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A red leather booth inside a steakhouse
Golden Steer Steakhouse.
Golden Steer Steakhouse/Facebook

20 Classic Restaurants and Bars Every Las Vegan Must Try

How many of these oldies but goodies have you tried?

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Golden Steer Steakhouse.
| Golden Steer Steakhouse/Facebook

Las Vegas isn’t known for keeping anything old around. Instead, the city is more apt to blow something up or tear it down in the name of progress to usher in a new era. These 20 Las Vegas classic restaurants and bars have stuck around, and still serve something worth checking out.

Italian fare from Bootlegger Bistro, Chicago Joe’s, and Piero’s Italian Cuisine make the list along with romantic favorite Hugo’s Cellar with its roving carts dishing out salads and cherries jubilee and Michael’s Gourmet Room with its jewelbox of a dining room swaddled in red velvet and table-side service.

Old-time dive bars such as Dino’s Lounge and the oldest steakhouse in Las Vegas, the Golden Steer, make the cut as well. Of course, late-night and breakfast favorite the Peppermill with its Fireside Lounge also find a home on this list. On the Strip, find Spago from Wolfgang Puck and Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House, two of the oldest celebrity chef restaurants in the city.

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Bob Taylor’s Ranch House

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The city’s oldest restaurant, Bob Taylor’s Original Ranch House literally saw the growth of Las Vegas creep up to its once under-developed location. Since 1955, the cowboy-themed former home has welcomed guests with Western decor including a collection of spurs owned by Hollywood cowboys, mountain views, and the sight, smell, and char of an open mesquite grill. Popular dishes among its frequent patrons include a half-ound burger and the dinner of smoked prime rib and lobster tail.

A ranch sign with a driveway in between
Bob Taylor’s Ranch House.
Bob Taylor’s Ranch House

Top Of Binion's Steakhouse

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Perched on the 24th floor of Binion’s Gambling Hall on the Fremont Street Experience, the steakhouse hails back to 1965 when it was known as Top of the Mint, at what was once the Mint hotel tower. The steakhouse specializes in dry-aged steaks, slow-roasted prime rib, and poached lobster. And while the restaurant’s dining room still boasts vintage Vegas-style furnishings, the real showstopper is the view of Las Vegas that sparkle through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Hugo’s Cellar

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All ladies receive a long-stemmed rise inside the subterranean Hugo’s Cellar, a jewel of Fremont Street and host Four Queens. Since 1976, the cellar has delivered a Strip-style gourmet room to downtown. Hugo’s table-side salad accompanies each entree and hands-on touches pepper the food presentation, including the visuals of a duckling anise flambé. A 28-day-aged Black Angus beef competes on the menu with popular seafood dishes such as the go-to lobster and can be paired with a pour from the robust wine list. For dessert, revive some old-school glamour with a fiery presentation of bananas Foster or cherries jubilee for two.

Hugo’s Cellar Salad Cart
The salad cart at Hugo’s Cellar.
Amelinda B Lee/Eater Vegas

Atomic Liquors

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This downtown bar on Fremont Street holds the first liquor store license in Las Vegas. In 1952, the store began selling beer, wine, and mixed drinks over the bar, creating an entirely new type of liquor sale license called ‘The Tavern License.’ Atomic was issued the first-ever license, #00001. Eventually, the bar expanded to have a rooftop seating area, where customers could watch atomic testing 65 miles away while drinking. Today, the historic bar serves local beer and signature cocktails inside the dimly lit red-tinted bar and on the expansive patio. The original safe and its contents can be viewed through a glass cover in the bar’s floor.

Atomic Liquors
Atomic Liquors
Photo: Chelsea McManus

Chicago Joe’s

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A home-cooked Italian meal has been on offer inside Chicago Joe’s since 1975, when a 1933 Las Vegas home was converted into a restaurant. Once a favorite of the mob-connected, it still attracts a steady stream of neighboring lawyers and legal staff for lunch and dinner in the cozy and quirky decorated domicile, lit by year-round Christmas decorations. Italian classics on the menu include stuffed artichokes, baked clams, pasta with snails, and eggplant parmigiana. The house specialty, chicken Angelo with pasta, is sautéed with artichokes, butter, and mushrooms

The exterior of a restaurant made of brick
Chicago Joe’s.
Chicago Joe’s

Farm Basket

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Once a Las Vegas mainstay with seven locations and a rival to the Colonel’s original recipe, the Farm Basket fried chicken chain had been reduced to one single barn-like structure — until a second location opened in 2022 at Sahara Avenue and Nellis Boulevard. Arriving in 1977, Farm Basket is best known for its Great Gobbler sandwich, made with breaded turkey breast, Miracle Whip, and cranberry sauce. Tacos are dubbed Cluck e’ tos and farm fries come smothered in homemade gravy and topped with cheese. Operating under the radar, the local motto is “we don’t do a lot of flashy advertising or use silly gimmicks,” but a loyal following of clucker fans still secure the restaurant a loyal cult following, particularly among those who are shocked to rediscover it is still in business.

The exterior of a restaurant that looks like a barn.
Farm Basket.
Farm Basket/Facebook

The Hush Puppy

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You be might headed to the Hush Puppy, but it’s probably catfish on your mind at this 7,700-square-foot dinner-only institution in business since 1975. Despite the limited hours, the Hush Puppy draws a busy repeat clientele, whether served inside the rustic Western interior or using the handy drive-thru. House specialties include frog legs, seafood gumbo with turkey sausage, snow crab, char-broiled chicken, and themed all-you-can-eat specials. Alligator po-boys are available for the adventurous and the restaurant warns you could possibly be “blessed with a pearl in the fried oysters. This will bring you good luck, but be careful not to break a tooth.”

A plate of two catfish with lemons, tarter sauce, and collard greens
Fried catfish at the Hush Puppy.
The Hush Puppy/Facebook

Dino’s Lounge

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When Rinaldo Dean Bartolomucci opened his eponymous Dino’s in 1962, the appeal was cold beer, pinball, pool, souvenirs, and the welcome promise of air conditioning. More than half a century later, the still family-run business has kept its humble roots, but gained a reputation as the best dive bar and karaoke showcase in town. “Getting Las Vegas drunk since 1962” is the motto and bartenders run a monthly contest for the “Drunk of the Month.” An unpretentious and welcome atmosphere is matched by the interior decor, complete with pool tables, nightly karaoke, and sticky floors.

A black and white photo of a neighborhood dive bar
Dino’s Lounge.
Dino’s Lounge

Golden Steer

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The oldest steakhouse in the city of Las Vegas, active and expanding since 1958, the Golden Steer has hosted the famous and infamous from Elvis Presley to mobsters such as Tony “The Ant” Spilatro and created a favorite carnivore home for the Rat Pack. Inside the red leather and mahogany dining cocoon, find brass plaques celebrating their famed customers’ preferred booths. Prime aged beef is the draw, the table-side Caesar’s salad a tradition, and the not-for-the-faint-of-heart martinis a must.

A restaurant interior with red leather booths and photos on the walls.
Golden Steer Steakhouse.
Golden Steer Steakhouse

The Steak House

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Drop the Steak House at Circus Circus into any luxury Strip resort and it would still win rave reviews from local steak aficionados. But located in the dated kid-friendly circus-themed casino, it remains a culinary surprise. Expect an upscale, old-school steak joint with top-tier quality service and mesquite charcoal broiled specials, cooking 21-day aged beef on display in a glass-enclosed aging room. Serving since 1982, the red leather booths, brass, and sheened wood decor feel a world away from the rest of the aging resort — and with a shorter menu than many steak restaurants, it allows a focus on the bedrock staples of steaks, prime rib, lobster, and crab legs. Experts know to arrive via the check-in desk entrance, rather than approach through the boisterous casino floor.

The interior of a steakhouse
The Steak House.
Eater Vegas

Peppermill Restaurant

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Since 1972, the Peppermill has been serving coffee shop staples in overly generous portions at hometown prices. But the interior design of fake cherry blossom trees and neon bars has pushed the restaurant into legend status. Adjacent to the restaurant is the Fireside Lounge, the kitschiest cocktail lair in the city with a sunken fire pit, cotton candy-tinted neon, and cocktails such as the Scorpion cocktail with enough booze for a family of four. While a must-visit for tourists, the Peppermill’s fervent local and celebrity fans are a testament to the diner’s core dining and drinking wares.

A neon-lit interior of a restaurant
The Peppermill.
Peppermill/Facebook

Piero’s Italian Cuisine

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The original Piero’s was born 1982 and quickly became a regular haunt for the Rat Pack demi-monde, politicians, celebrities, and local wise guys. It moved to its current location in 1987, close to the Las Vegas Convention Center. Famed for its role in the 1995 movie Casino and even more so for its osso buco, the on-point attentive staff overseen by the Glusman family now serves generations of returning diners, yet still treats first-time visitors like family. Stone crab and pasta are stand-outs, with the bonus of regularly scheduled Vegas lounge-style entertainment.

A room dedicated to former UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian with handsome furnishings
Tarkanian Room at Piero’s Italian Cuisine.
Piero’s Italian Cuisine/Facebook

Lindo Michoacan

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Javier Barajas learned to cook when his grandparents, Timoteo and Ninfa, sent him to study at the seminary in Michoacan. There, he learned to cook from the nuns. In 1990, he opened his first Mexican restaurant, named for the beautiful state in Mexico. Hand-made tortillas and carnitas are the specialties here, but Barajas recommends his steak and lobster dishes. Now three outposts of the restaurant dot the Las Vegas Valley. This location on Desert Inn closed after a sinkhole engulfed the dining room in November 2020, but reopened with a complete makeover.

The Original Lindo Michoacan
The Original Lindo Michoacan.
Louiie Victa

Kung Fu Thai & Chinese Restaurant

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Kung Fu has been operating in Las Vegas since 1973, first at Third and Fremont Streets, and then in 1982 inside the current Plaza Hotel, a pioneer in introducing Thai cuisine to the city. Since 1993 the family-run business operated in Chinatown, boasting hundreds of dishes on the menu, from familiar Americanized versions of Chinese lunch specials to an extensive Thai roster running to dozens of choices, amplified with optional heat to match.

The exterior of a restaurant with a Chinese New Year celebration with dragons
Kung Fu Thai & Chinese Restaurant.
Kung Fu Thai & Chinese Restaurant/Facebook

Battista’s Hole In The Wall

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Only a block from the Strip, Battista’s Hole In The Wall Italian restaurant is crammed with eccentric decor, from Vegas memorabilia to an Alaskan moose head named “Moooosolini” and the all-important wall-mounted menu. Dinner specials always come with house wine, minestrone soup or Italian salad, garlic bread, a pasta side, and homemade cappuccino.

The interior of a restaurant with a lot of memorabilia
Battista’s Hole In The Wall.
Battista’s Hole In The Wall

Spago by Wolfgang Puck

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Wolfgang Puck took a chance when he opened Spago in 1992 at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in the midst of the National Finals Rodeo. He recalls when cowboys sauntered up to the pass to pick up their food, not the type of service the chef had in mind. But once Spago caught on, he ushered in the era of celebrity chefs in Las Vegas, introducing the city and its tourists to his California-inspired dishes, including his smoked salmon pizza, a riff on bagels and lox with dill cream, red onion, and salmon pearls. As if Spago couldn’t get better, it did, moving into the Bellagio in 2018 with stunning views of the Fountains at Bellagio.

The bar and lounge at Spago
Spago.
MGM Resorts

Ferraro’s Ristorante

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Family owned since 1985, Gino and Rosalba Ferraro’s vision of an Italian restaurant and wine bar is now in the culinary hands of son Mimmo. Located opposite Virgin Hotels, Ferraro’s serves hard-to-find dishes such as tripe and rabbit for discerning diners. Homemade pastas, sausages, breads, and desserts are created on-site and the osso buco, the 30-year-old house specialty, is still created with the same care. And that’s not to mention the renowned wine list which spans more than 22,000 bottles.

Ferraro’s Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar
Ferraro’s Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar.
Vox Agency

Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House

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Hard to imagine, but Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House at the MGM Grand opened in 1995. The sprucing of the decor hides the longevity, but superstar chef Emeril Lagasse brings oysters and fresh fish to the desert for almost as long as Wolfgang Puck has labored to encourage the arrival of celebrity chefs. From the beginning, Lagasse sought to capture the local dining crowd to join the steady stream tourists caught in the resort’s net. Not yet a television phenom, his Essence of Emeril Food Network show was gaining traction leading to him operating four Las Vegas restaurants. Signature New New Orleans dishes at the MGM Grand include barbecued shrimp, sweet barbecued Atlantic salmon, and pecan-crusted Texas redfish. And the banana cream pie is not to be missed.

An indoor patio at a restaurant
Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House.
Amelinda B Lee/Eater Vegas

The Bootlegger Bistro

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Since 1949, Bootlegger Bistro dished out southern Italian fare using the original recipes of chef Maria Perry. The restaurant features live music along with house specialties such as bistecca alla griglia, lasagna made from Maria’s original recipe, linguini alla vongole with chopped clams, and Maria’s saltimbocca, rolled and filled with Genoa salami and cheese in Italian egg batter sautéed in wine mushroom sauce.

A very red interior of a restaurant
The Bootlegger Bistro.
Bootlegger Bistro

Michael’s Gourmet Room

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Since 1982 the Michael’s name has been synonymous with service and style. After departing the Barbary Coast, before it became the Cromwell, Michael’s resurrected as an intimate 50-seat room at the South Point, still treating everyone like a high roller, in a room of high-backed seats below a Tiffany sky light. Steak, seafood and table-side flourishes are the key, alongside specialties such as baked escargot, chateaubriand for two, and retro for dessert favorites, cherries jubilee and bananas Foster. Expect dinner to unfold as a leisurely many-hours affair.

A dining room in red with chandeliers and red velvet booths
Michael’s Gourmet Room.
Cal Bingham/Eater Vegas

Bob Taylor’s Ranch House

The city’s oldest restaurant, Bob Taylor’s Original Ranch House literally saw the growth of Las Vegas creep up to its once under-developed location. Since 1955, the cowboy-themed former home has welcomed guests with Western decor including a collection of spurs owned by Hollywood cowboys, mountain views, and the sight, smell, and char of an open mesquite grill. Popular dishes among its frequent patrons include a half-ound burger and the dinner of smoked prime rib and lobster tail.

A ranch sign with a driveway in between
Bob Taylor’s Ranch House.
Bob Taylor’s Ranch House

Top Of Binion's Steakhouse

Perched on the 24th floor of Binion’s Gambling Hall on the Fremont Street Experience, the steakhouse hails back to 1965 when it was known as Top of the Mint, at what was once the Mint hotel tower. The steakhouse specializes in dry-aged steaks, slow-roasted prime rib, and poached lobster. And while the restaurant’s dining room still boasts vintage Vegas-style furnishings, the real showstopper is the view of Las Vegas that sparkle through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Hugo’s Cellar

All ladies receive a long-stemmed rise inside the subterranean Hugo’s Cellar, a jewel of Fremont Street and host Four Queens. Since 1976, the cellar has delivered a Strip-style gourmet room to downtown. Hugo’s table-side salad accompanies each entree and hands-on touches pepper the food presentation, including the visuals of a duckling anise flambé. A 28-day-aged Black Angus beef competes on the menu with popular seafood dishes such as the go-to lobster and can be paired with a pour from the robust wine list. For dessert, revive some old-school glamour with a fiery presentation of bananas Foster or cherries jubilee for two.

Hugo’s Cellar Salad Cart
The salad cart at Hugo’s Cellar.
Amelinda B Lee/Eater Vegas

Atomic Liquors

This downtown bar on Fremont Street holds the first liquor store license in Las Vegas. In 1952, the store began selling beer, wine, and mixed drinks over the bar, creating an entirely new type of liquor sale license called ‘The Tavern License.’ Atomic was issued the first-ever license, #00001. Eventually, the bar expanded to have a rooftop seating area, where customers could watch atomic testing 65 miles away while drinking. Today, the historic bar serves local beer and signature cocktails inside the dimly lit red-tinted bar and on the expansive patio. The original safe and its contents can be viewed through a glass cover in the bar’s floor.

Atomic Liquors
Atomic Liquors
Photo: Chelsea McManus

Chicago Joe’s

A home-cooked Italian meal has been on offer inside Chicago Joe’s since 1975, when a 1933 Las Vegas home was converted into a restaurant. Once a favorite of the mob-connected, it still attracts a steady stream of neighboring lawyers and legal staff for lunch and dinner in the cozy and quirky decorated domicile, lit by year-round Christmas decorations. Italian classics on the menu include stuffed artichokes, baked clams, pasta with snails, and eggplant parmigiana. The house specialty, chicken Angelo with pasta, is sautéed with artichokes, butter, and mushrooms

The exterior of a restaurant made of brick
Chicago Joe’s.
Chicago Joe’s

Farm Basket

Once a Las Vegas mainstay with seven locations and a rival to the Colonel’s original recipe, the Farm Basket fried chicken chain had been reduced to one single barn-like structure — until a second location opened in 2022 at Sahara Avenue and Nellis Boulevard. Arriving in 1977, Farm Basket is best known for its Great Gobbler sandwich, made with breaded turkey breast, Miracle Whip, and cranberry sauce. Tacos are dubbed Cluck e’ tos and farm fries come smothered in homemade gravy and topped with cheese. Operating under the radar, the local motto is “we don’t do a lot of flashy advertising or use silly gimmicks,” but a loyal following of clucker fans still secure the restaurant a loyal cult following, particularly among those who are shocked to rediscover it is still in business.

The exterior of a restaurant that looks like a barn.
Farm Basket.
Farm Basket/Facebook

The Hush Puppy

You be might headed to the Hush Puppy, but it’s probably catfish on your mind at this 7,700-square-foot dinner-only institution in business since 1975. Despite the limited hours, the Hush Puppy draws a busy repeat clientele, whether served inside the rustic Western interior or using the handy drive-thru. House specialties include frog legs, seafood gumbo with turkey sausage, snow crab, char-broiled chicken, and themed all-you-can-eat specials. Alligator po-boys are available for the adventurous and the restaurant warns you could possibly be “blessed with a pearl in the fried oysters. This will bring you good luck, but be careful not to break a tooth.”

A plate of two catfish with lemons, tarter sauce, and collard greens
Fried catfish at the Hush Puppy.
The Hush Puppy/Facebook

Dino’s Lounge

When Rinaldo Dean Bartolomucci opened his eponymous Dino’s in 1962, the appeal was cold beer, pinball, pool, souvenirs, and the welcome promise of air conditioning. More than half a century later, the still family-run business has kept its humble roots, but gained a reputation as the best dive bar and karaoke showcase in town. “Getting Las Vegas drunk since 1962” is the motto and bartenders run a monthly contest for the “Drunk of the Month.” An unpretentious and welcome atmosphere is matched by the interior decor, complete with pool tables, nightly karaoke, and sticky floors.

A black and white photo of a neighborhood dive bar
Dino’s Lounge.
Dino’s Lounge

Golden Steer

The oldest steakhouse in the city of Las Vegas, active and expanding since 1958, the Golden Steer has hosted the famous and infamous from Elvis Presley to mobsters such as Tony “The Ant” Spilatro and created a favorite carnivore home for the Rat Pack. Inside the red leather and mahogany dining cocoon, find brass plaques celebrating their famed customers’ preferred booths. Prime aged beef is the draw, the table-side Caesar’s salad a tradition, and the not-for-the-faint-of-heart martinis a must.

A restaurant interior with red leather booths and photos on the walls.
Golden Steer Steakhouse.
Golden Steer Steakhouse

The Steak House

Drop the Steak House at Circus Circus into any luxury Strip resort and it would still win rave reviews from local steak aficionados. But located in the dated kid-friendly circus-themed casino, it remains a culinary surprise. Expect an upscale, old-school steak joint with top-tier quality service and mesquite charcoal broiled specials, cooking 21-day aged beef on display in a glass-enclosed aging room. Serving since 1982, the red leather booths, brass, and sheened wood decor feel a world away from the rest of the aging resort — and with a shorter menu than many steak restaurants, it allows a focus on the bedrock staples of steaks, prime rib, lobster, and crab legs. Experts know to arrive via the check-in desk entrance, rather than approach through the boisterous casino floor.

The interior of a steakhouse
The Steak House.
Eater Vegas

Peppermill Restaurant

Since 1972, the Peppermill has been serving coffee shop staples in overly generous portions at hometown prices. But the interior design of fake cherry blossom trees and neon bars has pushed the restaurant into legend status. Adjacent to the restaurant is the Fireside Lounge, the kitschiest cocktail lair in the city with a sunken fire pit, cotton candy-tinted neon, and cocktails such as the Scorpion cocktail with enough booze for a family of four. While a must-visit for tourists, the Peppermill’s fervent local and celebrity fans are a testament to the diner’s core dining and drinking wares.

A neon-lit interior of a restaurant
The Peppermill.
Peppermill/Facebook

Piero’s Italian Cuisine

The original Piero’s was born 1982 and quickly became a regular haunt for the Rat Pack demi-monde, politicians, celebrities, and local wise guys. It moved to its current location in 1987, close to the Las Vegas Convention Center. Famed for its role in the 1995 movie Casino and even more so for its osso buco, the on-point attentive staff overseen by the Glusman family now serves generations of returning diners, yet still treats first-time visitors like family. Stone crab and pasta are stand-outs, with the bonus of regularly scheduled Vegas lounge-style entertainment.

A room dedicated to former UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian with handsome furnishings
Tarkanian Room at Piero’s Italian Cuisine.
Piero’s Italian Cuisine/Facebook

Lindo Michoacan

Javier Barajas learned to cook when his grandparents, Timoteo and Ninfa, sent him to study at the seminary in Michoacan. There, he learned to cook from the nuns. In 1990, he opened his first Mexican restaurant, named for the beautiful state in Mexico. Hand-made tortillas and carnitas are the specialties here, but Barajas recommends his steak and lobster dishes. Now three outposts of the restaurant dot the Las Vegas Valley. This location on Desert Inn closed after a sinkhole engulfed the dining room in November 2020, but reopened with a complete makeover.

The Original Lindo Michoacan
The Original Lindo Michoacan.
Louiie Victa

Kung Fu Thai & Chinese Restaurant

Kung Fu has been operating in Las Vegas since 1973, first at Third and Fremont Streets, and then in 1982 inside the current Plaza Hotel, a pioneer in introducing Thai cuisine to the city. Since 1993 the family-run business operated in Chinatown, boasting hundreds of dishes on the menu, from familiar Americanized versions of Chinese lunch specials to an extensive Thai roster running to dozens of choices, amplified with optional heat to match.

The exterior of a restaurant with a Chinese New Year celebration with dragons
Kung Fu Thai & Chinese Restaurant.
Kung Fu Thai & Chinese Restaurant/Facebook

Battista’s Hole In The Wall

Only a block from the Strip, Battista’s Hole In The Wall Italian restaurant is crammed with eccentric decor, from Vegas memorabilia to an Alaskan moose head named “Moooosolini” and the all-important wall-mounted menu. Dinner specials always come with house wine, minestrone soup or Italian salad, garlic bread, a pasta side, and homemade cappuccino.

The interior of a restaurant with a lot of memorabilia
Battista’s Hole In The Wall.
Battista’s Hole In The Wall

Related Maps

Spago by Wolfgang Puck

Wolfgang Puck took a chance when he opened Spago in 1992 at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in the midst of the National Finals Rodeo. He recalls when cowboys sauntered up to the pass to pick up their food, not the type of service the chef had in mind. But once Spago caught on, he ushered in the era of celebrity chefs in Las Vegas, introducing the city and its tourists to his California-inspired dishes, including his smoked salmon pizza, a riff on bagels and lox with dill cream, red onion, and salmon pearls. As if Spago couldn’t get better, it did, moving into the Bellagio in 2018 with stunning views of the Fountains at Bellagio.

The bar and lounge at Spago
Spago.
MGM Resorts

Ferraro’s Ristorante

Family owned since 1985, Gino and Rosalba Ferraro’s vision of an Italian restaurant and wine bar is now in the culinary hands of son Mimmo. Located opposite Virgin Hotels, Ferraro’s serves hard-to-find dishes such as tripe and rabbit for discerning diners. Homemade pastas, sausages, breads, and desserts are created on-site and the osso buco, the 30-year-old house specialty, is still created with the same care. And that’s not to mention the renowned wine list which spans more than 22,000 bottles.

Ferraro’s Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar
Ferraro’s Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar.
Vox Agency

Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House

Hard to imagine, but Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House at the MGM Grand opened in 1995. The sprucing of the decor hides the longevity, but superstar chef Emeril Lagasse brings oysters and fresh fish to the desert for almost as long as Wolfgang Puck has labored to encourage the arrival of celebrity chefs. From the beginning, Lagasse sought to capture the local dining crowd to join the steady stream tourists caught in the resort’s net. Not yet a television phenom, his Essence of Emeril Food Network show was gaining traction leading to him operating four Las Vegas restaurants. Signature New New Orleans dishes at the MGM Grand include barbecued shrimp, sweet barbecued Atlantic salmon, and pecan-crusted Texas redfish. And the banana cream pie is not to be missed.

An indoor patio at a restaurant
Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House.
Amelinda B Lee/Eater Vegas

The Bootlegger Bistro

Since 1949, Bootlegger Bistro dished out southern Italian fare using the original recipes of chef Maria Perry. The restaurant features live music along with house specialties such as bistecca alla griglia, lasagna made from Maria’s original recipe, linguini alla vongole with chopped clams, and Maria’s saltimbocca, rolled and filled with Genoa salami and cheese in Italian egg batter sautéed in wine mushroom sauce.