The quick answer
The best food in Las Vegas is often off the Strip or hidden inside it: Tijuana-style tacos on the north end of the Boulevard, an unmarked pizza counter in the Cosmopolitan, northern Thai food on Sahara Avenue and soup dumplings on Spring Mountain Road in Chinatown.
The city's own classics are casino food: a shrimp cocktail in a sundae glass, prime rib and late-night steak and eggs, served around the clock at off-Strip casino cafés for $3–15.
For one big night out, book Golden Steer, a steakhouse open since 1958. For cheap eats, Tacos El Gordo, Secret Pizza and Viva Las Arepas each feed you for under $20.
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Get FeedMii for iPhone9 dishes to try in Las Vegas
What Las Vegas does best, with rough prices and where to find each one.
Shrimp Cocktail
Small cold shrimp piled into a tulip glass and topped with tomato cocktail sauce. Downtown's Golden Gate made it famous as a 50-cent snack in 1959 to pull gamblers in, and it became the city's signature cheap bite.
How to eat it: Order it as a starter at a 24-hour casino café. The Golden Gate no longer sells it, but Coronado Cafe at South Point still serves one for under $3.
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Steak and Eggs
A small steak with eggs, potatoes and toast, sold cheaply in the middle of the night to keep players at the tables. Casino cafés still call the late-night versions graveyard specials.
How to eat it: Go after midnight to an off-Strip casino café open 24 hours, such as the Village Pub at Ellis Island or Coronado Cafe at South Point, and ask for the special.
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Prime Rib
Thick slices of slow-roasted beef rib served pink with its juices, horseradish and a baked potato. It has been a fixture of Vegas casino menus and buffets for decades.
How to eat it: Ask for it medium-rare; it is carved from a whole roast, so the end cuts are the most cooked. The Village Pub at Ellis Island is known for it, and Golden Steer serves 14 oz and 20 oz cuts.
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Steakhouse Dinner
Las Vegas is a steakhouse town, from celebrity-chef rooms on the Strip to the old-Vegas booths of Golden Steer, where Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. were regulars.
How to eat it: Book ahead and check the dress code. Sides and sauces cost extra, so one shared side per two people is usually enough.
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Khao Soi
Egg noodles in a coconut curry broth topped with crispy fried noodles, with pickled mustard greens and shallots on the side. Lotus of Siam put northern Thai cooking on the Las Vegas map.
How to eat it: Squeeze in lime and add the pickles to cut the richness. At Lotus of Siam, add the garlic prawns or crispy duck, two of the dishes its reviewers mention most.
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Tacos Adobada
Pork marinated in red chilli and shaved off a vertical spit onto small corn tortillas, with guacamole sauce, onion and cilantro. Tacos El Gordo, from Tijuana, is the place everyone queues for.
How to eat it: Order at the counter and go for adobada first. Three or four tacos make a meal.
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Xiao Long Bao
Thin-skinned dumplings filled with pork and hot broth, steamed in bamboo baskets. In Las Vegas, go to Chinatown on Spring Mountain Road, a short drive west of the Strip.
How to eat it: Lift one onto a spoon, bite a small hole, sip the soup, then eat the rest with a little black vinegar and ginger.
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New York-Style Slice
Wide, thin, foldable slices with a crisp base. The best-known in Vegas comes from Secret Pizza, an unmarked counter in the Cosmopolitan open until 4 am.
How to eat it: Fold it lengthwise and eat it standing up. White pizza and pepperoni are the slices reviewers mention most.
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Arepa
A griddled corn cake split open and stuffed. The reina pepiada is filled with chicken and avocado salad; the cachapa is a sweet-corn pancake folded around cheese.
How to eat it: Order one arepa per person and share a side of fried plantains or yuca fries.
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8 places worth the trip
Ranked by how good the food is, with the cheap eats marked. All were open on Google as of October 31, 2026.
Lotus of Siam (Sahara Ave)
East Sahara Ave, about 2 miles off the StripThe most celebrated restaurant in Las Vegas away from the casinos. Chef Saipin Chutima won a James Beard award in 2011 for her northern Thai cooking, and the original Sahara Avenue dining room reopened in May 2026.
- Order
- Khao soi, garlic prawns, crispy duck, nam kao tod (crispy rice salad)
- Price
- About $31–50 per person at Sahara, $30 and under at the Flamingo Rd branch (OpenTable price bands, Oct 2026)
- Tip
- Dinner only, 5–10 pm. There is a second branch on E Flamingo Rd.
Golden Steer Steakhouse
W Sahara Ave, north end of the StripThe splurge: a steakhouse open since 1958, with old-Vegas booths and tableside Caesar salad, where Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. were regulars.
- Order
- Prime rib or bone-in ribeye, tableside Caesar salad, bananas foster
- Price
- The splurge: steaks $76–145, prime rib $84–112, tableside Caesar $23 per person (Golden Steer menu, Oct 2026)
- Tip
- Smart-casual dress code (no caps, tank tops or gym wear) and no children under 5. Opens 4:30 pm; last seating 9:45 pm.
Tacos El Gordo (Strip)
North Strip, Las Vegas Blvd SThe best cheap eat on the Strip: Tijuana-style tacos at about $4 each, open until 2 am and until 5 am on weekends.
- Order
- Adobada tacos, carne asada tacos, a mula (taco sandwich)
- Price
- Cheap eat: about $4 a taco (travel review, 2026)
- Tip
- Lines are long at night, so go in the afternoon if you can.
Secret Pizza (The Cosmopolitan)
Center Strip, Cosmopolitan Boulevard Tower, level 3Vegas's most famous slice, sold from a counter with no sign at the end of a narrow hallway.
- Order
- White pizza or pepperoni by the slice
- Price
- Cheap eat: about $6.50 a slice, whole pies $30+ (Tripster guide, Feb 2026)
- Tip
- Open 11 am–4 am. Look for the narrow hallway on the third floor near the restaurants; there is little seating.
ShangHai Taste (Chinatown)
Chinatown, Spring Mountain RdThe soup dumpling specialist in Chinatown, from Shanghai-born chef Jimmy Li, with eight dumplings to a basket where most places serve six.
- Order
- Xiao long bao, pan-fried pork buns, spicy wontons
- Price
- Cheap eat: about $20–30 per person (estimate)
- Tip
- Open 11 am–9 pm daily. A second branch is on S Rainbow Blvd in the southwest.
Viva Las Arepas
Las Vegas Blvd S, between the Strip and DowntownVenezuelan arepas and wood-fired chicken at counter prices, a short ride from either end of the Boulevard.
- Order
- Reina pepiada arepa, cachapa, pabellón
- Price
- Cheap eat: arepas around $12 (The Infatuation, Jul 2026)
- Tip
- Open 9 am–10 pm, so it works for breakfast too.
Village Pub & Cafe (Ellis Island)
Koval Ln, one block east of the StripThe classic Vegas steak special and prime rib, served 24 hours a day in a small casino a short walk from the Strip.
- Order
- Steak special, prime rib, steak and eggs
- Price
- Cheap eat: late-night steak dinner $10 (The Infatuation, Jul 2026); a May 2026 reader report put the steak special at $14.99, or $11.99 with a players card
- Tip
- Sign up for the free players card at the casino desk first: the steak special is cheaper with it.
Coronado Cafe (South Point)
South Point casino, about 8 miles south of the StripA 24-hour casino coffee shop that still sells the old Vegas bargains: shrimp cocktail under $3 and steak and eggs for $7 at night.
- Order
- Shrimp cocktail, steak and eggs, prime rib
- Price
- Cheap eat: shrimp cocktail under $3, late-night steak and eggs $7 (The Infatuation, Jul 2026)
- Tip
- It also has a Chinese kitchen from 11 am to midnight, and South Point's Garden Buffet is in the same casino.
Places checked as of October 2026. Opening hours change, so check before you go.
Tips for eating in Las Vegas
- Leave the Strip for at least one meal. Chinatown on Spring Mountain Road is a short taxi ride west, and Sahara Avenue has Lotus of Siam and Golden Steer.
- The cheapest good food in Vegas is in casino cafés off the Strip, many open 24 hours. Join the casino's free players club before ordering: specials are often cheaper for members.
- The same kind of meal costs more on the Strip than off it, so a $4 taco or a $7 steak and eggs off the Strip goes a long way.
- Book steakhouses and Lotus of Siam ahead for weekends and big convention weeks.
- Want to eat all you can? Our guide to the best buffets in Las Vegas covers Bacchanal, the Wynn and the cheap off-Strip buffets with this month's prices.
- Late at night, Secret Pizza runs until 4 am, Tacos El Gordo until 5 am on weekends, and the Ellis Island and South Point cafés never close.
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Download free for iPhoneFrequently asked questions
What food is Las Vegas known for?
Las Vegas is known for casino classics: shrimp cocktail (made famous by the Golden Gate in 1959), prime rib, steak and eggs and all-you-can-eat buffets. Today it is just as known for its steakhouses, its Chinatown on Spring Mountain Road and northern Thai food at Lotus of Siam.
Where can I find cheap eats in Las Vegas?
Tacos El Gordo on the Strip (about $4 a taco), Secret Pizza in the Cosmopolitan (about $6.50 a slice), Viva Las Arepas (arepas around $12), and the 24-hour cafés at Ellis Island and South Point, with steak specials from $7 to $15 and shrimp cocktail under $3.
Where should I eat in Las Vegas for the first time?
Do one classic and one off-Strip meal: dinner at Golden Steer or Lotus of Siam, tacos at Tacos El Gordo, a late slice at Secret Pizza, and one buffet such as Bacchanal at Caesars Palace.
Where can I eat late at night in Las Vegas?
Village Pub & Cafe at Ellis Island and Coronado Cafe at South Point are open 24 hours. Secret Pizza in the Cosmopolitan is open until 4 am, and Tacos El Gordo on the Strip until 2 am, or 5 am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Is the food better on or off the Las Vegas Strip?
The Strip has the big-name restaurants and buffets, but many of the city's best-value meals are off it: Chinatown, Sahara Avenue and the locals' casinos. Off-Strip meals often cost much less for food as good.