If you haven’t been to Las Vegas in a year or more, the restaurant scene you remember is no longer quite the one that exists today. But the changes didn’t move in a single direction. In 2025, different parts of the city responded to very different pressures.
Rather than compiling a traditional year-end list of the “Best Restaurants,” I’ve chosen to look at the trends behind the biggest openings of the year. (I already cover recommendations year-round at Neon Feast.) Because the city’s most ambitious projects say a lot about where Las Vegas dining is heading.
This first installment focuses on Strip casinos, where 2025 made one thing clear: despite persistent claims that Las Vegas has priced itself out of relevance, ultra-luxury dining had a banner year — driven by resorts that continue to invest heavily in spectacle, exclusivity, and once-in-a-trip experiences.
Money Talks On The L.V.B.
While all the talk about Las Vegas becoming unaffordable has been greatly exaggerated, there’s no denying 2025 was a big year for opening ultra-luxury restaurants with serious price tags, within resorts that have always catered to the Platinum Card crowd. Yes, there are still deals to be had on The Strip. But they weren’t what got the headlines this year.
Waterfront Seafood
Wynn Las Vegas raised the bar on Las Vegas seafood early in the year, with the May opening of Pisces on the shore of its Lake of Dreams. The gorgeous dining room is bathed in shades of gold and blue, with shimmers of brass and glass, and luxurious touches like yachtsman chairs covered in fish skin leather. Chef Martin Heierling’s menu utilizes only the finest ingredients, flown in from around the globe, while Wynn’s mixologist Mariena Mercer Boarini provides world-class signature cocktails.
Not to be outdone, Bellagio introduced a world-class seafood restaurant of its own in 2025. Carbone Riviera debuted just in time for the annual arrival of the Formula 1 crowd, in the space that was once home to Picasso. The collaboration with Major Food Group (known for its celebrity clientele), the restaurant features a beautifully renovated interior, al fresco dining on a waterfront dock, and a private mini-yacht to take the resort’s luckiest VIP guests on a cruise around Bellagio’s lake, for a once-in-a-lifetime perspective on the hotel’s famed fountains.
Where’s The Beef?
If you’re looking for world-class steak, The Venetian opened several amazing beef-focused restaurants in 2025.
José Andrés’ award-winning Bazaar Meat relocated to the resort after leaving its longtime home in Sahara Las Vegas (previously the SLS). The new space, built for the celebrity chef and philanthropist on the ground floor of the Palazzo tower, includes a modern lounge, a main dining area with open kitchen and a patio on Las Vegas Boulevard, as well as phenomenal private dining spaces. The menu remains a perfect reflection of Chef Andrés’ dedication to the art of raising, aging, and cooking beef, with some avant garde touches like the famous foie gras cotton candy and air bread stuffed with cheese foam and topped with wagyu beef.
The Venetian also welcomed a Las Vegas outpost of Cote — the only Korean barbecue restaurant to ever earn a Michelin star. Offering guests the chance to cook a selection of USDA Prime and Japanese wagyu on their own smokeless grill, it’s unlike any other steakhouse on The Strip.
To continue the theme, the Los Angeles-based BOA Steakhouse chain returned to Las Vegas after a multi-year absence. Their new spot is in the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian.
For Something Completely Different
While the restaurants above take steak and seafood to new levels of luxury, steakhouses and seafood restaurants have been staples of Las Vegas for a long time. Those who want something that’s both new and different may want to look at Resorts World and Aria.
Resorts World welcomed Chef Jeremy Ford’s Michelin-starred concept Stubborn Seed in 2025, and it was quickly recognized as one of the most original restaurants ever to open in Las Vegas. The wow factor comes from the chef’s tasting menu, with mind-expanding dishes like a sweet champagne-citrus macaron topped with Kaluga caviar, and sea urchin panna cotta with yuzu gelée and orange granite. But you shouldn’t overlook the a la carte menu, which offers more familiar options, including a fantastic smashburger.
Aria closed out the year with the much-anticipated opening of Gymkhana – a Las Vegas spinoff of London’s Michelin two-star Indian restaurant, and The Strip’s first big gamble on Indian cuisine. It’s been sold out since opening. I hope to have more on it when I’m finally able to get in for a seat.
For more on restaurant trends in 2025, please check out: