Every year brings its own restaurant buzz in Las Vegas, and within that larger narrative, each season is marked by hot openings, notable chef changes and important closures. While a few Strip debuts have generated recent chatter (I'm looking at you, Chica), the majority of the social media attention, hot takes and anticipatory energy have centered around eateries off of Las Vegas Boulevard. Here's a quick guide to three new restaurants earning a place on diners' to-eat lists right now:
Bandito Latin Kitchen & Cantina
Just a block off-Strip inside the Hughes Center, this new spot is a vibrant alternative to its chain-restaurant neighbors like Lawry's Prime Rib and McCormick & Schmick's. Bandito's bread and butter (or should we say chips and salsa?) is fresh Latin fare and bold cocktails in a colorful setting that matches the bright flavors flying from the kitchen and bar. Think 30-foot windows and massive murals that watch over diners as they sample dishes such as the naughty-and-nice chicharron and arugula salad, Mexican street corn and tacos served on homemade tortillas with fillings like carnitas, carne asada and braised octopus with pickled fennel and avocado. Wash it down with one of six house margaritas, like the Smoking Bandito, a potent mix of savory and sweet with adobada-infused anejo tequila, charred pineapple, fresh pineapple juice and black salt. 325 Hughes Center Dr.
Sparrow + Wolf
Beef cheek and bone marrow dumpling from Sparrow + Wolf. Photo Credit: Sabin Orr
This long-awaited gastropub from former Comme Ca chef Brian Howard opened in Chinatown in May with a menu of melting-pot American cuisine that pulls from a wide array of influences and ingredients. What does that look like? How about Chinatown clams casino made with lap cheong sausage and uni hollandaise or udon noodles served with lamb ragu, olives and mint? The cocktail menu is equally creative, utilizing pork fat-washed mezcal, peanut-infused bourbon, beet foam and tomatillo in drinks sometimes garnished with a skewer of beef jerky. Snag discounted bar snacks and beverages during regular and reverse happy hours or stop by after 11 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays when the restaurant does a semisecret burger special. Mmmm. Don't tell. 4480 Spring Mountain Rd. #100
The Black Sheep
Black Sheep's American-Vietnamese menu includes dishes like slow-cooked short ribs with yucca gnocchi. Photo Credit: Clint Jenkins Photography
Jamie Tran spent years on the Strip, cooking inside casino kitchens for the likes of Charlie Palmer at Aureole and Daniel Boulud's DB Brasserie. This year she ventured out on her own, opening the Black Sheep in the southwest corner of the valley, where she creates modern American-Vietnamese food inspired by her childhood. The result is a restaurant that feels fresh from start to finish, where the sliders are served on bao buns and stuffed with house-made sausage, fried quail egg, fresh herbs and jalapeno aioli and grass-fed tri tip comes with vermicelli and pickled veggies. There's a brief list of enticing drinks and an Instagram-worthy dessert in the chocolate tres leches, topped with a chocolate bird's nest. Also worth noting: The meal costs a fraction of what it would inside a casino, so there's plenty of cash left over for the Lyft back to your hotel. 8680 W Warm Springs Rd.