2 Best Restaurants in Downtown, Las Vegas

Chef Barry Dakake made a name for himself in this town with his work at N9NE Steakhouse inside the Palms (back when the Palms was at the forefront of cool). This new eponymous restaurant, on the lowest level of Circa Las Vegas, is a mix of old and new, blending classics from N9NE with modern dishes and a variety of fish and shellfish. Big parties love the bone marrow appetizer, which includes the opportunity to drink a shot of vodka through a hallowed-out bone. Another crowd favorite: seafood towers, which come in a variety of sizes. Cocktails here are strong and creative; some are made tableside by scantily clad mixologists working different cocktail carts. The dining room at Barry's is swanky and sophisticated, with plenty of hidden alcoves. Perhaps the only demerit: sometimes the music can be deafening. 

This offshoot of Joe Vicari's numerous restaurants in the Detroit area is right at home in the loosely Detroit-theme D Las Vegas. The menu is evenly split between steak-house classics and Italian-American favorites. There's atmosphere aplenty; customers enter through a long, arched brick passage to emerge into a candlelit room staffed by tux-clad waiters. And the food matches the elegant aura, with such starters as a rich lobster bisque with butter-poached lobster, or banana peppers with house-made sausage; entrées include a half-dozen steaks along with Italian pastas and fish, chicken, and veal dishes.