Las Vegas Restaurants by Cuisine

Y
ears ago, Las Vegas was known for all-you-can-eat, cheap buffets, which might keep the wolf from the door, but were not memorable gastronomic events. The idea was to save money for the casino floor. While the buffet still hangs on, even in the swankier resorts, fine dining has, for some time now, become an important Las Vegas activity. Virtually every world-renowned restaurant group or chef-entrepreneur of any consequence now has some sort of presence in Las Vegas. Equally, the visitor can find just about any chain restaurant, either fancy or fast, in Las Vegas as well.

For these reasons, a person planning the vacation carefully will identify as early as possible when and where he or she would like to go dining. Reservations are a must, and sometimes they are hard to get on short notice.

The subject of where to go can be divided across several different dimensions:

Many of the fine dining restaurants are found inside the various hotels and casinos; however, many of the finest restaurants on the Strip are independent of resorts, and stand by themselves. Several are clustered together near the intersection of Flamingo Road and Paradise Road, and are known collectively as “Restaurant Row”. Others are downtown, or west of the “Strip.”

Restaurant Row

Restaurant Row is the name given by locals to a group of independent fine dining establishments near the intersection of Flamingo Road and Paradise Road. Three of them are well respected Las Vegas Steakhouses: Lawry’s Prime Rib (4043 Howard Hughes Parkway), Morton’s of Chicago and Ruth’s Chris Steak House East. (Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse West is west of the strip, near Summerlin.) Yolie’s Brazilian Steakhouse is also there, featuring the rodizio method of preparing and serving the food. McCormick and Schmick’s seafood restaurant is another storied member of this group.

West of the Strip is Ferraro’s Las Vegas, 2½ miles down West Flamingo, towards Summerlin. Chef Andreoni is formerly of the Hotel Cipriani in Venice and an award-winning chef.

Independent Restaurants on the Strip

Choices include steakhouses, of course (Smith and Wollensky Rosewood Grill, Golden Steer, and Alan Albert’s), Italian (Battista’s Hole in the Wall), Spanish (Café Ba Ba Reeba), Mexican (Alberto’s Mexican Food), French (Pamplemousse), seafood (Lobster House) and artistic international (Cili – A Wolfgang Puck Experience).

Below is a listing of most of the more well-known places for fine dining in Las Vegas.

Buffets

The buffet tradition in Las Vegas is of long-standing, and it is surviving well. In the early days, the buffet was the mainstay of the casino gambler. The hotels provided them around the clock for free or at very reduced prices as a kind of “comp” for those risking their money at the tables and slots. The food was simple and filling. You could eat all you wanted (or needed), and the system moved quickly so you could get back to the casino as fast as possible. With the gentrification of the Las Vegas hotels, the buffet started becoming more elegant, and the prices started to rise as a result. Instead of a basic steam table approach, the hotel chefs would set up “stations” at which foods would be prepared and served before your eyes. Everything from omelets to roast beef to stir fry sukiyaki would be available to the buffet guest. In Las Vegas today, the traditional buffet has made something of a comeback, as the hotels have all developed fine dining options for their guests who have the time, money and disposition to enjoy a gourmet meal. The buffet has returned, at least partially, to its former role as a filling station for the busy gambler. The serving stations remain, but the food is generally less expensive than in the other eateries, and it is fast, convenient, and all-you-can-eat. Today’s buffets offer a good range of choice, and the food is, in general, quite well-prepared and tasty. Sometimes you might conclude that it lacks a little imagination, but that is the buffet way. Many buffets remain open at all hours, or at least for very long hours, each day.

Restaurant Bars

“Fun Bars," “Grill,” “Bar and Grill,” and “Restaurant Bar” - are all ways to describe a noisy, casual restaurant in which patrons are encouraged to drink and enjoy entertainment as well as eat a meal. Usually the restaurant makes no pretense at fine dining. Instead, it will offer a menu of light fare – hamburgers, sandwiches, salads and soups. Many make a meal of the appetizers – hot chicken wings, potato skins, onion rings, and mozzarella sticks. Think of them as a Shakey’s Pizza for grown-ups. The sports bar is a special kind of fun bar at which the entertainment is broadcast sporting events, to be watched on one of several large screen televisions that blast the competition throughout the entire place. If there is no sporting event at the moment (a rare occurrence), the bar may display music videos or old movies. Another variation of the fun bar is the Irish Pub, which will offer a traditional Irish décor, Irish drinks (like Guiness and Bushmill’s) and possibly some Irish music as well. Other special forms or themes are always being invented. If you prefer current music videos, you will find exactly the fun bar for you. In Las Vegas almost every hotel has a fun bar like this, where you can have a bit to eat, a lot to drink, and enjoy a good time. Other free-standing fun bars can be found all over town, including Irish pubs, the Hard Rock Café, and Hooters.

Kosher Restaurants

Las Vegas has a few – very few – restaurants that can offer kosher meals, and, like everything else, it is best to have a conversation with the kitchen to be sure of the standards being followed. Several places will say that they only serve foods that are permitted by kosher laws (e.g. no bacon), but almost none can promise the use of all kosher ingredients, the separation of dishes and cooking utensils, and the segregation of meat and dairy.

Las Vegas Restaurants