit pricey, $28-$50 dollars depending on if you go for brunch or dinner, on weekends or week days, but you will get a much better selection and quality of food than most buffets in the whole city of Las Vegas (I have not been to Bacchannal, but heard it’s of the same caliber).
5. Bardot $$$
This place was recommended to me by a local earlier last year, for a good steak. It was also recommended by foodie guru Philip Tzeng as an option for Christmas dinner. So naturally when I was there around the holidays I went and ordered from their Christmas menu. Their prime rib with horse radish cream was delicious, and their lamb chops even more so, both meats cooked to perfection.
Bonus tip: If you are looking for something more on the seafood side check out Yellowtail by Chef Akira Back for astonishing sushi and other Japanese goodies.