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2025 Restaurant Recap, PART 1: Strip Casinos

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.

The Fotuna, which docks at Carbone Riviera

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.

Pisces

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.

Carbone Riviera

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.

Some of the dishes at Bazaar Meat

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.

Stubborn Seed

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:

2025 Restaurant Recap, Part 2: Neighborhood Restaurants

2025 Restaurant Recap, Part 3: Off-Strip Casinos

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Bally’s Gets Screwed

As luck would have it, we were in Chicago last week. That’s when, in a stunning display of spinelessness, Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) opted to neither sign nor veto the city budget. He dove under the desk. In that act of moral cowardice, Johnson tacitly assented to one move that screws over Bally’s Chicago and another that sticks it to legal OSB operators.

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Nom Wah

Nom Wah has expanded to Las Vegas, having opened a few months ago at the new food hall at the Rampart (now known as Resort at Summerlin). Nom Wah is the oldest continuously running restaurant in Manhattan’s Chinatown, New York City’s first Chinese tea and dim sum “parlor,” which debuted in 1920. The brand has two other locations in New York, one in Philadelphia, and one in Shenzen, China. The original venue was featured in a scene in the 2014 film The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

The Resort at Summerlin Nom Wah is a bustling little eatery, with a 12-seat counter, a handful of tables along the wall, and more tables out in the hallway next to Jade Asian Kitchen and Noodles.

The menu is small but mighty, offering classic and modern Cantonese dim sum. Nine dumplings ($9-$12) include pork/chicken soup, chicken and cabbage, shrimp, pork and shrimp shu mai, and edamame; spring rolls, scallion pancakes, and turnip cakes are $7-$9.50. Egg fried rice, lo mein, and wonton noodle soup ($13-$15), along with crispy chicken, Peking duck, and chili tofu buns ($10-$14), round out the choices.

chicken and cabbage dumplings
shrimp siu mai

You mark your selections right on the long paper menu in the usual dim sum fashion, then sit back and watch the chefs in the open kitchen do their magic. The food comes piping hot right off the grill or out of the pots and the service is so fast that steam rises from the dishes as they’re set in front of you.

We sampled the scallion pancakes, which were the essence of crisp, the exquisite chicken and cabbage dumplings, and the shrimp siu mai. Sitting at the counter watching many other dishes being prepared and served, next time we’ll be sure to try the wonton soup, duck buns, and noodles or rice, all of which looked tasty and abundant.

scallion pancakes
Peking duck buns

We took home one of each of our dishes and should confess that they barely made it in the door; we couldn’t wait to relive the 105-year-old experience and everything traveled well. Our bill came to $30.35 (with tax, without tip).

While there, we also checked out Pearl Oyster and Crudo Bar and Ai Pazzi (both a fast-food pizza place and Italian restaurant) and we’re more than ready to try those too.

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Cafe Landwer

Cafe Landwer traces its origin all the way back to 1919 and Berlin, Germany, where Moshe Landwer opened his first coffee roastery and cafe. In 1933 for obvious reasons, the family emigrated to Tel Aviv and opened Palestine’s (now Israel’s) first coffee roaster and shop. The first modern Café Landwer restaurant opened in 2004, also in Tel Aviv, and started expanding globally shortly thereafter. The brand debuted in the U.S. in Boston in 2018 and has steadily grown, with 15 locations in North America, including the most recent opening in Las Vegas last April in an attractive storefront in Summerlin (on W. Charleston just west of Durango); it’s in the space formerly occupied by Chinglish Cantonese Wine Bar.

Cafe Landwer serves Israeli-Mediterranean-Middle Eastern cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Breakfasts include the “Famous”: two eggs, chopped salad, tzatziki, guacamole & salsa, skordilia (thick Greek dip, like hummus), feta cheese, Greek yogurt with berries and granola, honey, and strawberry jam, and bread; and the vegan omelet, with chopped salad, guacamole, salsa, matbucha (tomato-chili dip) , baba ganoush, artichoke, cherry tomatoes,
plant-based yogurt with berries and granola, skordilia, silan (date honey), strawberry jam, and pita (both $21). Also on the breakfast menu are two Benedicts ($19), three shakshukas ($17-$29), waffles and pancakes, breakfast parfait, and avocado toast ($13-$16).

Lunch consists of pita sandwiches like falafel, shawarma, smoked salmon, and schnitzel ($13-$18) and hummus bowls, while for dinner there are salads ($16-$21), pasta ($18-$21), and such entrees as kebabs, schnitzel, branzino, salmon, and vegan stir fry ($18-$32).

One thing we can say for sure is that no matter what you order, it’s very big food.

We tried the short rib shakshuka, which comes with chopped salad, a half-avocado, tahini, and fresh-baked challah (half a loaf straight from the oven). The short rib was cooked to perfection and the shakshuka, a spicy tomato-pepper stew topped by a fried egg, couldn’t have been more authentic and piquant. Even though we were stuffed halfway through, we were positively compelled to finish; we simply couldn’t stop eating. We did take home the tahini and half the challah.

We also ordered the bourekas to sample. This is an Israeli puff pastry filled with soft cheese and served with sides of a hard-boiled egg, radish slices, zhug (a Yemenese hot sauce), pickles, and tahini. We took that home whole and had as dessert for lunch and dinner that same day.

All in all, this meal wasn’t exactly a bargain; the bill, excluding tax and tip, came to $44. Next time, we’ll get the shakshuka sans short rib and skip the bourekas ($20). Still, it was the best, biggest, and most exotic breakfast we’ve had in many a year.



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Bobby Vegas: So Many Casinos, So Little Time

Bobby Vegas: Friends Don’t Let Friends Play Triple-Zero Roulette

Back in my town after a long hiatus, I was greeted like a conquering hero by the hosts and band at the Pinky Ring and Royal and Pedro at Downtown Grand. And, thank you very much, open wallets. A successful trip is when you keep putting Jacksons BACK in the safe.

Oh, and I didn’t end up in the ER or UMC Hospital.

I also didn’t get to the Plaza or South Point (hence, the title of this post), but like Ahnold, “I’ll be back” soon.

Now folks, Santa Vegas has a wunnerful wunnerful present for you. It’s the RIO and a flood of 9/6 Jacks or better everywhere. 9/6 at all bars! It’s like 20 years ago. And all over the casino floor! You may like Deuces Wild (too high a variance for me), but I love to “play long time” and 2-for-1 on two pairs on 9/6 really stretches it out. Of course, hitting lots of full houses and (this trip) ONLY five 4-of-a-kinds (awwww, Bobby, we’re weeping crocodile tears for you) makes for this very happy scuffler.

So, people, go to the Rio. Haven’t asked Anthony if there will be another RIO no-resort-fee coupon next year, but this year’s saved me hundreds.

Years back I wrote a “Santa Vegas” article about my Golden Week coupon good karma adventures, giving away end-of-year expiring MRBs. This year again, I had another good karma incident — picking up an antique from an online auction over near Durango. The 92-year-old lady didn’t want to sell the item I won, so I gave it back to her. Immediately after, I was meeting Bobby Wilson for lunch at the (AWESOME) Durango and walking in, I immediately won over $200. Karma? Whatever, I’ll take it.

BTW, their food court is off the chart. Great $10 burgers, a Hawaiian spot with Bruno Mars pic, awesome noodle and oyster bar.

Now for the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Rio wins the super-good prize for this trip, hands down (tapping the 9/6 hold buttons).

As for the bad and ugly, I don’t know what they’re thinking at Downtown Grand. I love staying there, but they keep pulling the good games. The two-story ad facing Fremont says $1 blackjack and $5 roulette. The $1 electronic BJ is gone. (Is live still $1?) Meanwhile, roulette was $10. And please reopen Freedom Beat. At least the matchplays are still viable.

Four Queens pulled or downgraded their 9/6 bank. They still have $.25/$1 9/6 over by the FISH slots. Again, I love Four Queens, but come on.

Out in Henderson, Emerald Island pulled their bank of full-pay Double Double Bonus. Sigh. Still a great diner and Rainbow next store was fab as always. Their Super Multipliers? Incredible.

Overall, a great trip. So Happy New Year, people. Share with others. Spread joy.

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No Time Like the Present

Over the weekend, a rather bizarre story appeared in Sin City’s whipped cur of a newspaper, the servile Las Vegas Review-Journal, play toy of Dr. Miriam Adelson. Since Jonathan Halkyard has been functioning as CFO of MGM Resorts International since 2020, one might assume he’d been licensed for that position in Nevada. Well, you know what happens when we assume. Seems that only now is the sleepy Nevada Gaming Commission getting around to vetting the man who’s been #2 at MGM for five effing years now. Halkyard is squeaky clean but this is a prime example of how rotten apples like Scott Sibella can have time to taint the barrel whilst Silver State regulators catch up on their naps.

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A Change in Plans — Maybe

Bob Dancer

Ever since the “Big Beautiful Bill” was signed into law in July, and Russel Fox appeared on Gambling with an Edge explaining that I’d have to pay income tax on 10% of my W-2Gs whether I won or lost during the year, I knew I’d have to quit gambling come January 1, 2026. 

I received more than $6 million in W-2Gs both this year and last. In 2025, I made money but would be minus after this extra tax. In 2024, I lost quite a bit of money gambling and would still have this big tax bite under the new law. No thanks. 

Since July, I’ve at least mentioned this in numerous blogs, so this decision is no surprise to any of my regular readers.

While I was in Cherokee in early December this year, my gambling partner was a fly-on-the-wall during a Zoom call with Gary Kondler, who works for the Kondler and Associates CPA firm, which specializes in taxes for gamblers. It is Kondler’s belief that if gamblers use the session method of itemizing their wins and losses, mentioned in Shollenberger vs Commissioner, the BBB tax bill isn’t such a big deal. Yes, the tax bite will increase — but not outrageously so. Your W-2Gs, whose total must still be listed on your tax form, are not relevant in how much you have to pay.

Tell me more!

This is something I want very much to be true — and there are a variety of proverbs that warn you to be very careful if something seems too good to be true. I tried to do as much “due diligence” as I could.

It turns out that Gary’s father, Ray Kondler, was a guest on Gambling with an Edge in 2013. This was when GWAE was an hour-long radio show on Thursday nights rather than a podcast, but you can still listen to this show on YouTube by searching for “Ray Kondler.” While this show ran twelve years before the BBB tax bill, when I listened to it recently, Kondler impressed me and I came to the conclusion that I would like his firm to represent me.

Also on YouTube, when I searched for “Gary Kondler,” I found that he has appeared on several gambling related podcasts since the BBB came out, and I’m still convinced I want these guys representing me.  You can listen to these podcasts as well if you like. My financial advisor has contacts with the Nevada Board of Accountancy and found out that the Kondler and Associates firm has a solid reputation. Richard Munchkin and I are interviewing him on GWAE the day this article is posted, and the podcast will probably be posted Wednesday December 24.

I’m convinced enough that I plan to hire the firm and continue my gambling career. I am not an expert in this field, and everybody’s tax situation is different. Keep in mind that I am making no recommendation for you or anybody else. 

If I’m wrong on trusting Kondler’s methodology, continuing gambling could be a very expensive decision for me. It will be a few years before anybody knows for sure, because we’re taking about the 2026-and-beyond tax years and it takes a while after returns are filed to go through the system. And while the BBB is still the law today, who knows if it will be changed along the way?

I am willing to take that risk — for myself. Whether it’s correct for you to do similarly is something you’ll have to decide for yourself.

If you write emails to me, or post responses to this column, or ask me tax questions, my response will always be “I’m not a tax expert and I’m not qualified to answer your questions.”