• Main
• Attractions
• Hotels
• Restaurants
• Nightlife
• Shopping
• When To Go
• Getting There

Restaurants

Ever since Wolfgang Puck opened Spago, the first of several gourmet outlets, in 1992, casinos have competed like George Steinbrenner for the biggest culinary free agents. Bellagio alone boasts several James Beard Award-winning über-chefs (the Venetian, the upcoming Wynn Las Vegas, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, and others aren’t far behind) and there are more master sommeliers in Vegas than in any other U.S. city. Even so, you can still get a superbly cheap meal at any number of casino buffets. We’ve listed our local favorites from high-end to low-brow, starting with the gourmet.

André Rochat has been one of the top chefs in town for a quarter century; the original André's French Restaurant (401 S. Sixth St.; 702/385-5016), downtown, remains superlative, the cozy warren of rooms and equally sympathetic cuisine transporting you to a country maison. His celebrated recent ventures – a more ornate branch in the Monte Carlo and Alizé atop The Palms (smashing views) – offer equally scintillating fare, wine lists and cigar selection. Also downtown, Hugo’s Cellar (Four Queens; 202 Fremont St.; 702/385-4011) channels the Rat Pack: Brick walls, candlelight, classic martinis (served in decanters buried in ice buckets), salads and flambés prepared tableside with aplomb, and a rose presented by the courtly waiters to each departing dame complete the portrait of “old” Vegas. East of the Strip’s northern boundary, Lotus of Siam (953 E. Sahara Ave.; 702/735-3033) isn’t merely one of America’s leading Thai restaurants (as attested to by Gourmet and Vogue), but its authentic northeast Thai cuisine detonates the palate (try the raw shrimp marinated in astoundingly hot fish sauce); its only-in-Vegas location is a seedy (yet safe) strip mall. Michael and Wendy Jordan, the husband-and-wife owner/chefs of Rosemary’s (8125 W. Sahara Ave.; 702/869-2251), boast impeccable culinary pedigrees and worked under Emeril Lagasse at the MGM Grand. This stellar duo kicks it up a notch with signature dishes like Hugo's Texas barbecued shrimp with Maytag blue-cheese slaw. Just behind the airport, two L.A./Vegas Spago alums run Table 34 (600 E. Warm Springs Rd.; 702/263-0034), where you’ll find the town’s finest upscale comfort food, from fresh seasonal soups and crab cakes to artful TV dinner fare like meatloaf and mac-and-cheese.

Of course, Vegas has been famous for buffets ever since the El Rancho introduced the all-you-can-eat Midnight Chuck Wagon in the 1940s. That trend continues alongside the splashy gourmet eateries. Virtually every off-Strip locals’ casino/hotel (such as the Boyd, Station, Fiesta, and Coast properties) offers amazing buffet deals. Many locals consider Aladdin’s Spice Market Buffet (3667 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; 702/785-5555.) the best value/quality offer on the Strip (lunch is $1 and dinner around $24, but it’s cheaper than Bellagio and Paris): rack of lamb, dim sum, crab legs, prime rib, succulent sushi, and amazing pastries (including crêpes made to order). Downtown’s Main Street Station Garden Court Buffet (200 N. Main St; 702/387-1896) is a lovely, Victorian room where live action stations include Chinese stir-fry, rotisserie, BBQ, Hawaiian, and Mexican (mouth- and eye-watering salsas) for $16 and under. Downtown also offers a legendary bargain: the 99-cent shrimp cocktail served in a tulip-shaped sundae glass at the historic 1906 Golden Gate (1 Fremont St.; 702/385-1906), built in 1906. Best 24/7 steak dinner bargain: Ellis Island (4178 Koval Ln.; 702/733-8901), just off the Strip. Imagine a 10-ounce sirloin (not all gristle), with gigantic salad and potatoes, for $4.99; pick up a free $5 blackjack play coupon (good gaming here including free weekday bingo) and stop by the bar for microbrews and some wonderfully awful karaoke (with regulars in costume).

See Las Vegas Travel Guide