We ended up going to most of the places on my list - Bacchanal, Wicked Spoon and Lotus for dinners. Both buffets were about as good as the last time I went, although Wicked Spoon is definitely lacking in crowds (not that I’m complaining). The place was only about 60% full the entire time during 6-7pm dinner hours. The new LoS location is huge and swanky and feels like a tourist trap with prices to match, although the food was still good but I miss the old location and the hole in the wall family restaurant vibe.
For lunches, we went to Tacos El Gordo (delicious pastor, was packed on Thanksgiving day lunch). Rolling Smoke BBQ (off the strip), solid brisket and pork spare ribs, great value and Secret Pizza at Cosmopolitan (good NY style pizza, expensive as expected and not a ton of selection for slices).
You didn’t do half bad, I’m surprised you went to Rolling Smoke, that’s a local hangout, I haven’t seen it mention on forums much. Good job! Now that’s worthy of a hound.
I will always recommend Bacchanal, Wicked Spoon, Wynn Buffet, Sterling Buffet, submit-fancy-name buffet because that’s what tourists want. They want the flash and excess and the casinos want their money, win/win. Many a tourist, not all foodies, can’t stop talking about Bacchanal long after their trip, just because you can’t find that anywhere, so I’m glad you got to experience that.
LoS is slowly turning into a tourist trap, but it is what it is. Good for them.
There’s many good French bistro places in Las Vegas, actually I’d say Vegas prides themselves on their French cuisine. There’s not many natives on this board, so you’re not going to get a well-rounded answer. It’s also unfortunate because Vegas is a tourist destination, there aren’t many well-educated foodies blogging about the Vegas food scene.
Casual Eateries I would recommend for French Bistro Food (feel free to rip this off and pass off as your own, just don’t look like an ass and say there’s no good french restaurants in Las Vegas)
Bouchon https://www.thomaskeller.com/bouchonlasvegas
Yes, it’s not as good as the one in Yountville, but it’s still good. I recommend brunch. There are also several Bouchon bakeries inside the Venetian where you can buy pastries, just like the Yountville location.
Delices Gourmands French Bakery https://www.delicesgourmandslv.com/
This is no-frills bakery but they’re also the supplier to many a restaurant in Las Vegas, this place is the real deal in a tough part of town. You can sweeten the deal by going to EATT first, then stopping at Delices afterwards.
There are many, many excellent expensive French restaurants in Las Vegas, but the OP asked for casual French food, so I’m not going to post them. Besides they’re well documented, a quick search on google or even Yelp can give you a good idea.
Off the top of my head:
Robuchon a La Maison
L’ Atelier de Robuchon
Twist
Restaurant Guy Savoy
and Bardot Brasserie can qualify for both fancy french and french bistro.
There are many others I’m not mentioning, my apologies.
Yeah I forgot where I found it but it was a good stop on the way to Red Rock Canyon. Definitely not a tourist place although I think they were featured on DDD once since Guy Fieri went to UNLV.
I’ve been to Bacchanal twice now and while I agree it’s the best buffet on the strip currently, I don’t think its that much better than say Wicked Spoon to justify the long wait times. I think it’s mostly the internet hype around it that keeps the crowds coming.
I don’t know what to say, I haven’t been on this board forever, Chowhound’s Vegas board is dead and John Curtis closed up shop years ago but he still posts on his FB (I think). I feel sorry for anyone who posts here thinking they’re going to get good recommendations. Vegas is a vibrant dining scene that’s constantly changing, you’ve got old recycled oldies in this thread.
My only other advice is Instagram and all the bullshit that goes along with it. I hate Instagram Influencers but at least they eat a lot and post pretty pictures.
And there’s Yelp and Google reviews, God save us all.
