They say “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas“, but I am NOT keeping some of their best kept secrets all to myself. In this post I am going to share some of my favorite restaurants that you need to try next time you visit Sin City. If you know me even just a little bit, you know I like to do my research when traveling anywhere & most of the research time is spent on food. I spend days researching, reading reviews, & checking out pictures before choosing what restaurants I want to spend my money at that will leave me and my companions happy. Las Vegas was a little bit harder because there were way too many options and not enough time to try everything (I guess I will just have to go back). These were a few of my favorites that I wanted to share with you all. Bon Appétit!
This first spot is one you may have missed, Beauty & Essex located in the sexy Cosmopolitan hotel has a secret entrance & by far the best food & atmosphere on the Las Vegas strip. As you make your way up the escalator, you will spot the most beautifully draped chandelier bar, sparkling & inviting you in for a drink. As you make your way to the restaurant you may be thrown off, what appears to be a pawn shop with the same name sits as the entrance. 
A glamorous pawn shop filled with vintage guitars, Chanel bags, & diamonds is seen as you enter the doors. If you did not do your homework, you may be confused upon entering. Where is the restaurant?! If you ask the retail associates, they will gladly point you in the right direction and offer to help answer any questions about the items they sell & can help you pawn anything to aid you in your gambling debt. Once the doors to the restaurant are found, the room is transformed into a girl’s best friend. A jewel tone color scheme graces the walls, as well as jewels of all kinds. We were led into a “jewelry box” room filled with draped pearls and cozy cushions. By far, one of the most visually appealing restaurants I have every eaten in.
The drinks were all tasty & beautiful, but the food blew my damn mind. We chose all the dishes based off of the waiters recommendations and we’re extremely glad we did. If you are in Vegas, try new things, you won’t be mad about it. Beauty & Essex is a small plates/sharing plates restaurant so you won’t leave feeling like a swollen pig, you will leave with a glow.
We started with their raw bar and I have been dreaming about their Tuna Poke Wonton Tacos since I left weeks ago. Next was their “Jewels on Toast”, we chose the Caesar Toast, Caesar salad with creamy garlic & crispy chicken skin all on toast. The next course was Grilled Cheese, Smoked Bacon & Tomato Soup Dumplings. Our main course was Mexican Street Corn Ravioli with roasted poblano creme, jalapeño, cotija, & cilantro. For desert we ordered the Les, NYC Doughnuts, heaven complete with three dipping sauces of dark chocolate fudge, berry & caramel sauces. The photos say it all, the food was magnificent, GO! They also have locations in New York, Las Vegas, & Hollywood.
If you love sushi, but haven’t really been eating the “raw stuff”, you have no idea what you are missing. Kumi Restaurant & Bar at Mandalay Bay is where it’s at! I highly recommend asking the waiter about doing a tasting menu, that is what we went with and I tried more dishes that I never would of tried & I loved it all. Tuna was the food theme of the week, I never used to like the texture but with the right sauces, I am now kind of obsessed. If you go to Kumi you need to order the Hot Mess roll filled with Sashimi Poke, Kanikama, Avocado, & Screaming O Sauce. You also can’t leave without trying the Pop Rockin roll filled with spicy tuna, salmon, kanikama, avocado, & pop rocks (candy pop rocks that leave your taste buds sizzling).
The Carnevino Italian Steakhouse is located at the Palazzo hotel. In Sin City, where flesh, flash and extravagance flourish, Carnevino’s smart menu offers a balance that’s both familiar and sophisticated. With wine glasses as big as your face (yes, they fit a whole bottle of wine. No, I didn’t test the theory.) and the pasta served as a side, their main focus is their steaks. I love a good wait staff, and we were waited hand on foot at Carnevino by good looking men with beards, so no complaints here. We started with the Insalata Caprese, because I can’t turn down fresh tomatoes and burrata, NEVER. I also like to call myself vegan from time to time and I chose to only get a side of pasta and skip out on the whole carnivore deal. I chose the Spaghetti Nero with dungeness crab, scallion and chile.
The last place on my list is located at the prestigious Wynn hotel, Costa Di Mare. This restaurant features fresh Mediterranean seafood and Italian cuisine with house-made pastas and over forty varieties of fresh fish and shellfish flown in daily from Italy’s coastal waters. You may choose to sit in the bold, freshly redesigned dining room or outside in a private cabana surrounding the serene lagoon.
We chose to reserve one of the outdoor cabanas to celebrate my upcoming birthday in April. It was a gorgeous setting with a surrounding coy pond. I started with the most delicious cocktail & they kept bringing amazing variations of bread that I couldn’t say no to. The restaurant filets fish table side for you, so I highly recommend picking a fish and splitting it with your table. I chose to go with a pasta dish for my entree and skip the table side fish, but I regretted not doing it. The spaghetti all’astice with spaghetti, rock lobster, spicy tomato sauce, & white wine was amazing. The restaurant really went above and beyond for this special dinner, giving me a birthday card & a fun dessert to end the meal with. 
For those of you who didn’t ready My 2018 Bucket List, “popping my Vegas cherry” was one of the 18 thing’s I declared I would cross off in 2018. Now that it is officially completed, my next adventure awaits! Get your ship lap & boots ready, we’re off to Texas in June!
