The Best Bars And Restaurants In Las Vegas For 2018

The old saying, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas," might apply to its casinos and wild nightlife, but its restaurants and bars are a different story. The dazzling city has endless possibilities when it comes to dining, and you'll be raving about every last detail of your meal experience long after you leave.

Thanks to the Daily Meal's release of the Best Food And Drink In Nevada For 2018, you shouldn't have any trouble finding a delicious place to eat or sip on a cocktail. Whatever you're craving, Las Vegas has it all, from all-you-can-eat steakhouses and authentic Irish pubs, to high-end sushi and sophisticated cocktail bars.

So in between hitting the slots and shooting dice, be sure to take a break and win even bigger at any of these top bars or restaurants. See which establishments are worthy of their "Best In State" titles in Las Vegas, below.

See The Daily Meal's Best Food And Drink Picks In Every State For 2018

Best Bar: Vesper Bar

"Named for the 1953 cocktail in the original James Bond novel, Casino Royale, Vesper Bar inside the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is an example of modern sophistication juxtaposed with firm roots in the elegance of the past.
Surrounded by mirrored tiles and centering on an ornate wooden liquor cabinet, it is certainly charming. Vesper Bar has a menu of 20 beers, 11 wines by the glass, and 10 cocktails separated into two styles: classic (traditional renderings of classic drinks) and Vesper interpretations (drinks based on the originals but infused with modern additions to show off the evolution of the industry). Specializing in "molecular" mixology, edible cocktails, and tequilas, Las Vegas native and chief mixologist Mariena Mercer brings extensive knowledge to the operation — making this a must-visit bar."

READ MORE: The Best Bar in Every State

Best Brazilian Steakhouse: Via Brasil Steakhouse

"In a city all too familiar with the all-you-can-eat concept, Via Brasil is a nice mix between buffet and fine dining. The two cascading water walls give the sophisticated open space a tropical air; the friendly wait staff is welcoming. Meats from ham with pineapple to prime rib are complimented by the salad bar, which includes everything from asparagus risotto to chicken stroganoff. Diners who've been able to manage fitting in dessert rave about the banana flambé."

READ MORE: America’s 13 Best Brazilian Steakhouses

Best Burger: Hubert Keller Burger at Burger Bar

"Known as “the other Keller” (besides Thomas, obviously), Hubert Keller is familiar to fine-dining enthusiasts who have long enjoyed his exquisitely crafted modern French food at the now-defunct Fleur de Lys in San Francisco, and to the Las Vegas dining public for having created a $5,000 hamburger at his Fleur in the Mandalay Bay Hotel. The accomplished Alsace-born chef has more recently established a reputation for producing sensibly priced burgers of great quality at his Burger Bar(which has additional locations in San Francisco and Beijing). The basic burger here is certified Angus beef on a plump bun with tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and dill pickle, but the burger that Keller enjoys so much that he put his name on it starts with a bison-meat patty and is topped with caramelized onion, wilted baby spinach, and blue cheese, and is served on a ciabatta bun alongside red wine shallot sauce."

READ MORE: 101 Best Burgers in America

Best Chinese Restaurant: Joyful House

"Located a few blocks off the main strip, this spacious restaurant with a vaguely Asiatic exterior specializes in traditional Cantonese cuisine (think barbecued meats, seafood, and slow-cooked soups). Find more details on Joyful House here. To that effect, you’ll see plates of roast duck, honey walnut shrimp, and salt and pepper pork chops exit the kitchen at breakneck speed. Rather than trying to intercept a startled waiter, get your 6-pound lobster to go and stage your twisted version of "Under the Sea" in the privacy of your own home (no one needs to see that)."

READ MORE: The Best Chinese Restaurant in Every State

Best Food Truck: Fukuburger Truck

"For the record, Fukuburger gets its name from co-founder Colin Fukunaga’s last name, not an expletive. He and Robert "Mags" Magsalin serve "All-American" burgers (and a panko-encrusted chicken katsu sandwich) with a Japanese twist, featuring toppings like wasabi mayo, pickled red ginger, avocado cream, Japanese barbecue sauce, and furikake (dried and ground fish, sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, sugar, and salt). Looking for a unique side dish? Try the togarashi garlic fries with banana ketchup."

READ MORE: Best Food Trucks in America

Best Fried Chicken: Blue Ribbon Brasserie

"The fried chicken recipe created by brothers Bruce and Eric Bromberg more than 20 years ago helped give rise to a mini-empire of Blue Ribbon-branded restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and South Beach, and it's still the best thing on the menu at the three locations of Blue Ribbon Brasserie. To make this dish, chicken pieces are dipped in egg white and coated in a combination of matzo meal, flour, and baking powder before being deep-fried. After coming out of the oil, they're dusted with salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne, basil, parsley, and garlic and onion powders, and the end result is spectacular."

READ MORE: The 75 best Fried Chicken Places in America

Best Irish Pub: Rí Rá Irish Pub

"Nestled in The Shoppes at Mandalay Bay Place, Rí Rá brings much needed authenticity to a city known for frivolity; it was constructed entirely in Ireland and shipped over to Las Vegas lock, stock, and barrel. This classy, grown-up pub offers guests a true Irish pub experience."

READ MORE: American’s 25 Best Irish Pubs

Best Italian Restaurant: Costa di Mare

"When Paul Bartolotta’s excellent and beloved seafood palace Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare abruptly closed its doors a few years ago, only to reopen the next day with a new name (Costa di Mare) and a new chef (Michael Mina alum Mark LoRusso) at the helm, customers had a right to be apprehensive. Thankfully, they had nothing to worry about. Forty varieties of fresh fish are still flown in daily from Italian coastal waters and served whole, live langoustines in four sizes are still a menu centerpiece (ranging in price from $30-$45 apiece), fresh pastas are still stunningly delicious (try the oven-baked spaghetti with shrimp, spiny lobster, clams, mussels, scallops, and flying squid), the menu still changes daily based on what comes in, and prices are still astronomical. It’s a bit strange to think that what’s quite possibly the best seafood restaurant in the country is located in the middle of the dessert, but hey, that’s Vegas for you."

READ MORE: The Best Italian Restaurant in Every State

Best Mexican Restaurant: Bonito Michoacan

"It may not have the flash of Mexican hotspots on the Strip, but Bonito Michoacan is one of America’s great neighborhood Mexican restaurants for a reason: fresh ingredients, excellent execution, tableside guacamole, and hand-pressed, homemade tortillas. All the basics are covered, and the amount of care put into every component results in some spectacular food."

READ MORE: The Best Mexican Restaurants in Every State

Most Expensive Restaurant: Joël Robuchon

"Located inside the MGM Grand, French master chef Joël Robuchon’s eponymous restaurant is serving the most expensive meal in a city that’s chock full of them. The restaurant offers several tasting menus, which start at $127 per person. From there it’s $169 and $250 before topping out at the crème de la crème of American tasting menus, the 18-course degustation, for a whopping $445 per person, before drinks, tax, and tip."
READ MORE: The Most Expensive Restaurant in Every State

Best Pizza: Metro Pizza

"Gennaro Lombardi’s influence is such that his Spring Street shop almost directly resulted in what’s generally accepted as one of the best pizzas — if not the best pizza — in Las Vegas. Founders John Arena and Sam Facchini's grandparents settled 50 yards from Lombardi’s, and "ever since those early days, pizza has been at the center of [their] family life" (their parents’ first jobs were feeding coal into the bakery ovens where Sicilian pizzas were made for the neighborhood’s immigrant families).
Metro Pizza (born in 1980 as Original New York Pizza, and renamed in 1986 when they expanded) has been making handcrafted pies with dough made fresh daily and superior ingredients for 30-plus years (there are now six locations). Among the specialty pies, the Milano (mozzarella, ricotta, pecorino romano, and garlic) is a white pie worth noting. Of course, you’ll want to give a nod to at least one of the six "East Side Pizzas" named for New York City streets like Mulberry, Mott, and Bleecker."

READ MORE: The Best Pizza in Every State

Best Restaurant: Joël Robuchon

"The cooking is simply exquisite in this opulently furnished dining room in the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, which was the only three-Michelin-star restaurant in the city when the guide covered Vegas. As the first restaurant opened in America by the famed, award-winning Robuchon, widely considered the greatest of modern French chefs, Joël Robuchon maintains the highest standards under the guidance of chef Christophe de Lellis. Everything is impeccable, from its superb service and impressive (and impressively pricey) wine list to such finely crafted dishes as Le Caviar Imperial, a disc of king crab topped with an ample amount of osetra caviar, atop a crustacean gelée dotted with cauliflower puree. The 18-course tasting menu, which was completely revamped two years ago, is a truly memorable experience — as well it ought to be at $445 a head, wine not included."

READ MORE: 101 Best Restaurants in America

Best Sandwich: Short Rib Grilled Cheese at Fat Choy

"Located off the Strip inside the tiny Eureka Casino, Fat Choy is fusing Asian and American comfort foods with some astonishing results (think pancakes topped with crispy pork belly, bacon, and sausage; Peking duck bao, and burgers topped with short rib and bacon), and is a thing of seriously cultish devotion in Sin City among those in the know. The menu’s ultimate indulgence is the shor rib grilled cheese: melted provolone and Cheddar kicked up with shredded short rib and onion jam, all fused between two thick slices of buttery toasted bread. It’s late-night eats at its finest."

READ MORE: The Best Sandwich in Every State

Best Soup: French Onion at Alizé

"Located on the 56th floor of the Palms, Alizé is where chef André Rochat serves high-end contemporary French fare in a sophisticated and comfortable setting (with a great view to boot). And if you don’t order his French onion soup, you’re missing out. It starts with a rich house-made beef stock mixed with slow-cooked onions, topped with homemade croutons, pungent L’Etivaz cheese, and Devon cream. Oh, and it’s served inside a big onion!"

READ MORE: The Best Soup in Every State

Best Steakhouse: CarneVino

"Powerhouse restaurant duo Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich plus steak plus Vegas is sure to equalgreatness. CarneVino, their temple to all things beef in The Palazzo Hotel & Casino, pulls out all the stops, aging their beef for 30 to 60 days (and in some cases, more than a year — yes, there’s a section of the menu titled "Riserva"), and these steaks can compete with any other offering, anywhere. This "super prime" beef is developed especially for Batali and Bastianich’s restaurant group, and — oh, yeah — this is a Batali restaurant after all, so the pastas and other menu items certainly don’t get short shrift."

READ MORE: The Best Steakhouse in Every State

Best Sushi: Nobu

"Nobu Matsuhisa is nothing short of a rock star in the sushi world, and a visit to one of his two Las Vegas restaurants (we recommend the one located in the newish Nobu Hotel inside Caesar’s Palace, but the original inside the Hard Rock Hotel is also spectacular) will immediately tell you why. These David Rockwell-designed Nobus are chic and hip — sure, a place to see and be seen — but the ambiance never gets in the way of the food. You’ll find all the trademark Nobu dishes — black cod miso, rock shrimp tempura, yellowtail sashimi with jalapeño — but there’s also an astounding sushi selection. Even though Matsuhisa himself is more renowned for his hot dishes, he’s brought on some of the best sushi chefs in the world and his creative ingenuity is on full display here. Be it abalone, Japanese red snapper, shad (kohada), or striped jack (shima aji), when it’s served at Nobu, it’s going to be good."

READ MORE: The 50 Best Sushi Bars in America

Click here to see the full list of categories and winners on The Daily Meal.

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