4 days ago
How to Spend a 24-Hour Staycation in Chinatown Las Vegas
Las Vegas's Chinatown rivals the Strip with its vibrant, around-the-clock dining scene. Centered along Spring Mountain Road just minutes west of the Strip, this neighborhood draws locals, industry workers, and food enthusiasts seeking diverse cuisines, most prominently from East Asia. Chinatown is packed with everything from casual noodle shops and street food stalls to upscale izakayas and innovative fusion spots. It's where many of Vegas's top chefs craft bold menus that may otherwise be too adventurous for Strip visitors, blending tradition with creativity without the crowds or high prices.
During an action-packed one-day staycation, come hungry, starting with strong coffee, then venturing to decadent breakfast, afternoon dumplings, and late-night noodles. Spring Mountain Road delivers at almost every hour. With its accessibility, diversity, and unmistakable local energy, Chinatown is a must-visit destination to experience the true culinary heart of Las Vegas.
Here's how to spend 24 hours drinking and dining through Las Vegas's Chinatown.
8 a.m. — Coffee at Gabi Coffee and Bakery
Start your all-day food crawl with a caffeine fix at this locals' favorite Korean coffee shop. Hidden behind a heavy wooden door in an otherwise basic strip mall, Gabi Coffee opens into a cavernous, dreamlike ambience with antique furniture, tiered platforms for sitting on floor cushions at low tables, and a glass atrium that doubles as Gabi Cafe's bakery. Order colorful wedges of crepe cake dusted with powdered sugar, flaky chocolate croissants, and bacon potato quiche. Korean-style medium-roast coffee is aromatic and full-bodied with a lightly acidic flavor that works well in cappuccinos and lavender white mochas.
Gabi Coffee and Bakery
9 a.m. — Breakfast at Guieb Cafe
This Hawaii-based restaurant draws on Filipino flavors for bold, comforting breakfasts is a casual space adorned with surfer murals. The standout is a stack of purple pancakes slathered with creamy ube mascarpone and garnished with a purple orchid blossom. For those recovering from a late night, go for the prime rib loco moco: a juicy 10-ounce steak served over white rice, smothered in glossy, umami-heavy gravy, and finished with two fried eggs. If saving room for the rest of the food crawl, consider the oxtail soup — flavor-packed and herbaceous, it's loaded with tender meat and swirls of fresh cilantro.
12:30 p.m. — Lunch at Shanghai Taste
Chef Jimmy Li of Shanghai Taste earned a James Beard Award nod for Best Chef: Southwest in 2023 — primarily for his delicately wrapped xiao long bao. The restaurant cranks out about 3,000 soup dumplings a day, each sporting savory broth and juicy pork suspended within tender, pleated satchels. The rest of the menu is like a love letter to Shanhainese street food — each dish deftly prepared and most under $15. Bean curd noodles in shrimp XO sauce have a rich chile flavor. Shanghai crispy shrimp is cooked with the shells on for extra crunch, and a beef stir fry is robust with bell peppers, onions, and oyster mushrooms in black pepper sauce. Mark down orders on paper menus and don't miss out on fried sheng jian bao, crispy scallion pancakes, and sticky-sweet pork ribs that fall off the bone.
3 p.m. — Happy Hour at Double Zero Pie and Pub
One of the best pizzaiolos in Las Vegas is earning national attention at this Chinatown strip mall spot. Chef Michael Vakneen's dough starts with finely milled double-zero flour, fermented slowly with natural starters, then hand-stretched to preserve its structure. The result is a crust that's light, airy, and crisp, yet sturdy enough to carry bold toppings without turning soggy. Happy hour starts at 3 p.m. with snacks and drinks for $5 — but don't skip the full-sized pies. There's a white-sauce version with browned mushrooms and mozzarella that's earthy and creamy, or a sweet-savory standout topped with speck, fig jam, mozzarella, and candied pecans.
Janna Karel
6 p.m. — Dinner at Sparrow and Wolf
Chef Brian Howard cut his teeth in acclaimed kitchens like Comme Ça, Alizé, and Bouchon before opening Sparrow and Wolf, his genre-defying Chinatown flagship that blends fine-dining precision with fearless, globally inspired flavors. His seasonal tasting menus jump through the continents with ease, while a la carte options offer a more casual way to explore his boundary-pushing cooking. Standouts include Vietnamese bánh cuốn stuffed with savory duck and wrapped in black rice rolls, Spanish octopus over jet-black squid ink risotto, and honey-glazed pork secreto paired with sweet potato-banana purée. Howard's food is ambitious but unfussy — each dish layered with texture and contrast, without losing its soul. Let the kitchen lead with the tasting menu.
Janna Karel
9 p.m. — Cocktails at the Golden Tiki
The Golden Tiki is a 24-hour tropical escape, a celebration of maximalism, like Disneyland through an adults-only filter. If you survive the brutal parking lot, step through the dark passageway in the glow of animatronic birds, a twinkling Rainforest Cafe-style night sky, and a life-sized mermaid in glass that looks just real enough to call for a double-take. Bartender Adam Rains slings some of the best tiki drinks in town — classics like painkillers and banana batidas shine here. Plan in advance to reserve a table or just belly up to the bar. With drinks in hand, take a lap to admire the decor — dazzling waterfalls, head-scratching island artifacts, old-timey nudes tucked beneath glass table tops, and lewd wallpaper in the restrooms.
The Golden Tiki
11 p.m. — Dessert at Ichiza
Perched on the second floor of a shopping center, this izakaya is a Chinatown institution. The menu is scrawled on handwritten paper signs plastered onto every inch of wall space, offering a rotating lineup of specials, nigiri, and skewers that are available that week. But by 11 p.m., the mission is to order the honey toast. The cube of warm, buttery Japanese milk bread is crisped on the edges, filled with diced bites that are toasted to golden brown. It arrives piled high with scoops of vanilla ice cream and honey drizzle that melt into the cracks, glazing every bite with sticky-sweet cream and turning the whole thing into a gooey, golden mess. Wash it down with sparkling peach sake.
A late-night bowl of pho at Pho Kim Long is a Las Vegas rite of passage. This Chinatown favorite may not serve the absolute best pho in town, but at 2 a.m., it's the one that matters most. Inside, the lights are bright, the tables are packed, and the crowd is a blur of off-shift chefs, bar hoppers, and industry regulars trickling in from the Strip for something hot and restorative. Start with crunchy chicken egg rolls for the table, then dive into a steaming bowl of beef pho — its deeply aromatic broth tangled with tender rice noodles, rare steak, and brisket. Dress it up with jalapeños, bean sprouts, and torn basil, then slurp it until bleary-eyed. The vibes in Pho Kim Long during the wee hours are like a sleepover party that's gone on too long — over-tired and buzzing, but mostly quietly content.
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