Where to Eat

José Andrés’s taco and dumpling bar is a totally authentic taste of Mexico City that just happens to be situated inside the bustling Cosmopolitan hotel. It’s a fun, casual set up serving incredibly fresh tacos, BBQ oysters, and an avocado margarita that sounds strange but tastes incredible. For a great alternative to room service, there are also hearty noodle and fried rice dishes.

Like its counterpoint in NYC, Milos serves incredible Greek food with the price tag to match. It's worth it, though, because the fish is just off the boat, and an order of the lightly fried zucchini sticks makes life—on or off The Strip—better.

Modeled after celebrated chef Guy Savoy's eponymous restaurant in Paris, this Vegas location—which has earned two Michelin stars itself—delivers its own high-end experience in fine French dining. Extravagant, for sure, but there is also an appreciated amount of restraint. The colors here are neutral, understated, and interestingly, Guy Savoy insists on not having flowers in the restaurant—and doesn't allow restaurant employees to wear perfume—nothing should interfere, apparently, with what's put in front of you.

Legendary French chef, Joël Robuchon, has a namesake restaurant on the MGM Grand casino floor next to Cirque Du Soleil’s KÀ theatre—it looks like an Art Deco townhouse from the outside—but once you're inside it's entirely possible to forget where you are. The restaurant, decorated by Pierre-Yves Rochon, includes a garden terrace off the dining room. The brainchild of Robuchon, the kitchen is led by executive chef Claude Le-Tohic (accomplished in his own culinary right), and has earned three Michelin stars for its sophisticated French cuisine. The sixteen-course meal is, needless to say (but we will), out of this world.

The original Jaleo opened in D.C. in 1999, and the restaurant has since expanded to a few other cities, including this Vegas location at the Cosmopolitan. Run by culinary guru and goop favorite José Andrés and his ThinkFoodGroup, its a transportingly lively Spanish restaurant with a focus on tapas (which you can enjoy at the cocktail bar) and paellas (cooked on an open-fire wood grill)—you'll forget your on the Vegas strip. Side note: within the restaurant, is a second, somewhat hidden restaurant, designed to be more exclusive, called é by José Andrés, which boasts a tasting menu and eight seats in front of a chef's bar. Those reservations are by email only ([email protected]) and are available three months in advance. And since we're talking about spots in the Cosmopolitan, don't miss Jose's Mexi-Chinese fusion spot, China Poblano.

Eat is an unpretentious breakfast and lunch joint run by chef Natalie Young that has one of the best brunches in Las Vegas. While it feels super mom and pop, it's also quite hip, with an exposed ceiling and hodge podge of colorful chairs. The hard part? Choosing whether to order breakfast (eggs served all day) or lunch.

You'll find farm-to-table comfort food at this very un-average downtown restaurant opened by the late chef Kerry Simon. The menu revolved around share plates like wok-charred edamame; sandwiches like secret Sunday chicken with spicy aioli, and mains like black rice and oxtail risotto. The beverage menu is also enticing—from IPAs, reds and whites, to original cocktails best sipped on Carson Kitchen's outdoor patio.

A little bit of a hole in the wall and a seriously good find, Herbs & Rye is a surf and turf kind of place with dishes like Filet Sliders, Spicy Mussels, Pan Seared Salmon, and Bone in Pork Chops on the menu. It's also a place you can go just for the drinks—their handcrafted, classic-based cocktail menu is extensive and features drinks by the era (Gothic Age, Golden Age, Old School Age, Prohibition, and so on).

The red velvet banquettes are the first sign that Michael's is into the old-school Vegas glamour. (Valentine's Day, not incidentally, is big for them.) The fine dining restaurant was originally opened in 1982 in the former hotel, Barbary Coast, which has since shut down. When the gourmet room reopened at South Point several years ago, it kept its charm to the delight of locals.

Now run by chef Mark LoRusso—who worked with Thomas Keller and has a long history with the Wynn's Vegas restaurants—Costa di Mare is known for its seafood. Fish is flown in daily from the Mediterranean, which is, of course, as fresh as you can get on the strip. Sitting outside in a private cabana—which you can call ahead to reserve—is a little bit amazing.