When I moved to Las Vegas almost 3 years ago (I can’t believe it!), my then-fiancé, now-husband and I didn’t have much money. I was still a college student, working an unpaid internship, and had put all my savings toward visa fees, plane tickets, and all moving-across-the-world expenses.
Fast forward to 6 months ago, I finally got my first grown-up job, and now we’re finally able to enjoy Vegas the way it’s intended! Don’t get me wrong, there are tons of free or inexpensive stuff to do here in the city, and trust me, we’ve done it all! But we love to eat out, and especially living in Las Vegas, we often have family visiting, so we get to try even more new places and restaurants.
It can be pretty hard to pick and choose when it comes to places to eat out in Sin City. Here are my top 5 Las Vegas restaurants for all budgets and all times of the day!
Where To Eat Breakfast & Bunch
Lou’s Diner ($)
Lou’s Diner is located near Chinatown and is great for an authentic family-style American breakfast. From omelets to skillets, you can also find a wide range of pancakes, waffles, and all sorts of breakfast & brunch dishes.
The decor is very western, road 66, all things USA style, and my family loved it! Coming from France, they wanted to eat in a really authentic American Diner that my mom wanted to, and I quote, “Eat in a real diner like the ones I grew up seeing on TV“. I made some research and came across Lou’s Diner on the Internet, and it did not disappoint!
Fun Fact: Lou’s Diner has a huge world map on display where guests can pin point the place they’re from. Good luck finding a spot for your hometown. My hometown in France has 3000 inhabitants and we STILL weren’t able to add our pin because the area was already pinned!
Where To Eat Lunch
Taiwan Deli ($)
Chinatown can be pretty overwhelming in terms of picking a spot to eat. Taiwan Deli is a true hole-in-the-wall restaurant. The food is very authentic, absolutely delicious, and served within minutes!
Some of my favorite are the spicy beef noodle soup, the almond tea, the Old fashioned meat sauce with rice & egg, and the Chinese donut!
Public School 702 ($$)
This restaurant, located in Downtown Summerlin, is perfect for a larger group, since there are options for literally anybody! Healthy, gluten free, burgers, Mexican, etc. It’s all really good and the vibe is unmatched: very school-like with cool music. Definitely not a place to go to chill, but more of a cool spot to start pre-gaming with friends or end a day with family!
Where To Eat Dinner
Esther’s Kitchen ($$)
My personal favorite. Literally my favorite restaurant in the city. I eat there at least once a month (sometimes more). Esther’s Kitchen is an Italian restaurant located in the Art District Downtown Las Vegas. It’s perfect for a date night or a friends’ dinner. It is a pretty loud restaurant, but it’s because it’s so popular yet very small; a lot of tables are very close to each other. However, they are moving right next door to a much bigger location, which makes me believe that the noise thing will no longer be.
My recommendation is to get a few choices of the homemade dips with sourdough bread. My favorites are Cambozola: a blue cheese dip, the Nduja: a spicy chorizo-style dip, and the cannellini beans: a speck dip. For entre, my favorite is their Spaghettoni with Tricia and pecorino. I’m having a hard time choosing something else to eat when I go there.
Esther’s is really popular so make a reservation at least a week in advance, if you plan to go on a weekend. Two weeks if the party is more than 4 people.
Bardot Brasserie ($$$)
Bardot Brasserie is on the more expensive side. Located at the Aria, on the Strip, it’s a fancy French restaurant that is perfect for a date night. Dress fancy, make a reservation a few weeks out, and enjoy a true French dinner. My husband got the steak and loved it. I got the burger with truffle fries and it was really good. I would recommend the duck and pairing it with French wine as well.
To be honest, my favorite part was the baguette. As a French living in the United States, I seriously miss French bread on the daily. It’s always really nice to have some warm fresh bread with butter.
Las Vegas is home to some of the best restaurants in the world. This is my top 5 regarding food, service, and budgets. I haven’t been to every restaurant in the city, but I’ve been living there for over 3 years, so I did try a fair share. I really hope you’ll take my advice and try at least one of them. And if you do, let me know in the comments or on Instagram!
As always, I would love to connect and be friends!
Romane Drake 