Las Vegas is a city that rarely does anything quietly. When people think of Vegas, the thought that often comes to mind are couples getting hitched in a car, newlyweds being serenaded by Elvis Presley, the clatter of slot machines and the hum of chatter across the room – an evening out can feel like an event before the first drink arrives. Known as the city that never sleeps, Las Vegas is renowned for its incredible nightlife and entertainment. Yet beneath the spectacle is a question worth asking: what happens when you look beyond the familiar image of Las Vegas and experience the city through its food? 

Over four days, I moved between restaurants that offered different interpretations of dining in the desert, before attending the MICHELIN Guide – which brought a different question into focus: how does a city with such an extensive dining scene decide which restaurants receive recognition? Speaking with Khee Lee, a Las Vegas-based food enthusiast and content creator who appeared on Netflix’s Somebody Feed Phil, I began to consider the relationship between the Strip and the wider city. Lee explained that visitors staying for only a few days often remain within the resort, where restaurants are easy to access, rather than venturing beyond it to discover what else Las Vegas has to offer. 

Held at the Fontainebleau Hotel, the ceremony returned to Las Vegas with the launch of its inaugural Southwest edition, covering Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Ashley Farkas, Vice President of Public Relations at MGM Resorts International, described the city as “the hospitality capital of the world” and sees MICHELIN’s return as a chance to bring international attention to work already taking place across the city. She told me that Las Vegas restaurants were “executing at this level every single day”, describing the guide’s return as an opportunity to position the city more firmly as a global culinary destination. MICHELIN recognition is one measure of a restaurant’s standing, but the wider scene is experienced through individual meals, local recommendations and the places visitors may not initially think to seek out.

Visiting Casa Playa at Wynn Las Vegas offered a special dining experience shaped by Mexican cuisine and global influences, bringing together chefs Serigne Mbaye, Sarah Thompson and MICHELIN-starred chefs Tim Flores and Genie Kwon. Led by chef Sarah Thompson, the restaurant brings together bold flavours and a menu shaped by Mexican ingredients and techniques. The evening was served through a series of dishes with wine pairings, and the cassava tart was a particular highlight for me. The pairings complemented the food rather than competing with it, making the meal feel considered as a whole. 

Just before attending the MICHELIN Awards, I visited MAROON, chef Kwame Onwuachi’s steak-house restaurant. The experience felt more personal. The space felt dark, with red undertones illuminating the room, creating an intimate almost cave-like atmosphere, suited for long diners. The menu included jerk chicken, Maroon Patties, peri-peri chop salad and Green Mango Salad (as a fellow mango lover I could not resist!). The dishes brought colour and flavour to the table. It was the only restaurant where I took leftovers home, but what stayed with me the most was the welcome.

Guests are greeted with “welcome home”, words that might strike some diners as unusual, offering a sense of warmth before guests had even taken their seats. It was a reminder that hospitality begins long before the food arrives; how a restaurant makes you feel can be as important as what it serves. The experience took on another dimension when I spoke with Onwuachi. We discovered that we were both Igbo, and our conversation turned to Nigerian food and the soups we grew up loving. When I mentioned egusi soup, he told me about a dish featuring egusi at his New York restaurant. As we spoke about family members and their places of origin, the Nigerian and Caribbean influences informing his restaurants began to make more sense to me – not simply as a collection of dishes, but as something shaped by heritage, family and personal history.

Awarded one MICHELIN Star in the inaugural Southwest selection, Restaurant Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace reflects a blend of French gastronomy and contemporary flair built around precision and detail. The light bites included a velvety Artichoke and Black Truffle Soup, surprisingly made mostly of water, accompanied by Toasted Mushroom Brioche with Black Truffle Butter. With 15 varieties of bread, Guy Savoy’s  general manager Alain Aple explained that all the bread is partially baked and finished shortly before service, while the butter is carved at the table. He also traced the butter’s quality to its French origins, describing the rich soil and grass that feed the cows whose milk is used to make it. These are small details, but they demonstrate how much of a fine-dining experience is shaped by the work that happens before a dish reaches the table. 

By the end of the trip, it was not simply the scale of Las Vegas dining that stayed with me, but its variety: from Guy Savoy’s meticulous approach to MAROON’s warmth and sense of community. The city may invite visitors to expect extravagance, but its food scene offers more than spectacle. Sometimes, the most memorable part of a meal is not the price, the presentation or the recognition attached to a restaurant. It is the feeling of being welcomed, the discovery of a flavour that stays with you, and the conversation that makes the experience mean something beyond the plate.

For more info go to www.visitlasvegas.com or the venues mentioned go to the link below.

Hotels

Fontainebleau Las Vegas
Wynn Las Vegas
Caesars Palace

Restaurants

Casa Playa at Wynn Las Vegas
MAROON by Kwame Onwuachi
Restaurant Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace

Words by Nancy Anekwe