02-07-2025
Great Steaks, Poolside Champagne And Other New Reasons To Visit Las Vegas
Michael Mina and Josh Smith do it again at Bourbon Steak inside the Four Seasons. JMP Force Media
As always, Las Vegas dining is about raising the stakes and creating new excitement in all kinds of baller ways. It's about merging great food and showmanship. As things in Vegas heat up this summer, here are some new ways to have a memorable dinner.
When it comes to blockbuster Las Vegas restaurants, Josh Smith is a nonpareil executive chef who combines technical prowess and purposeful playfulness as he creates crowd-pleasing dishes.
Smith (who previously ran the kitchens at Seablue, Bardot and Delilah) is back at the Michael Mina empire after a successful stint at Wynn Las Vegas, and he's having a blast at the new Bourbon Steak inside the Four Seasons. His new dishes include a creamed spinach pop tart with comté cheese and bechamel, which is a properly over-the-top Vegas way to eat a vegetable.
Smith is focused on hyper-specific sourcing, so he celebrates American beef by serving both Creekstone Farms rib eyes and Snake River Farms wagyu rib cap while also showcasing top-tier Japanese and Australian wagyu. Dry-aged branzino and dry-aged Ōra King salmon are supplied by Liwei Liao's Joint Seafood.
Blinis might seem boring after you've had caviar like this. JMP Force Media
And there's all kinds of theatrical fun at Bourbon Steak in Las Vegas. A5 wagyu tartare, topped with a thin slice of A5 wagyu on a potato pavé and enhanced by the addition of fresh wasabi, is torched tableside. A Twinkie-shaped piece of cornbread is filled with yuzu crème fraîche and topped with oscietra caviar. Both of these luxurious appetizers are expertly constructed and thoroughly delicious. The flavors are big, but they're also balanced.
This is the way Bourbon Steak (which has also opened New York and Delray Beach locations recently) rolls all over the country, and of course Mina classics like the lobster pot pie and the 'smoke show' tomahawk are available at the Four Seasons. For dessert, there are perfect beignets that you can dip into Macallan 12-year butterscotch pudding. If you're lucky, you might even be able to enjoy carajillo in dessert form, with the coffee cocktail transformed into a creamy concoction that's more of a pick-me-up than any tiramisu you've ever had. Like everything Smith does, Bourbon Steak in Las Vegas is about leveling up.
Caramella serves lobster arrabbiata at Planet Hollywood. Joe Janet
At this red-sauce restaurant inside Planet Hollywood, your server might highly recommend the cheesy garlic bread and suggest that you eat that with the cheese-stuffed veal Parm meatballs before getting the cheese-stuffed chicken Parm for your entree. For pastas, there's cavatelli Bolognese and properly spicy tomato penne, which pairs nicely with the 2-pound lobster arrabiata.
Caramella is a Tao Group Hospitality restaurant that doesn't seem to care much about whether you're going out after dinner, and the Strip views on the patio (you can see the Bellagio fountain show here) might also want to make you linger. If you do want a post-meal stop, go find Caramella's hidden lounge. Hint: Look for the candy store. The Signature Seafood Buffet at Genting Palace
Genting Palace, which serves upscale Chinese food at Resorts World, has launched an elegant buffet. Resorts World Las Vegas
The high-end Chinese restaurant at Resorts World has launched a Wednesday-through-Sunday dinner buffet with an array of chilled seafood (including oysters and crab legs, of course) and standout dishes like West Lake-style minced beef soup, har gow and shrimp fried rice. Best of all is the carving station, which eschews the unexciting beef and ham you find at other buffets. Instead, Genting Palace serves beautifully rendered Beijing duck and crispy pork belly.
You can create DIY buns with the duck, but eating it atop fried rice or noodles works nicely too. This is Las Vegas, so choose your own adventure. Nomikai
Nomikai serves A5 wagyu sandos at the Venetian. Drex Agency
The new sushi speakeasy and hand-roll counter at the Venetian riffs on the classics. Highlights include a miso black cod roll that might simultaneously remind you of both Nobu and Katsuya while being its own distinctly delicious and texturally pleasing bite. For an extra layer of flavor, you can dip your open-faced Hokkaido scallop and Alaskan king crab rolls into a yuzu green sauce or a chili red sauce. Order the premium hand-roll set and you'll also get a fancypants toro-and-caviar roll.
The counter, like other hand-roll bars, works well for a quick meal while the speakeasy is where you can pair sake and cocktails with A5 wagyu sandos and nigiri flights. There's nitro matcha on tap and ube espresso martinis if you're looking to amp yourself up for a big night ahead. Sun Club
Fontainebleau's Sun Club offers poolside Veuve Clicquot. Isabel Ng
This breezy pool pop-up at Fontainebleau Las Vegas is a summery showcase for Veuve Clicquot and its newest cuvées: Rich and Rich rosé. Drink your bubbles in a setting that pops with yellow Veuve decor while eating La Cote double cheeseburgers and Caesar salads at your daybed or cabana. If this feels like a Champagne-powered European beach vacation, that's the entire point. Sun Clubs are also popping up in destinations like Ibiza, Mykonos, Capri and Saint-Tropez this year.
