Food is absolutely huge in Vegas. All that drinking, gambling, and partying leaves you incredibly hungry. So as is the American tradition, food is everywhere. Las Vegas, however, lacks its own real food culture. While people shovel away tonnes of it. Nothing really jumps out as being from Vegas. It just lacks its own Cuisine. Luckily though that shouldn’t trouble you too much as Vegas has its own special style when it comes to food so sit back and enjoy our guide on What to Eat in Las Vegas!
All You Can Eat Buffet
The All you can eat buffet was a Las Vegas invention (Probably) and as such is as close to a Las Vegas delicacy as you are likely to get. They are truly a Las Vegas institution. They have gone under a lot of change in the last few years ( even more in the last few months!). Gone are the super cheap and nasty buffets simply where you could stuff to bursting for only a few dollars. They are now far more gourmet offerings and casinos are in a constant war with each other for the best Buffet.
The top Buffets now boast more possible items than we could possibly list, they have things we couldn’t even think of ourselves. The lists are just endless.
Prices are not cheap, but they can be incredible value considering what you get. Every hotel will have its own, but you can visit any hotel’s buffet without staying there. As long as you pay the cover. Bottomless Boozing is also a thing now so one fee gets you as much drink as you would like to go with your meal.
Read our guide to all the Best Buffets in Las Vegas here
Heart Attack Grill
We were not sure where to stick this flamboyant Vegas Icon so we just dropped it in its own category! Situated in Downtown this is not a serious eatery but a good bit of fun. Serving unthinkably large burgers with physical punishments for failing to finish all “administered” by “Nurses” it’s quite the experience. Take a sense of humor and a BIG appetite!
This sort of Grotesque display of gluttony would be out of place almost anywhere but in Vegas it works, Calories are counted but more as a scorecard than a healthy dining plan. When one burger is your entire daily calorie intake, treating this place as anything other than a joke is pointless. It’s somewhere to come once, have a laugh, and get back to the healthy choices when you get home!
Chain
Like most places where there are lots of hungry diners happy to spend money, the Chains have moved in. Most of these are hard to avoid and the malls are filled with everyone’s American favorites. We normally eat at least some of our meals in one of the chain restaurants just as they offer hassle-free good value decent food.
Fine Dining
High rollers flock to Vegas and they spend big not just on the tables but in restaurants too. This is a millionaires playground after all. As such, there is a large selection of some of the finest eating establishments in the world. Vegas used to be the butt of the joke when it came to food, but wow have things changed!
Joel Robuchon, Wolfgang Puck, Gordon Ramsey, Nobu Matsuhisa to name but a few all have restaurants in Vegas (Several in fact). And while you are unlikely to be dining there often, most people can stretch to one meal for a very special occasion or treat. There are only a select few cities in the world that can boast this level of cuisine so you may wish to take advantage of this while there.
Steak House
A good well-cooked steak is always high up on our lists of foods when we visit America, and Vegas has an abundance of great Steak houses. People have been eating steaks in Vegas for decades and some of the best houses have a real history about them. There are a ton of flash modern steakhouses on the strip, one for every hotel. However, we like the slightly out of the ordinary.
Top of Binions Steakhouse – Freemont Street
Perched on the top of Binions Casino complete with fantastic views of the City. This classic old-school steakhouse in downtown Vegas. This one really feels like you could be dining 50 years earlier with the Mob bosses across the Table.
The Golden Steer – Off-Strip
Est 1958, this is a REAL piece of Vegas history. Expect No fuss, Huge lumps of cow. Just the way we like it!
We go in-depth about the Best Steakhouses in Las Vegas here!
Pool Food
Sometimes getting up from your pool chair can be a real chore. So most hotel pools offer service right to your lounger. Fantastic. Of course, it will be limited snack-type food and hideously overpriced but you didn’t have to get up, and they offered a bucket of beers as a side, so…
Food Courts
Probably the worst food in Las Vegas, but still incredibly popular, all hotels have food courts where you can buy cheap inexpensive food from a selection of outlets and eat in a communal dining area. It’s good if you can’t decide what you want in your group as you can all go to a different outlet and then eat together. It’s very uninspiring though and only really for when you just want to eat and don’t care. We have vivid memories of beer and tacos for a hangover breakfast, that seemed like a good idea but nearly ended as a puddle next to a bin! We don’t always make good choices.
Honestly, we do understand why people eat here, but we try our best not to. You are better off in McDonald’s! That said we often find out selves in both… not every meal needs to be special, right?
Have Your Say
What do you like to eat when in Vegas? Do you just cruise the Food courts or do you hit the Fine Dining? Or maybe you just fill yourselves to bursting in the All you can Eat Buffets? Let us know in the comments below!