Frommer's best bets for dining in Las Vegas

updated 1:18 p.m. ET Sept. 12, 2006

A number of celebrity chefs are cooking in Vegas, awakening us to the opinion that Vegas's rep for lackluster restaurants is no longer deserved.

Best Restaurant to Blow Your Money On: You could lighten your wallet at the craps table -- and why not? -- or you could spend that same amount, and take a lot longer doing so, exalting in the culinary work being done at Alex Strada's (tel. 702/770-9966) and Paul Bartolotta's (tel. 702/770-9966) eponymous places in Wynn Las Vegas, and Hubert Keller's Fleur de Lys (tel. 877/632-9200) at Mandalay Place. Meals come dear at all three places, but each is turning out works of edible art, from three different inspired sources of creation. To us, this is what Vegas indulgence is all about, and the memories make us much happier than our losses at the table.

Best All Around: Given our druthers, we are hard-pressed to choose between Alizé (tel. 702/951-7000), at the top of the Palms, where nearly flawless dishes often compete with the sparkling view for sheer delight, and Rosemary's Restaurant (tel. 702/869-2251), a 20-minute drive off the Strip and worth twice as much effort, for some Southern-influenced cooking. Each of these may well put the work of those many high-profile chefs, so prominently featured all over town, to shame. Lastly, though, speaking of high-profile chefs, we have just sworn allegiance to Thomas Keller's Bouchon (tel. 702/414-6200), in The Venetian's expansion, Venezia. Keller may be the best chef in America, and while this is simply his take on classic bistro food, you should never underestimate the joys of simple food precisely prepared. We also never ever turn down a chance to eat what Julian Serrano is making over at Picasso (tel. 702/693-7223).

Best Inexpensive Meal: The beautiful, fresh, monster submarine sandwiches at Capriotti's (tel. 702/474-0229). They roast their own beef and turkey on the premises and assemble it (or cold cuts, or even vegetables) into delicious well-stuffed submarine sandwiches, ranging in size from 9 to 20 inches, and none of them over $10. We never leave town without one . . . or two.

Best Buffet: On the Strip, it's the Paris, Le Village Buffet (tel. 888/266-5687), where the stations break from standard form by adhering to regional French food specialties (from places such as Provence, Alsace, and Burgundy) and the results are much better than average. Though not cheap, this is a reasonable substitute for an even more costly fancy meal. If you want something a little more traditional buffet -- as in, one not devoted to one particular cuisine -- Wynn Las Vegas (tel. 702/770-3340) is terrific all the way, even through the usual buffet weakness, dessert. The Palms Festival Market Buffet (tel. 702/942-7777) offers the best of the more budget-oriented options, with an array of Middle Eastern goodies and some eccentric additions to the ubiquitous carving stations. Downtown, the Main Street Station Garden Court, 200 N. Main St. (tel. 702/387-1896), has an incredible buffet: all live-action stations (where the food is made in front of you, sometimes to order); wood-fired brick-oven pizzas; fresh, lovely salsas and guacamole in the Mexican section; and better-than-average desserts.

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Best Sunday Champagne Brunch: Head for Bally's, at Mid-Strip, where the lavish Sterling Sunday Brunch (tel. 702/967-7999) features tables dressed with linen and silver. The buffet itself has everything from caviar and lobster to sushi and sashimi, plus fancy entrees that include the likes of roast duckling with black-currant and blueberry sauce.

Best Group Budget Meal Deal: Capriotti's again -- a large sandwich can feed two with leftovers, for about $5 each. Or split a bowl of soup at the Grand Wok and Sushi Bar (tel. 702/891-7777), in the MGM. This pan-Asian restaurant offers a variety of soups in such generous portions that four people can make a decent meal out of one serving.

Best Bistro: We ate nearly the entire menu at Bouchon (tel. 702/414-6200), from Thomas Keller, in The Venetian, and didn't find a misstep, just what you might expect from one of the most critically lauded chefs in the country. But don't overlook Mon Ami Gabi (tel. 702/944-4224), in the Paris Las Vegas hotel. Offering lovely, reasonably priced bistro fare (steak and pommes frites, onion soup), it's also a charming spot.

Best Restaurant Interiors: The designers ran amok in the restaurants of Mandalay Bay. At Aureole (tel. 877/632-1766), a four-story wine tower requires that a pretty young thing be hauled up in a harness a la Peter Pan to fetch your chosen vintage. The post-Communist party decor at Red Square (tel. 702/632-7407) is topped only by the fire-and-water walls at neighboring rumjungle (tel. 702/632-7408). And then there is the futuristic fantasy of Mix (tel. 877-632-1766), on top of THEhotel, where stunning sky-high views of the Strip compete with a giant beaded curtain made of hand-blown glass balls, to say nothing of silver "pods" in lieu of booths.

Best Spot for a Romantic Dinner: Alizé, at the top of the Palms, has windows on three sides of the dining room, with no other buildings around for many blocks. You get an unobstructed view of all of Vegas, the desert, and the mountains from every part of the restaurant, not just the window seats. Seriously, aren't you in the mood already?

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