AUTHOR BIO: Mei Chen has worked for nearly a dozen start-ups in as many years, taking her to several West Coast cities. While she’s sure her current day job is permanent, she also has her eye on Carmel.
I go to Las Vegas so often for work that I have spent a large portion of my adult life in casinos, walking with the dead-eyed focus of someone trying to get to a meeting without breathing in too much second-hand smoke. I do not gamble, I do not linger, and I do not want my dinner served under a chandelier that looks like it was designed by a high-end vape shop.
When I need a reset, I head to Henderson. It is close enough to be convenient and far enough to feel like real life. More importantly, it is where I have found some of my favorite restaurants in the area—places that treat dinner like a meal, not an event, and that do not expect me to build my own dinner at a buffet.
This list is my Henderson playbook: the spots I return to when I want chef-driven cooking, comfort food that actually comforts, and a table that feels like it belongs to humans, not tourists on a mission.
Aroma Latin American Cocina
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Chef Steve Kestler runs this place like a rebuttal to anyone who still thinks Henderson isn’t a restaurant mecca. I come for the pork belly patacones and the ceviche when I want something bright, cold, and aggressively alive, and I stay for the feeling that the kitchen actually cares about every item on the plate. It also helps that Kestler has been in the James Beard Awards conversation, which tracks once you taste how dialed-in the menu is.
Best for: A serious dinner that still feels relaxed
Azzurra Cucina Italiana
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Chef Alessandra Madeira runs Azzura’s kitchen, with Walter Ciccone working the room, and the menu leans into crowd-pleasers that still feel precise: squid ink linguine frutti di mare, the pork chop agrodolce, and the meatballs that I hope never leave this menu. It feels intimate and intentional, like a place that wants you to remember dinner more than you remember the lighting.
Best for: A real date-night meal off the Strip
Boom Bang Fine Foods & Cocktails
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Chef-owner Elia Aboumrad gives you the kind of menu that makes you order “one more thing” and then suddenly it is dessert time. I like starting with the French onion soup and ending with something sweet like an egg tart, because this place is not shy about comfort. The vibe is grown-up without being stiff, which is harder than it sounds in a town full of performance dining.
Best for: Cocktails and a real meal after
Bottiglia Cucina & Enoteca
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Bottiglia is inside Green Valley Ranch, but it avoids the usual casino-restaurant personality disorder by staying focused on straightforward Italian dishes. I order the wood-fired octopus with tomato ragù and fresno chile agro dolce when I want to feel smug about not getting a steak. The antipasti misti platter and the meatballs in San Marzano tomato sauce are the sort of “just get the classics” move that actually pays off here.
Best for: A casino dinner that still feels like dinner
Chinitas Tapas & Sushi
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Owner Chanthy Walsh built Chinitas around a simple idea: tapas and sushi can share the same table without anyone calling a lawyer. The menu leans into the mash-up with things like birria egg rolls, elote ribs, and salt & pepper wings, plus rolls that keep the “tapas” part from feeling like marketing. The room reads as Water Street social life, which means it works whether you came hungry or just came with cocktails as the goal.
Best for: A group order where everybody gets what they want
CRAFTkitchen
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Chef Jaret Blinn runs CRAFTkitchen like a neighborhood spot good enough to draw those who don’t live anywhere close. I like it for the caramel apple pancakes at brunch and the short rib hash when I want brunch to feel like it might solve problems. The place is casual, busy, and reliably competent, which is why locals treat it like a utility.
Best for: Brunch that actually earns the wait
Fisher’s Delicatessen
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Formerly Weiss Deli, this is where you go when you want the classics: smoked salmon, pancakes, and always-solid sandwiches. The matzoh ball soup is the kind of thing you order on principle, and the pastrami Reuben is the kind of thing you order because you grew up eating one just like it. The strip mall decor is comfortingly simple, not reinvented or themed, just like the dishes.
Best for: A fast meal that feels like a reset to normal
Gaetano’s Ristorante
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Owner Nick Palmeri, along with chef Jose Pacheco, have built a loyal following for Gaetano’s. I would not skip the osso buco alla Milanesa with saffron risotto, because that is exactly the sort of dish you want an Italian restaurant to take seriously. The room leans toward “elegant casual,” which is useful if you want a nice dinner without turning it into theater.
Best for: A polished, low-drama Italian night out
Hank’s Fine Steaks & Martinis
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Inside the Green Valley Ranch casino, Hank’s is the spot carnivores will point to as Henderson’s reliable steakhouse. The menu plays the hits in high-definition, from oysters with sherry mignonette to prime beef cuts with the traditional sides, and the bar is famous for half-price martinis with live piano. If you want the full splurge, Hank’s also makes a point of its certified A-5 Kobe beef program.
Best for: A steakhouse splurge with martinis
Juan’s Flaming Fajitas & Cantina
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Juan’s is proof that “family Mexican restaurant” can still be a destination if the food is consistent and the portions are generous. The signature move is the flaming fajitas, and the menu also gives you crowd-pleasers like quesabirria and birria taquitos when you want something dunkable and unapologetic. The vibe is loud in the way a good night out is loud, not in the way a bad one is loud.
Best for: A fun dinner with a table full of people
Penn’s Thai House
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Penn’s reopened this year after a remodel but luckily kept what’s earned it a loyal following: solid Thai dishes in a no-frills space. I default to pad thai or pad see ew when I want the classics, and I switch to drunken man noodles when I want basil and heat to do the talking. Mango sticky rice and Thai iced tea handle the landing.
Best for: A reliable Thai dinner on a weeknight
The Steamie Weenie
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The name might get you sent to HR if you’re shouting it around the office when discussing lunch plans. But The Steamie Weenie is serious about its franks, covering them with toppings like the elote dog up top and the one above, a bacon-wrapped weenie with brown mustard, grilled onions, ranch dressing, and blue cheese crumbles. Steamie Weenie likes to claim it was voted “Best Hot Dog in America,” and while we can’t verify the validity of the voting machines, we can say it’s the hands-down best dog in Henderson.
Best for: A cheap, satisfying dog
Todd’s Unique Dining
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Chef-owner Todd Clore has been running Todd’s as a family-owned Henderson staple since 2004, and the cooking still feels personal rather than “concepted.” The menu swings from a braised boneless short rib with jalapeño mashed potatoes to seared rare ahi tuna with wasabi mash, which is the kind of range that keeps regulars from getting bored. It is strip-mall fine dining in the best sense, meaning the plates are serious and the room is not trying to impress anyone.
Best for: A “hidden in plain sight” dinner that delivers
Ventano Italian Grill & Seafood
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Ventano pairs chef Arnauld Briand’s Italian cooking with an oyster bar and a view of Las Vegas, which is a solid three-part plan. I like the cioppino when I want a bowl that tastes like effort, and the potato-wrapped salmon when I want something that feels like a throwback. The vibe is classic, romantic, and slightly old-school, which is exactly what some nights call for.
Best for: Dinner with a view and seafood in the lead
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