A once-industrial neighborhood is now home to Las Vegas’ most buzzed-about restaurants, bars, and late-night bites.
Key Points
- Las Vegas’ Arts District has become a culinary hotspot, offering a vibrant dining scene distinct from the Strip, with a mix of upscale and casual options.
- The district caters to locals and tourists alike, with unique bar-restaurant hybrids, as well as casual favorites.
- Residents appreciate a late-night scene that caters to hospitality workers.
Las Vegas has solidified its identity as a dining destination. It can feel like every chef from the late Jöel Robuchon to Gordon Ramsay has at least one outpost on Las Vegas Boulevard, interspersed with high-roller sushi, New York red sauce emporia, Texas burger joints, and the overseas cousin of a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant from London.
But the sector with the most bustling dining rooms and buzzed-about kitchens isn’t the one with bright lights and big casinos. The city’s Arts District has seen a boom in restaurants and bars that has transformed an enclave of garages and workshops into a cultural and culinary hotspot.
The flagship of Arts District dining is Esther’s Kitchen, opened by chef James Trees in 2018. Trees is a James Beard-honored veteran of the Strip and the celebrity chef circuit, and his homage to both his great-aunt and Italian cooking launched the neighborhood’s dining renaissance. Esther’s moved to a larger space with the Treehouse bar room in 2024, but the focus on seasonal ingredients and chic comfort food remains, as does the busy reservation list. Diners come back for pasta specials including cacio e pepe and lamb curry, as well as lavish bread service, and Esther’s legendary butterscotch budino.
Photo by Jose Salinas Ada’s Winter Menu Items |
Photo by Jose Salinas Ada’s Harissa Halibut |
Photo by Jose Salinas Esther’s Kitchen Diavola Pizza |
Trees also recently relocated Ada’s, a wine-centric gastropub, from the suburbs to the city center, but his most ambitious venture is Bar Boheme, an exploration of classic French cuisine. The decor is Riviera chic, but the vibes are Downtown chill. Begin with canapes (the escargots and cheese gougeres are standouts) and move on to duck, trout, or Chateaubriand. Late-evening specials liven up the bar scene as the dining room winds down.
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