Las Vegas has a reputation as one of those anything goes, anything is possible kind of places. That’s particularly the vibe on the Strip. While Las Vegas is all about indulgent fun, that doesn’t mean it’s all about rash, drunken marriages and gambling your rent money away.
Over the past 15 years, the Strip has gone from $5.00 buffets to an incredible array of foodie experiences. Las Vegas has become a place to go on a legitimate food tourism adventure. The hard part is picking which restaurants to go to, particularly on the Strip.
Le Cirque – Bellagio Las Vegas
Be forewarned that this will not be a cheap dining experience. But the reality is that the meal you eat will, without question, be worth every penny you spend. One would expect nothing less from a restaurant bearing the name Le Cirque.
Resting in the Bellagio, Le Cirque offers a French menu that typifies French cuisine. Simply put, it’s a dining experience that won’t soon be forgotten. If you have to eat cheaply the rest of the trip to make this meal work, do it. Le Cirque is worth the effort.
Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab – The Forum Shops at Caesars
Caesars Palace is about as iconic a hotel and casino as you’re going to find on the Las Vegas Strip. It’s an all consuming place to stay that features a variety of food, shopping and entertainment options. Also, there’s gambling.
Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, as the name would suggest, is pretty gosh darn good at preparing seafood and steak. Both the lunch and dinner menus are marvelous, offering guests a range wonderful dining experiences.
é by José Andrés – The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
There are a veritable litany of celebrity chefs in almost every corner of the United States. But there are also a select group that stand out from the pack, and Chef José Andrés is one of them. As such, his Las Vegas outpost is an absolute can’t miss place to eat.
The contemporary Spanish cuisine at é by José Andrés is as inventive as it is delicious, hallmark’s of the chef’s career and reputation. It’s tasting menu of unique dishes quickly brought it accolades from almost everyone who has eaten there.
Yardbird Southern Table and Bar – The Venetian
Not every meal needs to be upscale haute cuisine. That’s the fancy way of saying $$$$. The strip also has delectable options that are more on the $$ side of the spectrum. Yardbird Southern Table and Bar definitely on the top of that list.
This is food from the American South at its finest. Yardbird is the place to go for possibly the best fried chicken on the Strip, not to mention more than a few other Southern classics. Everything is great, but the brunch menu is actually worthy of the cliché “to die for.”
Joël Robuchon – MGM Grand
While his name might not be as well known as Gordon Ramsay’s to TV fans, Joël Robuchon is a well known quantity to people who love food. As such, anyone hitting the Las Vegas Strip would be well advised to stop at Joël Robuchon in the MGM Grand, whether they know him or not.
The French tasting menu provides a series of dishes designed to test the palate. Each wave of food is perfectly balanced, both within itself, and with the dishes before and after it. Plus, it has an intriguing and unavoidable dessert menu.