Top 10 Luxury Dining Restaurants in Las Vegas

With an open layout and undulating crystal ceiling, BARMASA resembles the world's most refined first-class lounge. This deluxe Japanese eatery in the Aria at CityCenter hotel is run by chef Masa Takayama. He is known for opening America's most expensive restaurant, Masa in New York's Time Warner Center. BARMASA's tabs are similarly stratospheric. But so is the quality of its sushi.

• Eating Las Vegas critics' picks from the BARMASA menu:
  toro tartare with caviar; spear squid; octopus in butter; kanpachi sushi roll
• BARMASA website

What Paul Bartolotta does with simple, succulent seafood is a Vegas magic show. Marvel over his legerdemain at Wynn Las Vegas -- indoors or out, in mist-cooled cabanas overlooking a fantasy pool. All of Chef Bartolotta's fish and crustaceans are jetted in fresh daily from the Mediterranean. His seafood pastas and giant, shrimp-like langoustines are unforgettable.

• Eating Las Vegas critics' picks from Bartolotta's menu:
  grilled tiger shrimp; whole roasted wild turbot; grilled cuttlefish; brown-butter tortellini; branzino alla Palermintana
• Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare website

Is your inner carnivore calling? The beef at Wolfgang Puck's contemporary steakhouse in The Palazzo is dry-aged for weeks, soaking up flavor and character. But CUT's starters, salads, sides, seafood, and desserts are crave-worthy, too. The problem with CUT, notes Eating Las Vegas critic Al Mancini, is that "after one meal here, you'll never visit your local steakhouse again without feeling a little disappointed."

• Eating Las Vegas critics’ picks from the CUT menu:
  bone-marrow flan; Wagyu sliders; Kobe/Wagyu beef tasting; thyme-lavender roasted duck; potato knishes; berry crumble
• CUT website

The look of Restaurant Guy Savoy is modern and jazzy – and so is renowned chef Guy Savoy’s French cuisine. His dishes may sound and look simple -- like butter-roasted sweetbreads or tournedo steak -- but their flavors exude "wow-factor flavor," says Eating Las Vegas author Al Mancini.

There's more to love: Guy Savoy, set in Caesars Palace, "is the friendliest of the haute-French restaurants in Vegas,” says Max Jacobson. "Eating here never fails to make me happy."

• Eating Las Vegas critics' picks from Restaurant Guy Savoy's menu:
  "peas all around;" "colors of caviar;" artichoke soup with black truffles and Parmesan; mosaic of milk-fed poularde hen; lobster with morels and asparagus
• Restaurant Guy Savoy website

 

Joël Robuchon is the ultimate in French flavor and flair. The flower-laden black-and-white room is breathtaking, and servers make you feel like a mogul, even if a casino windfall is footing your lofty tab. Diners are treated to limo rides on the house to and from MGM Grand, Joel Robuchon's setting. Expect ultra-rich and eye-rollingly delicious food, like sliced guinea hen layered with foie gras. Even Robuchon's bread and chocolate trolleys are unforgettable.

Says Al Mancini, "If there’s one word to describe Joë Robuchon's namesake restaurant, it's 'exquisite.'" On his part, Jacobson calls Joël Robuchon “transcendent.”

• Eating Las Vegas critics' picks from the Joël Robuchon's menu:
  "La Tomate;” truffled langoustine or langoustine ravioli; cauliflower cream with caviar; lobster with morels and asparagus
• Joël Robuchon website

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon is a less formal (and less pricey) version of its big-brother restaurant steps away at MGM Grand, Joel Robuchon. L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon presents the vibrant flavors of the master chef in tasting or a la carte menus.

But L'Atelier's recipes are simpler and the environment more casual, with burnished wood accents, dramatic lighting, and a long counter surrounding a semi-open kitchen where James Beard Award-winning chef Claude Le Tohic works his magic. As at Joël Robuchon, tasting menus at L'Atelier showcase modern French cuisine, at once classic and creative.

• Eating Las Vegas critics' picks from the menu at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon:
  "Unique" early-dinner tasting menu when available; anchovies; poached Kumamoto oysters; roasted quail stuffed with foie gras; all desserts
• L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon website

Everything that luxury travelers love about Mediterranean cuisine comes together brilliantly at Estiatorio Milos. This Greek magnet – with sister Milos restaurants in Montreal and New York -- graces The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas hotel.

But once you step inside, you feel like you're on Santorini, with open-air breezes and stone-colored décor. Catch your dinner entrée from Milos's display of delectable seafood, flown in fresh from the Aegean, and sure to be grilled to perfection. (Chicken and lamb are just as tempting.) You could make a case for ordering everything on Milos' menu. The best approach? Arrive at Milos famished and order up a storm.

• Eating Las Vegas critics' picks from the Milos menu:
  avgolemono soup; Maryland blue crab cake; meze appetizer platter; Milos Special; grilled barbounia or lavraki fish; Greek yogurt with thyme honey; prix-fixe lunch
• Milos website

This French-Spanish restaurant in The Bellagio is a multi-sensory treat. The eyes are gratified by open views of The Fountains of Bellagio -- and actual Pablo Picasso paintings studding the walls.

But "take your eyes off the paintings," counsels Eating Las Vegas critic John Curtas. Treat your sense of taste to chef Julian Serrano's exciting, sometimes unfamiliar, but always delicious French-Spanish food. Picasso was the first Vegas kitchen of this Madrid-born master chef, and Serrano is now a Sin City superstar.

• Eating Las Vegas critics' picks from Picasso's menu:
  quail salad; Nantucket scallops; medallions of deer; roasted pigeon with wild-rice risotto
• Picasso website

Raku is tucked inconspicuously and un-glitzily into a side street off the Strip. But foodie locals – and demanding visitors – flock to Raku's counter, tables, and private rooms. They come not for sushi but for Raku's impeccably authentic Japanese menu of cooked and grilled dishes.

Chef-owner Mitsuo Endo, a Tokyo native, is especially admired for his kaiseki, a Japanese meal with as many as 15 artfully served tasting courses, some just one bite's worth. Endo is a perfectionist, and the concentrated flavor that he packs into his food is astounding. Reviewer Max Jacobson points out that night-owl diners enjoy a bonus: "Raku serves till three in the morning, and is a lively after-hours chefs' hangout. You never know what famous Vegas chef will stop by for a bite after work."

• Eating Las Vegas critics' picks from Raku's menu:
  salt-crusted sea bream; agedashi tofu; chicken and rice bowl; poached egg with sea urchin and salmon roe; kaiseki dinner
• Raku website

This French restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas commands your attention. Its 23rd-floor dining room furnishes knockout views of the Strip, and the chow is equally dazzling.

Writes Al Mancini, "The name says it all: the sometimes insane-sounding, though always delicious twists Gagnaire puts on his food." Adds Max Jacobson, "Gagnaire's style is wild and imaginative, but the combinations work. This is food that you not only haven't seen before, it's food you've never even imagined." Anticipate sirloin with escargot sauce; and potato ice cream, topped with caviar. Yes, it's fabulously French, and stunningly creative."

• Eating Las Vegas critics' picks from Twist by Pierre Gagnaire's menu:
  Confucious duck; shellfish royale; never-never veal; langoustines five ways
• Twist by Pierre Gagnaire website

 

Order your carry-on copy of Eating Las Vegas and start planning your luxury travel dining in this tasty town.