3 Awesome, Budget Friendly Restaurants in Las Vegas
While I do not live in Las Vegas, like Shawn does, I have been there often enough to have tried a lot of restaurants :). When I travel somewhere I am always on a mission to find off the beaten path restaurants. Places only locals know about but tourists rarely find. These restaurants usually give you a lot more bang for your buck!
The restaurants on this list should offer you some budget friendly options away from the strip mainstays.
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My 3 Favorite Local Restaurants in Las Vegas
Without further ado here are my 3 favorite off the beaten path restaurants in Las Vegas:
The Peppermill Restaurant
This is an awesome place for those late nights/very early mornings in Vegas. The portions are UUUUGE. It is probably best to avoid the breakfast rush on the weekend.
The interior is old school skool Vegas. Neon lights everywhere, fake trees, it looks like it is straight out of the movie Swingers!
There is also a lounge attached to the restaurant, Fireside Lounge. It has a very 70’s vibe in there. It is very dark with fire pits surrounded by dark red couches. Definitely worth stopping in for a drink while visiting!
The Peppermill is located on the strip in between Encore and Circus Circus.
MusashiÂ
If you are in the mood for hibachi/teppanyaki than this is a good option for a fraction of the cost you get on the strip. They were on a Discovery channel show about places that serve Kobe beef in the US.
This is a good spot for late night hibachi cravings. It is open from 5PM to 3AM. Musashi is where Floyd Mayweather takes his entourage after a big fight…you will see his picture on pretty much every wall.
What sets this place apart from other hibachi places that I have been to is that they make their own sauces…right on the grill top. They give you the standard ginger and yum yum sauce and then fill up a tray with 5-6 more sauces that they make in front of you.
This is a family run place so there is a good chance you will get the owner, Tiger, or his brother as your cook. Make sure to ask if Tiger is working and if you can get his table…he is the best!
Musashi is located off the strip a little bit, down the road from Hard Rock.
Bonus Entry
Another place worth checking out for hibachi is Benihana at Westgate Casino. Westgate is a stop on the monorail so it is easy to get to. This place is worth checking out not because of the food, it is like any other Benihana, but because the restaurant looks like a Japanese village. The set up is pretty awesome! Check out the link above for pictures.
Ellis Island
Ellis Island is the definition of a dive bar, casino, restaurant. It is a very small, locals casino. It has a small on site brewery, some slots, and a few table games. If you like blackjack they have $5 tables. All of the dealers dress up as a celebrity in the evening and then take turns putting on a lip sync show. It is a fun atmosphere. It you get a suited blackjack (suite changes daily) you get a free growler from the brewery as well! If you get 3 – 7’s you get a hat or t-shirt.
The real reason to come here is because of the steak dinner though. They have what I think is THE best deal in Vegas. If you join their players club you get a coupon for a $9.99 steak dinner. For that $9.99 you get a sirloin filet, potatoes, greens, a salad, and a beer from the brewery. Yes all of that for under $10. It gets a little better though…you get $10 in free play for signing up and after you spend $1 on slots you can get another coupon for an extra $1 off the steak dinner. One coupon covers the whole table so if you have multiple people in your group you can do this multiple times on your trip. Trust me you will be tempted to!
The cafe is open 24 hours and serves steak whenever you want it but it is best to get it in the evening. You may have to wait a little while to be seated. They sell over 1,000 steaks per day!
Ellis Island is located a couple of blocks off of the strip behind the Flamingo.
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Places I Haven Been Meaning to Try
There are two places I have been meaning to try. I have walked by Battista’s Hole in the Wall a hundred times and never stopped. Shawn said it is worth stopping in just for the atmosphere. It is located right next to the Flamingo. The Stage Door Casino shares the building with it, which has the cheapest drinks in Vegas if you can handle the smoke smell.
I have been wanting to try Secret Pizza which isn’t really a secret any longer. It can have huge lines which has kept me away.
Deals that I Miss
Vegas is a city of transients so restaurants come and go often, and some great deals have come and gone. Two of my favorites that have closed up shop were:
- Du Pars – Golden Gate Casino, Freemont – $3.99 Shrimp Cocktail
- Mad Onion – Hooters Casino – $9.99 Prime Rib Deal
Conclusion
Hopefully this gives you a few ideas for your next trip to Las Vegas. These places all have great food at non strip prices.
If you are dead set on eating on the strip I suggest eating breakfast at Hash House a Go Go it has an amazing breakfast and my wife recommends the bacon bloody mary!
Another good way to save money in Vegas is to buy a Coupon Book.
What are some of your favorite Las Vegas restaurants? Let me know in the comments!
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Any good downtown budget options?
+1. I love Ellis Island, but since I discovered downtown, I only visit the strip area to see a show once per trip.
This should have some good options for you.
I think 4 Queens has a few spots worth checking out.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g45963-i10-k10684094-Cheap_eats_Downtown_Las_Vegas-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html
For Asian BBQ , Gangnam across Paradise Rd from The Hard Rock casino has Happy Hours from 3-6 pm and 10 pm to close every day. Half price drinks and a happy hour food menu makes it a great place to spend time with friends away from the casinos.
Ellis Island dealers no longer do the lip sync show. Besides the steak special, they may have the best fish n chips in town.
If you’re looking for all you can eat sushi and don’t mind going off strip, I’d recommend heading to Oyshi Sushi on Rainbow Blvd. They have excellent service and consistently good nagiri and sushi rolls. My friends and I go there every other week or so and they’re very accommodating even though one of us starts with 18 orders (36 pieces) of salmon nagiri and 12 orders of tuna nagiri.
Thanks for the tip!
Food Express on S. Decatur. Despite the name sounding like a fast food restaurant, it is a traditional Chinese restaurant. My family visits at least once every time we visit Vegas. On my last trip 3 day trip, we ate here 3 times. Good Chinese food at a relatively affordable price. There used to always be a line for this place, but during my last trip the place was half full every time.
Awesome! Thanks
Taking notes! Thanks, Mark and DaninMCI.
My pleasure!
Blueberry Hill for pancakes!
I find this depends on how your service is. We use to have really good service at Blueberry Hill (the one on Decatur) but won’t go back after having to wait 30 minutes for an initial greeting the last four times we went.
I have heard they have really good breakfast. Have you been to the other locations or are they much further out?
We’ve been to two of their locations, but always went to the Decatur one because it was close to our weekly Sunday activities.
That is what I have heard 🙂
Jessie Rae’s BBQ about 1 mile west of the strip. North of Russell on Spring Valley is a great hole in the wall place. Even a person from KC like myself finds this a very good BBQ restaurant in LV.
Kung Fu Thai & Chinese is also VERY good but off the strip as well.
Awesome – thanks for the recommendations!
Secret pizza was good – but the line was about 25 minutes when we went over Memorial Day weekend. Slices were big but they cost about $6 each. Not worth the wait in my opinion unless you’re staying at or very near the hotel.
Thanks for the tip – I guess I should keep it on the back burner