Best restaurants in Las Vegas

BARGAIN: PIZZA ROCK, DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS

There are just a few good reasons to venture off Vegas’ hotel and restaurant-laden strip. Italian restaurant Pizza Rock is one of them. Tony Germignani – 13-time World Pizza Champion – is the mastermind behind this pizzeria with a difference. Pizza purists will love the detailed and varied menu, with styles including New York, Neapolitan, Chicago and Sicilian. They’re even listed according to oven type and temperature. Take the Classic American pizzas, for example – they’re cooked in a 550-degree gas brick oven, while the Neapolitan pizzas are baked at 900 degrees in a wood-fired oven.

Average price: The pizzas don’t break the bank here, starting at around $14.

Don’t leave without trying… The menu’s packed with inventive options, like the Sausage & Stout Pizza, made with honey-malted dough and beer-infused sausage. But there are more traditional choices, too, like the award-winning Margherita, which is the proud owner of a World Pizza Cup.

Take a look at the Four Queens Resort and Casino, in Downtown

MID-RANGE: BURGER BAR, MANDALAY PALACE

This gourmet take on a classic burger joint is found to the south of the strip, at Mandalay Palace – between Mandalay Bay and Luxor. Here, French chef Hubert Keller gives the basic burger some Vegas-style pizzazz, using upper-crust ingredients, like Kobe beef, truffles and foie gras. It’s not just the burgers that are game-changing, though. The drool-inducing milkshake menu features favourites, like Nutella, Twinkies and s’mores. You can even have a burger for dessert, where the bun’s replaced by donuts and the patty’s a Nutella mousse.

Average price: The standard burgers start at around $18, while the Kobe-filled Rossini burger comes in at $65.

Don’t leave without trying… Keller’s personal favourite is a buffalo-meat burger with blue cheese, caramelised onions and a red wine and shallot sauce.

Book the Mandalay Bay Resort and Spa

BLOWOUT: BAZAAR MEAT BY JOSE ANDRES, SLS LAS VEGAS

If you can tell your Washugu from your Wagyu, this fine-dining steakhouse is the place for you. Like its name suggests, this restaurant celebrates carnivorous cuisine – even the chandeliers are made from antlers. It’s been designed around group dining, with the option of small plates to share between friends. Michelin-starred chef Jose Andres serves up everything from chateaubriand and Wagyu beef cheeks to a Merino lamb rack and a 10lb suckling pig. There’s a raw bar for fish lovers, too, with the likes of live scallops, sushi, sea urchin and caviar flights. It’s not just the culinary offerings that are critic-applauded – the steakhouse has also scooped a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award for its stellar wine list.

Average price: The restaurant recommends a budget of around $100 per diner, so this steakhouse with a twist is one to pull out of the hat on special occasions.

Don’t leave without trying… The crunchy chicken croquettes, which are filled with a creamy béchamel sauce and served in a plastic shoe. Check out the SLS Las Vegas Hotel and Casino

ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT: THE BUFFET AT BELLAGIO, BELLAGIO

You’ll want to undo your belt for this one. Just like the city it’s in, this buffet is all about excess. It’s housed inside the legendary Bellagio hotel, right in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip. There’s a huge carving station for meat-eaters, as well as areas dedicated to all things Asian, Italian and American. Plus, if you’ve got a sweet tooth, you’re in for a treat. The dessert station’s stocked with build-your-own ice-cream sundaes, gooey chocolate brownies and a whole rainbow of macarons.

Average price: For $39 per person, you can dine on lobster, pork belly, freshly tossed salads and oven-baked pizzas with every kind of topping. You can also pay a little extra for unlimited refills of Margaritas, Bloody Marys, sparking wine or beer.

Don’t leave without trying… Buffet boffs head straight for the seafood section, where the crab legs are the most popular choice.

See what else The Bellagio has to offer