4 Best Restaurants in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is one of America's hottest restaurant markets. Nearly every big Strip property has at least one and often two or more celebrity-chef restaurants. Away from the Strip, the unprecedented population growth in the city's suburbs has brought with it a separate and continuous wave of new eateries, both familiar chains and increasing numbers of legitimate destination restaurants.
Casino-resort dining basically falls into one of three categories. In the top echelon are the properties that have a half dozen or more bona fide star-status restaurants: Aria, Bellagio, Caesars, The Cosmopolitan, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Venetian/Palazzo, and Wynn/Encore. At the next level are those resorts with one or two stellar restaurants and a smaller range of worthwhile but not quite top-of-the-line options. On the Strip, these include The Cromwell, Mandarin Oriental, Mirage, Monte Carlo, New York–New York, Paris, Planet Hollywood, SLS Las Vegas, and Treasure Island. Off the Strip, you can add the Lucky Dragon, Palms, the Hard Rock, M Resort, The Rio All-Suite Hotel, Green Valley Ranch, the JW Marriott, and Red Rock Resort. Then there's everybody else: casino-resorts with maybe a decent eatery or two but that simply aren't known for great food.
Downtown Las Vegas has seen a big revitalization in the past several years, and that extends to restaurants. Although Downtown still lacks a destination restaurant, notable spots are Carson Kitchen, Therapy, Turmeric, Le Thai, and La Comida in Fremont East; and Pizza Rock and the older Triple George Grill in the Downtown 3rd District. There also are a number of good restaurants in the Downtown Container Park.
Outside the tourism corridor, Las Vegas has a number of marquee restaurants with increasing cachet among foodies from out of town—places such as Todd’s Unique Dining, Marché Bacchus, Nora's Italian Cuisine, and Lotus of Siam. There's great food to be had off the beaten path in Las Vegas, and you'll pay a lot less in these areas, too.
If you haven't been to Vegas in a few years, you'll notice some major changes. Names like Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, and Emeril Lagasse still have plenty of pull in this town, but the Vegas chefs commanding the most attention are French imports such as Pierre Gagnaire, Joël Robuchon, and Guy Savoy, along with vaunted U.S. chefs like Giada De Laurentiis, Charlie Palmer, and Mario Batali.
There's also a trend toward high-minded restaurants with exclusive-nightclub vibes. Note the success of see-and-be-seen Pan-Asian hot spot Hakkasan and Tao Asian Bistro & Nightclub, the youthful late-night haunts LAVO and FIX, and bordello-chic establishments such as Strip House—to name just a few. Elsewhere in town, Las Vegas's growing international—and especially Asian—population has created a market for some of the best Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Pan-Asian restaurants in the country.
Kumi Japanese Restaurant + Bar
Kumi presents a Japanese menu with a slight Korean twist in a sleek space with natural woods and hammered steel—and it's close to Mandalay Bay's convention center, so you can stagger in and take refuge after a long day at the booths. Among the cool shared plates are a bluefin tuna pizza and tuna tacos with taro chips; the warm shared plates include such dishes as wagyu gyoza and pork belly bao buns. There also are salads, sides, entrées from land (teriaki-glazed airline chicken) and sea (pan-seared ora king salmon), sashimi, nigiri sushi, and sushi rolls. Desserts range from the traditional (mochidoki) to the wildly inventive (wagashi tres leches cake).
Sushi Roku
On the top floor of the towering atrium at the Strip entrance to The Forum Shops, Roku occupies an airy dining room lined with bamboo stalks and tall windows facing the Strip. Sushi is the main draw, but there's much more. You can't go wrong with the fluke kumquat with yuzu vinaigrette, or the White Lotus roll with popcorn shrimp tempura, avocado, and asparagus. But greater rewards come to those who venture deeper into the extensive menu. Feel like indulging? Go for the Roku Izakaya Feast for two.
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Wakuda
The high-end, modern-Japanese restaurant offers six- and nine-course tasting menus, as well as a 9-course vegetarian version and a private experience in the omakase room Thursday through Saturday. If you’d rather control your own destiny, the myriad à la carte options include various types of sushi priced by the piece, as well as rolls and sashimi. Or choose foie gras, tempura, katsu, robatayaki, lamb, chicken, seasonal fish, and meats including Japanese A5 wagyu.
