Vintner Grill's Peter Varela Shares His Favorite Las Vegas Restaurants

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.

Peter Varela has worked as the general manager of Vintner Grill since 2006. For more than eight years, he’s overseen this gem in Summerlin. Before that, he worked as an assistant general manager for Wolfgang Puck for 18 years. Here he shares some of his favorite places to dine when he’s not working 12 hours a day at Vintner Grill.

Which restaurants do you turn to when you’re not working?
Sen of Japan, Picasso and Joel Robuchon.

Why do you like to go there? What dishes are most memorable?
I like taking my family to Sen of Japan after work because they open late and have great food. Chef Hiro always makes it a point to come out and say hello while chef Sonny puts together our sushi & sashimi (their specialty sauces on the fresh fish make all the difference).

But when I am not spending 12 hours a day at Vintner Grill, I like to treat myself to Picasso or Joel Robuchon, my favorites in the city.

At Picasso, I love the sauteed ruby shrimp with zucchini and piquillo peppers and the warm quail salad with sauteed artichokes.

At Joel Robuchon the truffle langostine ravioli is to die for as well as the veal chop with chanterelle raviolis.

I like going to both of this restaurants to enjoy not only the food and decor but also the impeccable service they provide.