RESTAURANTS

Las Vegas is a gourmet's dream come true and a gourmand's hog heaven -- and everything in between. You can spend $300 per person on a three-hour prix-fixe dining extravaganza or stuff yourself silly for less than $20 at most of the 70 all-you-can-eat buffets. The big resort-casinos have literally a dozen or two choices of eateries, from celebrity chefs to snack bars, with some combination of American, French, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, barbecue, steak, Southwestern, seafood, deli, and coffee-shop cuisines, along with food courts, snack bars, ice-cream parlors, and coffee counters. It would take a literal lifetime to explore all the resort Restaurant, but sometimes you don't want to walk through a casino to get to and from a meal, so we also list non-casino local favorites.

Want to know if your hotel has a French restaurant, or a food court, an oyster bar, or late-night dining options? Just use the form here to be able to search by property and see all the various eateries wherever you're staying.

American - American food is a catch-all category that includes hamburgers, hot dogs, clam chowder, turkey dinners, meat loaf, pot pies, chili, chicken wings, chicken-fried steak, corn on the cob, baked beans, apple pie. You‘ll find American food in coffee shops, diners, snack bars, outdoor cafes, and buffets. Each of the above has a listing of its own; when we designate an eatery as American, it generally means that it mostly serves what today is known as comfort food.

BBQ - Barbecue has only recently discovered Las Vegas, but you can still find a few good Restaurant that grill ribs, chicken, brisket, tri-tip, and sausage over open flames.

Cajun/Creole - These are the two forms of Louisiana cuisine. The Cajuns were a tough rural people whose food has been called "pungent, peppery, and practical," and is cooked in a single pot. Creoles, on the other hands, were rich plantation owners who preferred la grande cuisine. Both styles make copious use of crab, crawfish, oysters, shrimp, salt pork, frog, sausage, black-eyed peas, beans, grits, tomatoes, okra, yams, and pecans, cooked into pan roasts, gumbos, bisques, jambalayas, and stews.

Chinese - Like everywhere else in this country, Chinese runs the gamut from fast-food counters and storefront eateries where the primary sound from the kitchen is the can opener opening cans of Chung King to expensive casino Restaurant and local eateries featuring fusion Asian (mostly California-Chinese combos).

Coffee Shop - Every major hotel-casino and most minor ones have a 24-hour eatery that serves all three meals, in any number of cuisines, anytime of day or night. The coffee shop is also where you find the loss-leader steak, prime rib, shrimp, and other meal deals. Often they‘re not on the menu, so be sure to ask what‘s good and cheap.

Continental - This third omnibus category combines cuisines from the Continent, meaning Europe. Continental is heavy on French and Italian preparations and traditions, but you might also find some Spanish, German and Swiss, Polish, and -- God help us -- British food thrown in.

Delis - Bagel shops and locals delis have been around since the days of the Jewish mafia, but bona fide New York-style delis can now be found in several Strip resorts.

Desserts - Generally speaking, you can go to any restaurant, sit down, and order dessert and coffee. Just be sure to check the minimum dining charge, so you know what you‘re getting into. In addition, many casinos have ice-cream shops and some even have bakeries where you can get your fill of pastries, cakes, and frozen sweets.

Food Courts - Most of the newer hotel-casinos have food courts. These are similar to what you find in malls across the world, with some combination of fast-food burgers and fries, pizza and Italian, sandwiches, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, hot dogs and lemonade, ice cream, and coffee.

French - French cuisine, perhaps more than any other in the world, emphasizes beauty as much as taste; the French are credited with transforming cooking into an art. In Las Vegas, French Restaurant, which are a relatively recent phenomenon, serve the fanciest foods -- dressed up with exquisite sauces, sharp cheeses, a variety of breads, accompanying wines (both in the glass and sauce), plus sumptuous pastries and cakes.

Italian - Antipasti, pizza, pasta, risotto, la cucina Italiana is hearty, earthy, and gloriously simple. It‘s, in effect, home-cooking, even when it‘s served in Restaurant. With Las Vegas‘ Italian pedigree this cuisine is heavily represented -- from all areas of Italy.

Japanese - Most Japanese Restaurant in Las Vegas serve food familiar to Americans, which is not to say it‘s not authentic: miso soup, tempura, teriyaki, and soy in various forms, with a generous use of mushrooms, seaweed, and noodles. Sushi and sashimi are served as well; they‘re also found at sushi bars all over town.

Mediterranean - Like Pan-Asian, Mediterranean is another catch-all category that encompasses the cuisines of North Africa (especially Morocco), the Middle East (Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Israel), and southern Europe (Spain, Italy, and especially Greece). Onions, garlic, and tomatoes start off many dishes, which are finished with eggplant, squash, peppers, artichokes, and okra. Mediterranean food is almost synonymous with legumes, such as lentils and chickpeas, while lamb and chicken are the predominant viands. Fresh herbs -- basil, cilantro, mint, dill, and fennel -- are ubiquitous. And everything upon everything is infused with olive oil.

Mexican - One out of four Las Vegans is Hispanic, and seven out of 10 Hispanics are Mexican. Thus, la comida Mexicana in Las Vegas is plentiful and authentic, inexpensive and filling. The best Mexican food in Las Vegas is generally not found in the casinos, but in the neighborhoods; casino-Mex tends to be either generic (and not inexpensive) or haute (and expensive).

Other Ethnic - Las Vegas has its share of Korean, Filipino, Indian, German, Brazilian, Cuban, Jamaican, Greek, Russian, North African, Middle Eastern, Spanish, English, and Polynesian cuisines, though it could use some good Indonesian.

Pan-Asian - Pan-Asian food is Asian food prepared in a pan. Just kidding. "Pan" is a prefix from the Greek meaning, simply, "all"; thus, Pan-Asian is a menu that includes some combination of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Korean. The quality of the food can be lower than what's found at the single-Asian-cuisine Restaurant, but the Pan-Asian eateries included here are the best in town.

Pizza - Las Vegas may have shaken off the cheap and cheerful dining image of yesteryear and transformed into an oasis of celebrity chefs and fine dining possibilities, but sometimes nothing hits the spot like a slice of pepperoni and cheese. So, you'll be happy to hear that we're also home to a plethora of excellent pizza joints, whether you're looking for a late-night New York-style foldable slice, a topping-laden Chicago-style pie, something fancy from California, or even kosher pizza -- we got it all.

Seafood - Fresh fish? In the desert? Absolutely -- and there‘s plenty of it. Much is trucked in daily from southern California; some is flown in several times a week from Hawaii. Oyster bars aren‘t uncommon, several buffets have seafood nights, and one buffet (at the Rio) features mostly seafood nightly.

Snack Bars - Traditional snack bars are a dying breed in Las Vegas, replaced by full-blown food courts. But a few of the older joints still have counters and stools where you can get your burgers, dogs, chili, sandwiches, shrimp cocktails, and drinks, while some of the newer, more upscale resorts have snack outlets serving everything from quality salads and sandwiches to burgers and popsicles.

Steakhouse - Las Vegas has always been a meat and potatoes town, which is why steakhouses are among the oldest and most abundant Restaurant here. Up and down the Strip, downtown, and in the neighborhoods, steakhouses old and new serve every cut in every size. A few seafood dishes round out most steakhouse menus.

Thai - Coconut milk, curries, hot peppers and pepper sauces, and peanut sauces differentiate Thai food from Chinese and Japanese. Las Vegas has only a handful of Thai Restaurant, but several are excellent and one (Lotus of Siam) is world-class.

Themed - Just like vegas casinos have sometimes decided to carry a theme throughout their hotels, some vegas Restaurant care to do the same. These Restaurant vary widely from one to another, but maintain a consistent theme within their walls.

Vegetarian-friendly - With everything from graveyard ham and eggs specials to gourmet steakhouses and all-you-can-eat BBQ, Las Vegas has traditionally been a carnivore's paradise. Although there aren't that many wholly vegetarian/vegan restaurants in Las Vegas (click here to see the list in our Specialty Dining section), don't think you're going to be stuck with spaghetti or rabbit food. In the mood for Spanish? Ethiopian? Thai? Japanese? Greek? No problem!