Double Barrel's Peter Carrillo Hits The Swankiest Restaurants on Nights Off

Sin City is home to a lot of restaurants and bars, but there are tons of hidden gems that the majority of Las Vegans aren't unearthing. To help guide us to these potential discoveries, we've enlisted some of our city's food players to share their recommendations for a weekly feature dubbed Dining Confidential. Know a chef who wants to share some top dining spots? The tipline is open.

Double Barrel Roadhouse general manager Peter Carrillo served in the Marine Corps before he jumped into the hospitality industry, bussing tables at China Grill and later Red Square at Mandalay Bay. Carrillo says the biggest turning point in his career came when he was recruited without interview by Oliver Wharton to be part of the opening team at Fix at the Bellagio. He went on to work at StripSteak at Mandalay Bay as a server before opening Yellowtail at the Bellagio. He’s also worked at XIV by Michael Mina in Los Angeles, the Dolce Group at Rare 120 at the Hard Rock Hotel, managing Society Café at Encore Las Vegas, and Jaleo and China Poblano at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas when they opened. He went on to open Hyde at the Bellagio in 2012, where he developed the liquid nitrogen carts and bottle service packages including "The Boat." When Double Barrel Roadhouse opened at the Monte Carlo, Hyde’s parent company SBE called on him again to help with this hybrid destination. Here, he shares three restaurants on the Strip that he frequents when he’s not getting rowdy at Double Barrel.

Which restaurants do you turn to when you’re not working?
Sage at Aria, STK at Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and Bazaar Meat at SLS Las Vegas.

What dishes are most memorable?
At Sage the foie gras custard brulee with salted brioche is absolutely fucking amazing! Yes, it’s that good! Excuse the language.

Fernet Branca or Don Julio 1942 at STK. OK, for food it would have to be the beef short rib with a carrot butterscotch puree and cipollini onions.

The classic beef tartare with savora mustard, egg yolk, and anchovy at Bazaar Meat. Very classic tartare setup, done table side and it is also absolutely amazing.

Why do you enjoy going there?
Sage is just amazing. It’s that good and that’s why I enjoy going there. I also enjoy it because from a service standpoint, going back to my roots with what we did when I worked with Michael Mina is refreshing.

STK is a hot spot for me because a lot of my close friends work there. STK was definitely a melting pot of talent when it opened. It pulled a lot of great servers, bartenders, bussers and runners from multiple venues, a lot of which I had previously worked at so visiting STK is like seeing family.

Having also worked with chef José Andrés on the opening of Jaleo and China Poblano is a reason I love Bazaar Meat. It’s also nice to go here and see another family of great people who I’ve worked with and get to enjoy chef José’s new creations as well as the classics like the pollo croquettas. People in the kitchen like José’s right hands Aitor, Ruben and chef Dave Thomas are familiar faces and have a very true passion for what they do. It’s always a pleasure to catch up with them and also enjoy this wonderful new restaurant at the same time.