Category: Las Vegas Advisor

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Khoury’s Mediterranean Restaurant

Mediterranean food, particularly Middle Eastern, is one of the “in” culinary trends of late, but all the new restaurants have some work to do to catch up to Khoury’s, which has been operating since 1966 (not to be confused with Khoury’s Fine Win & Spirits, a wine shop on the east side). What sets Khoury’s apart from other Mediterranean restaurants in Las Vegas is that it’s Lebanese, which is a different style from Greek, Iranian, or any of the others that serve Mediterranean cuisine.

Off the Strip

Khoury’s is located at 9340 W. Sahara, which is a bit of a drive, about 11 miles from the Strip. The easiest route is to go straight up Sahara and it’s in a shopping mall at the corner of Sahara and Ft. Apache. We’ve eaten here with Lebanese friends who confirm that this is the real deal, so you’ll find it worth the trip. Khoury’s is open seven days a week from 11 am to 9 pm (10 pm weekends).

The Food

All the Lebanese favorites are here: hummus; baba ghanoush; loubieh (green beens); bamieh (okra); olives; pickles; grape leaves; falafel; six different kabobs; schwarma and gyro sandwiches; lentil or beef and rice tomato soup; and salads of all kinds made with tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, spinach, onions, mint, lemon juice, even some with lettuce, and we rate the tabbouleh as the best in town. Chicken livers are $17.95, Farooj (whole baked chicken in spices) $23.95, and lamb chops $32.95. Good stuff, but we go for the kibbi-naya ($34.95), ground raw lamb mixed with cracked wheat and spices. Scoop it with the pita that’s baked fresh in brick ovens and brought to the table hot and risen.

The Mediterranean Feast

You want to get a taste of lots of things here, so you can go for the house mezza ($35.95) or mini-house mezza ($21.95). There’s also a “dinner for two” option ($54.95) that gives you a choice of several options. If you want to go nuts, the Mediterranean Feast is available for parties of six or more for $32.95 per person. It’s a whole lotta grub. We did it, but probably wouldn’t again, as some of the meat dishes were dry and there are just too many other good things on the menu to go for rather than the MF that’s bound to have some things you don’t necessarily want.

The Verdict

Khoury’s is our top pick of all of Las Vegas’ Middle Eastern options. Our play is the kibbi-naya and tabbouleh, which is easily enough for two, for $50. If raw lamb isn’t your thing, there are the options listed here and more. Top it off with an Almaza Lebanese beer.

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Oyster Bar (Red Rock Resort)

More good things from Station Casinos? We can hardly stand it, but we also can’t ignore it. It doesn’t get anywhere the buzz that the Oyster Bar at Palace Station gets, but we’ll take the Oyster Bar at Red Rock Resort anytime. It runs specials Mon.-Fri.; we tried the Tuesday Buck A Shuck and Thursday lobster rolls. 

Buck A Shuck

Strange as it may sound, there are people who don’t like raw oysters but do like raw clams. No problem, both are available for $1 per on Tuesdays (there actually is a discernable difference). This is the only place we know of in town that does the clams. Two of us ordered a dozen of each and split, both favoring the oysters. You can order in any quantity. Hard to beat.

oysters
clams

Lobster Rolls

Really, two lobster rolls for $10? Yes, and two different kinds at that (you can’t mix the two in the same order). The difference is typically that Maine is served cold and Connecticut hot. We tried the Connecticut and it’s good, but we’ll go Maine on future visits. It looks spectacular, but it’s more roll than lobster. To illustrate, this is what ours looked like before and after (from a waiter: “I see a lot of plates that look like that.”). Still, for ten bucks, no complaints.

Chowders

The RR Oyster Bar has both Boston (white) and Manhattan (red) clam chowder. We tried both over our two visits. They’re big servings that are loaded with clams for $11.99. Pictured here is the Manhattan, but we preferred the Boston.

Cool Place

Whereas you’ll almost certainly have to wait in line at the Palace Station Oyster Bar (we still don’t understand its popularity), there were plenty of seats available on both of our visits. The bar is sparkling clean. TVs are tuned to sports. The cooks, who work in the open kitchen behind the bar talk with the customers. The customers talk with the customers. It’s open-air onto the casino floor. Excellent setting.

Check the Jackpots

If you park in the garage, check out the scrolling jackpots screen when you get off the elevator. You see versions of this on chalkboards in bars, but not in casinos. We discuss it at length on our YouTube “Jackpots” show.

The Verdict

If you haven’t figured it out by now, we really like this place. It’s a trek from the Strip, but well worth it if you’re hankerin’ for any of these specials. And by all means, combine it with a bowl of chowder. We rate this the best oyster bar in Vegas. Look for us on a Tuesday coming soon.

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Buffet Update – May 2025

Caesars Palace – Bacchanal Buffet: All buffet prices went up by $7. Weekday Dinner is Mon – Thur, 3:30 p.m.-10 p.m. is now $86.99. Friday Dinner is 3:30 p.m.-10 p.m. is now $91.99. Weekend Dinner is Sat & Sun, 3 p.m.-10 p.m. is now $91.99. Weekend Crab Brunch is Sat & Sun, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. is now $86.99.

Circus Circus – Circus Buffet: This week’s breakfast buffet is Fri-Sun, 8 a.m.-12 p.m. is $32.95. Then their dinner buffet is Fri&Sat, 4:30 p.m.-10 p.m. is $41.95.

Luxor – The Buffet at Luxor: Officially closed March 30.

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Patisserie

One of the many unusual sights in Las Vegas is the 26-foot-tall chocolate fountain at the Patisserie, located at Bellagio just beyond the Conservatory.

Three different kinds and colors (white, dark, and milk) of chocolate flow from oyster-shell-type tier to tier through the fountain. Enclosed in a temperature-controlled glass case, 4,000 pounds of liquid chocolate ooze along at a rate of 30 gallons per minute, facilitated by six pumps and 500 feet of stainless-steel pipe.

Once the largest chocolate fountain in the world, it was surpassed only in 2020 by a 30-foot-tall display at a Lindt factory, museum, and shop in Zurich, Switzerland, so now the Patisserie fountain is “merely” the largest in the U.S.

As tempting as it looks, the chocolate is for decoration only; it’s never converted into anything edible. But that doesn’t stop the Patisserie from selling shelves upon shelves of candy in canisters, such as peanut M&Ms ($20 for the large), chocolate-covered hazelnuts ($10), pistachio white-chocolate green glass ($11.50), and blueberry-pearl mint chocolate ($19.85), plus bags of Remill coffee and cakes turning round and round on motorized lazy susans.


The line for the Patisserie’s menu items goes all the way around the half-circular counter and often extends out into the hall, but service is very fast. You order, pay at the cashier, and watch your food being made at the glassed-in front counter.

You can get your order to go in a bag, eat standing up at one of the small tables, or carry it over to the comfortable seating area in a rotunda-like alcove down the hall.

Breakfasts include yogurt-berry parfaits, muesli, and fruit bowls ($12), egg-cheese-bacon croissant ($17), smoked salmon plate ($23), four kinds of omelets ($17), sweet and savory crepes ($15-$17), sandwiches and salads ($19), along with all the hot and iced coffee drinks you’d expect from a French café ($5.50-$7.25).

We tried the strawberry and whipped-cream crepe and an almond croissant and the bill came to $23.79 with tax — anything but bargain prices, but this is Bellagio, after all, and the Patisserie offerings are fancy, fast, and plentiful. Good play for something light and quick and a great reason to see the record-setting fountain, especially if you’re checking out the latest display at the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.

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Wicked Spoon Buffet

by Peter Bijlsma

Of the five buffets operated by MGM Resorts, this one, at the Cosmoplitan, offers by far the best experience for the price. Those at MGM Grand, Excalibur, and Luxor are pretty mediocre and Luxor’s will be closing soon. Bellagio has gone downhill since it opened again after COVID, with no more king crab and caviar and snow crab legs only for dinner, not at the brunch. The servers don’t serve anything, they just collect used plates. You have to get your own beverages at a drink station or buy at the bar.

The servers at the Wicked Spoon are friendly and attentive. They bring a bottle of cold water to every table without even asking for it and take orders for soda, coffee, beer, wine, and cocktails. A beverage menu on the table shows the available drinks with prices. Bottled beer is around $11, wine $15, cocktails $18, and bottomless pours of wine, mimosas, and Bud Light $30 with a 90-minute limit.

At the Wicked Spoon, they’re also focused on keeping food waste to a minimum. Many items are presented in individual dishes rather than in bulk and that includes sauces and melted butter, discouraging guests to load up more on their plate or bowl than they’ll consume. Personally, I like to sample, picking up little bites, knowing that I can always go back and get more of something I like. Of course, you can’t do this in a regular restaurant.

There’s too much to list every item separately. Here’s a summary with some highlights.

The salad bar is on a separate island that includes the charcuterie section with cut cheese, salami, etc. The shrimp cocktails are also there. You get two large peeled prawns in a little dish with just enough cocktail sauce and a piece of lemon. There’s a good selection of fruit, several types of bread with a toaster next to it, and soups. Also smoked salmon with cream cheese, capers, onion, and tomatoes. And small dishes with tuna crudo and beef carpaccio. Little bags with corn tortilla chips and guacamole for dipping. Individual portions of salad, including Caesars.

appetizers with shrimp cocktail, smoked salmon with capers, beef carpaccio, and some sushi

In the main buffet, there’s an egg station where you can order an omelet with a selection of additions, such as bacon bits, cheese, ham, shrimp, onions, peppers, spinach, tomatoes, and mushrooms. They also have eggs Benedict, scrambled eggs, bacon, and breakfast sausages. Around the corner are individual dishes with what they call “angry” mac and cheese.

egg Benedict, bacon, large spicy prawn

At the Carvery are chicken, turkey, ham, several types of sausage, pork shoulder, tri tip, New York strip, and leg of lamb with a choice of sauces and gravy. Don’t fill yourself up on potatoes, pasta, and pizza; there’s more good stuff coming.

The next section starts with the crab legs, clarified butter, and some Asian dishes including a selection of sushi. Also fried rice, roasted bok choy, spicy shrimp, and cute little take-out boxes with steamed white rice. Finally, there’s a stack of bamboo steamers with dumplings and some more dim sum items.

The separate dessert island features a large variety of pies, cookies, cakes, and ice cream if you still have room left.

When I visited, they had a special offer for Nevada locals on Wednesday: $38 instead of $47 with a state ID. On top of that, there was also a half-price or 2-for-1 promotion for MGM Rewards members, valid until Memorial Day, so I paid only $19 plus tax — best deal in Las Vegas for any brunch buffet, even without crab legs. Club members can still get the 2-for-1 deal until May 26, the $38 price for locals on Wednesdays is ongoing, regular prices are listed on our buffet page. You can barely get a single lunch item and a soda for $19 anywhere on the Strip since Ocean One closed.

Directions: The Cosmopolitan has two towers. The Wicked Spoon Buffet is located in the western one, known as the Chelsea tower. Take the entrance to the parking garage at West Harmon Ave. I prefer to park at level B4 or B5. There’s a loading dock for delivery trucks at B1, AVIS uses part of B2 for their rental cars, and the Jockey Club has reserved spots at B3. Try to park as close as you can to the Chelsea elevators. Once up at the casino level take the nearby escalator to level 2. The buffet is at the end of the hallway.

MGM Rewards members Pearl and up get free unlimited self parking. Nevada locals get 3 hours. To get upgraded to Pearl tier get the First Bank MGM no annual fee MasterCard. You can fill out an application at any MGM Rewards desk. Insert your Pearl or higher card into the slot when you enter the garage. The gate will open and you don’t get a ticket. Do the same to exit. All others have to push the button for a ticket.

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PK Oyster Bar


This is a newish restaurant at the Commercial Center on E. Sahara. We generally don’t pay much attention to these eateries, since they don’t seem to last too long (except for Lotus of Siam and that has yet reopened more than seven years after the roof collapsed in 2017). What caught our attention was the Manhattan clam chowder on the PK menu, which we rarely see in Las Vegas. A quick search turned up two mentions in LVA, one from way back in 2003, the other not much more recently in 2005.

We first tried the house salad ($8) and steamed clams ($20); the clams came in a choice of white broth or red sauce. We’d never seen clams served in a red sauce, so we opted for the novel preparation. The strong sauce definitely overpowered the delicate clams (but more on that in a bit).

We prefer the red chowder over the white, though being the Advisor, we also tried the white for comparison purposes ($12 each). They both come in a bread bowl with the top cut off and the middle emptied out. You can also get them in a regular bowl, which we should have; both chowders were gloppy enough without the added dough. And frankly, neither was recommendable. More like stews than soups, they were bland and very thick, with way more (undercooked) celery than clams.

Also on the menu are fried shrimp, calamari, oysters, and catfish ($15-$20), five pan roasts ($25-$32), five gumbos ($23-$32), a few po’ boys ($15-$18), and specialties such as jambalaya, etouffée, bouillabaisse, and two pounds of “Voodoo pasta” ($19-$32).

All in all, the salad was the best thing about the meal, with the red sauce that the clams came in a close runner up. Even though it didn’t do the clams any justice, we scarfed the sauce on its own, slopping it up with some of the bread from the bowls, so we didn’t leave hungry. A good thing, since the bill for the salad, clams, two chowders, and a $5 happy hour beer came to just under $62 with tax.

Maybe the best thing about PK’s is the $1.50 oyster special on Wednesdays.

No complaints on this deal. All in all, though, there are better oyster bars around town.

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Burger & Fries (Station Casinos)

Has hell frozen over? Station Casinos is offering several late-night breakfast specials—from $3.99 (pancakes) to $9.99 (steak & eggs)—and a hamburger & fries for $5.99 served 24/7 in its various coffee shops. We thought it was no longer in Station’s playbook to offer value like this, but darned if that burger deal isn’t good enough to make the Top Ten. 

We haven’t seen a deal like this from Station in years. The casino company that became a powerhouse by catering to locals and leaning on value did an about-face coming out of the pandemic, essentially taking a margin-widening tack that meant the end of buffets and pretty much any kind of deal in the restaurants. The restaurant program at Station is outstanding, it’s just not predicated on value the way it used to be. That seems to be changing. We discuss the reasons why in the March LVA. Here, we concentrate on the particulars of this exceptional deal.

Where and When

In judging a value, where and when are important factors. If a deal is available for three hours one day a week at some obscure location, then it almost doesn’t matter how good it is. For this one, the where is several of the Station coffee shops, which means locations all over the city. They are the Brass Forks at Palace, Sunset, and Santa Fe Stations, the Lucky Pennys at Green Valley Ranch and Red Rock, and Game On at Boulder Station. That’s a pretty good where, and the when is as good as it gets—it’s available 24/7 at all the locations.

Bring Your Boarding Pass

The deal is available to Station Casinos Boarding Pass Members only. When you order, the first thing the waitress asks for is your players card. No problem. If you don’t have one, get one on your way in. It’s a smart move; they’re building their database.

The Burger

It’s a cheeseburger, served with lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles. Mustard, ketchup, and mayo are at the ready. It comes with a mini-bucket of fries (no substitutions). You almost can’t find a cheeseburger for $10 or less anymore and you won’t find one this good for $6 anywhere. You can make it a double for an additional $2.99. A Pepsi with unlimited refills was $3.99.

There’s More

We tried only the burger & fries, but at the same time, Station added four late-night breakfast specials: pancakes $3.99, eggs with biscuits and gravy $4.99, Deuces Wild (classic eggs and meat) $4.99, and steak and eggs $9.99. These are all served 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily. Similar to burgers, the price of breakfasts has gone up everywhere, nearly doubling in some spots (egg shortage?). Hence, this is another good play, albeit not with the same availability.

Station BC (Before COVID)

For those who weren’t around or have just forgotten, Station Casinos used to be the King of the Deals. Perhaps the most famous was its 49¢ complete breakfast back in the ‘80s (people used to order six of them at a time). Even considering the time period, it ranks as one of Vegas’ all-time great deals. Then there was a $9.99 king crab leg special in the ‘90s that was just plain ridiculous. After that, the incredible Feast Buffet ran all the way to 2020, which was the last time a Station property has been in the Top Ten, aside from the traditional nod to Durango Casino when it opened. Quite a change in philosophy. Food courts ain’t gonna get you on the Top Ten.

The Verdict

We liked everything about this deal and it’s currently #5 in our Top Ten Values list. And this isn’t all from Station. The Oyster Bar at Red Rock has good daily specials, including $1 oysters and clams on the half shell on Tuesdays. And the Oyster Bar at Palace Station has just initiated its own “Oyster Tuesdays” with $1.25 oysters. Maybe there’s more to come. The vast Station network has the capacity to buy in bulk and create deals like these. Whatever the reason—Anthony Curtis suggests in his March COUPONOMY column that the casinos, as a group, might be anticipating a slowdown—they’ve finally made some moves to bring back that old Station Casinos feel. It’s good to see.

And yes, this was the bill for two. Nice.

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Buffet Update – March 2025

Circus Circus – Circus Buffet: This week’s breakfast buffet is Fri-Sun, 1 a.m.-12 p.m. is $19.95. Then their dinner buffet is Fri & Sat, 4 p.m.-10 p.m. is $24.95.

Cosmopolitan – Wicked Spoon: Daily Brunch is now 8 a.m.-2 p.m. instead of 8 a.m.-3 p.m. for $47 on weekdays and $54 on weekends.

Rampart – Market Place Buffet: All buffet prices went up by $1-$2. Champagne Brunch Sat & Sun, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. is now $34.99. Lunch Mon-Fri, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. is now $23.99. Dinner Mon, Tues, & Thurs-Sun 4 p.m.-8 p.m.is now $33.99.

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Nacho Daddy

Nacho Daddy is a local chain of three restaurants, one downtown, one at the Miracle Mile Shops, and one on W. Sahara in Summerlin. The first location opened in 2010 and Nacho Daddy’s claim to fame is for being the inventor of the Scorpion shot: Cenote tequila, salt, lime, and an actual scorpion.

Yes, you read that right. At the Miracle Mile location, Nacho Daddy displays a live-scorpion terrarium built by the TV show “Tanked” and this unique “attraction” has been featured on the Food Network, Travel Channel, and Animal Planet. The company claims that it’s served 50,000 Scorpion shots over the past decade-plus as a rite of passage for what we’d call “extreme drinkers.” Of course, the scorpions are dead and their stingers have been removed, but what they call the “ultimate drinking challenge” was an experience that we passed on during our visit to finally review Nacho Daddy.

This is essentially a Mexican-food sports bar with a focus, nachorally, on nachos: a dozen different kinds, with ground beef, six kinds of chicken, shrimp, filet, even lobster and crab and surf and turf, along with the usual refried beans, cheddar and jack cheese, queso fresco, and pico de gallo, plus sautéed onions, guacamole, and sour cream all topping house-made tri-colored corn chips. These plates, big enough for two big eaters and three mediums, range from $18 to $29.

Nachos noch-yo thang? You can also get soup and salads, flaming fajitas ($19-$26), burritos and enchiladas ($15-$17), tacos ($13-$18), a number of vegan options, and several desserts. They also serve Sunday brunch with a big page of breakfast choices and any kind of alcohol you can dream up at all hours. The Scorpion shot is $23.95.

We visited the downtown branch and tried the Fiesta nachos, the basic chicken-breast version ($17.95), and the flaming-shrimp appetizer, a half-pound of chipotle-lime-marinated shrimp served on a sizzling skillet.

Both were decent and plenty of food for two of us, with half of both left to take out. With a couple of beers, the bill came to $72 with tax, without tip. A bit expensive, perhaps, and the nachos don’t travel particularly well, but we’re not too picky about leftovers and we got a second lunch out of the deal.

Maybe next time, we’ll brave the tequila-marinated scorpion. Maybe not.