Start planning your Las Vegas adventure. View Las Vegas Hotels

Vegas foodie finds: Where to eat and drink in Las Vegas

From the buffet to the exclusive spots for special occasions, here’s our guide to eating out in and around Las Vegas. By Paul Oswell | May 11, 2021 (Updated June 16, 2023)

No matter where you are on the Strip, you’re always close to somewhere to eat or drink in Las Vegas. But how do you choose? From decadent tasting menus to foodie favorites to quick snacks, we’ll help you pick in our guide to the kinds of dining on offer in Vegas. To make your next mouthwatering memory, we recommend:

  • Indulging: Shake it up with over-the-top milkshakes

  • Getting your fill: Beat the lines at the buffet with two simple tips

  • Dining beyond the Strip: Explore all that Vegas has to offer


Hilton hint

"Vegas is one of my favorite cities to indulge in unique food experiences because the city has so many food and restaurant options that cater to various diet restrictions. No one in your group will ever leave hungry." –Senwhaa Lim, Hilton Team Member, Global Consumer Communications



Seek celebrity chefs and high-end fine dining

You’ll reach into the upper echelons of the culinary stratosphere in Vegas. There are ten Michelin-endorsed spots. Each are worth trying if you are looking to enjoy a meal at one of the best restaurants in Las Vegas. Our recommendation: Go all in on a multi-course, memorable meal or tasting menu.

Savory spotlight

You'll find 12 contemporary, culinary options at the reimagined Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Curio Collection by Hilton.

Night + Market

California chills meet Bangkok frenzy at Night + Market eatery and wine bar that serves up an exciting and modern spin on Thai street food like satays, curries and spicy salads.

Skip the foie gras and dine in the mid-range

Of course, you don’t have to plan a major production for every meal. You can still find delicious dining at more casual Las Vegas restaurants. These offer family-friendly fare and usually serve the most popular cuisines.

There’s always a traditional, old-school steakhouse, as well as Italian and Chinese restaurants in Las Vegas. Sushi spots and gastropubs are also popular, and modern American menus always draw a crowd.

Think outside the obvious, and you’ll be rewarded with some fascinating fusion menus, like at Best Friend. It’s an adorable Korean-Mexican restaurant that’s made up to look like an L.A. bodega.

SushiSamba at The Palazzo blends Japanese and Brazilian flavors, and Black Tap has elevated bar food and the most over-the-top milkshakes imaginable.

A foodie's trip

Are you making your trip to Las Vegas to try your favorite chef’s menu?

Refuel at the food court

Sometimes, you just need a slice of pizza or a burger to keep you going, and it doesn’t need to be a big production. Almost all of the larger casinos have casual food courts with take-out classics to be eaten in your room or at the communal seating area.

There are food halls that favor smaller, elevated purveyors of fried chicken, donuts and nachos. You can find familiar favorites too, with major fast-food chains representing burgers to bagels.



Best of the Las Vegas buffet

No other city has welcomed the buffet as heartily, and this remains the quintessential Las Vegas dining experience. For one price, you may eat as much as you like from hundreds of options.

Our tips to avoid waiting and salivating? There are two ways to beat the buffet queue: Get there very early or buy pre-arrival tickets – kind of like making a reservation for your place in line.

Find which buffet suits your need. Wicked Spoon is among one of the fanciest, as is Studio B Buffet, both with wood-fired pizzas and the like. The most famous, due to its sheer scale, is probably Bacchanal Buffet. Some Vegas buffets include alcoholic drinks, but check with individual venues.

Vintage charm on Fremont Street

If you’ve been to the Strip before, then grab lunch and explore Fremont Street or downtown Vegas.

Keep it low key on Fremont Street

Use food as an excuse to explore another part of Vegas. We recommend grabbing lunch on Fremont Street or in downtown Vegas, especially if you’ve been to the Strip before. Here you’ll find independent, old-school joints that purvey vintage charm.

Le Thai and its accessible Thai menu was one of the first restaurants to lead the Fremont Street revival, but others soon followed. Most of the restaurants here look like regular neighborhood diners. Playful places like Pizza Rock are typical, with its menus like vinyl record sleeves. Evel Pie has its motorcycle memorabilia and Siegel’s 1941 sells ersatz gangster chic. There’s a swath of well-loved Mexican outlets such as La Comida and Pinches Tacos.

For Vegas vacation veterans, it’s fun to expand your culinary horizons. It doesn’t have to be a formal event: You can head to the impressively large, flagship outpost of Shake Shack on the Strip. Did you know that Las Vegas has its own Chinatown? There’s a three-mile stretch along Spring Mountain Road from Rainbow Boulevard east to Valley View Boulevard that has some of the most authentic Asian food in the country. Visitors love to try the hot pot at Chubby Cattle, the pho at Viet Noodle Bar or the ramen at Ramen Sora.



Vegan in Vegas

You can eat organically and vegan in Las Vegas. Veggy Street is an established local chain with three locations, one off the Strip and a couple in the nearby suburbs of Henderson and Summerlin. It gets our vote for the best plant-based burger in town.

Tarantino’s Vegan has a full, plant-based Italian menu for healthy ‘meatball’ subs and delicious ‘chicken’ parm. For delectable vegan sushi, newcomer Chikyu Vegan is an izakaya-style Japanese spot in the Silverado Ranch neighborhood.

One of the best reasons to visit Las Vegas is its concentration and diversity of dining experiences. Whether you’re on or off-Strip, aiming for brunch or a late-night snack, you’ll always have a place to eat and drink in Vegas.

Paul Oswell is a British award-winning journalist and published travel author based in New Orleans, Louisiana in the United States. His books include Bucket List North America and The Great American Road Trip, as well as New Orleans' Historic Hotels. He has also been an editor of and contributor to several guide books/editions published by Dorling Kindersley (owned by Penguin), including New Orleans, Florida, Orlando, Los Angeles, California and The United States. His work has appeared in Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure (both of which he has written multiple online travel guides for) and The Guardian, as well as dozens of international newspaper and magazine titles, and inflight magazines for major airlines.

Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Curio Collection by Hilton

A desert retreat a mile from the Strip, the resort offers redesigned chamber rooms, a day spa, acres of winding outdoor pools, 24-hour dining and gaming – and no resort fees.