Robin Leach on What's Upscale in Sin City

What happens in Las Vegas is change. The biggest one took place 21 years ago. Thanks to Steve Wynn’s Bellagio, the former $8 buffet town flowered almost overnight into a world-class destination. But the little changes haven’t stopped, or even slowed.

When is the last time you Vegas-ed? If it’s been more than two years, you can make a week-long vacation out of only the highest-end restaurants, shops and nightspots that have opened since your last visit and never repeat a single thing.

With so much change to choose from, we asked one of the only constants in town, Robin Leach, to pare the field down to his favorites. The former "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" host arrived in Las Vegas 21 years ago—coincidentally, along with the Bellagio—and has been the arbiter of expensive Sin City taste ever since. 

Fine Dining in Las Vegas

Beauty and Essex - Cosmopolitan

You can’t go wrong starting at the Cosmopolitan, the ritzy epicenter of haute-couture dining, shopping and nightlife in the new Las Vegas. Its most impressive new culinary offering, according to Leach, hides behind a pawn shop on the third floor. This TAO Group transplant from Manhattan features tattooed chef Chris Santos’s unique "sharing small bites" menu.

According to Leach, "it’s all about communal eating unforgettable food that takes classic, old- school comfort favorites and gives them a totally new twist at the highest level." Its eclectic offerings include French Onion Soup Dumplings (baked inside a ball of crusty fromage), Tuna Poke Wonton Tacos and Tomato Tartare on a parmesan crostini. Leach calls it "never boring and quite addictive." While you eat, raincoat-clad models wander the two large dining rooms "ready to flash you in their take-your-breath-away lingerie as they display the watches and trinkets the pawnshop has for sale." 

Lago - Bellagio

This primo Italian spot operates under the guidance of famed chef Julian Serano, known for the small plates and bold flavors on display at his tapas joint at Aria. "Incredible modern mini-bites take on Italian food and impeccable service," Leach raves. And the eats are paired with the best view in town: of the Bellagio lake and its water- fountain shows.

Mr Chow - Caesars Palace

The celebs who have flocked for decades to restaurateur Michael Chow’s upscale Chinese eatery in Beverly Hills finally have a Las Vegas home base. The former Empress Court space at Caesars Palace is now what Leach refers to as "the high temple of Chinese delicacies." And the floorshow—a noodle chef turning a bag of flour into the world’s longest noodles—is, Leach says, "a spectacle worth putting into Absinthe—even without a topless chef!" 

Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill - Venetian

Award-winning chef Timon Balloo offers globally inspired small plates from three kitchen concepts—an open-fire grill, raw bar and traditional kitchen—all "pulled off with total mastery," according to Leach. Its unique menu items include Kombu Marinated Fluke (a sashimi dish that cooks itself on seaweed) and the Whole Roasted Chicken, which Leach says "may be the best chicken dish in all of America." 

Soho Miami - The Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian

Leach’s top shopping pick offers men and women "unique European designs" and "a wonderfully pleasant, efficient, helpful sales staff," according to Leach. It creates "a very pleasant shopping experience." Adds Leach, "Nothing is too much bother for the sales manager and her ladies in this creative boutique. They’re knowledgeable about sizing, what’s in stock and what can be ordered."

Fine Shopping in Las Vegas

Dsquared2 - The Shops at Crystals

This unisex Italian boutique, run by Canadian twin brothers Dean and Dan Caten, costumed Ricky Martin and his entire dance cast of his new show at the Monte Carlo. According to Leach, the 324,000-square-foot store presents a "unique, very modern hip twist on male clothing." 

The Modernist Cuisine Gallery- The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace

Author and chef Nathan Myhrvold has produced some of the most stunning and beautifully photographed cookbooks ever. This summer, he will sell prints of the food photography exhibit that has toured museums around the U.S. Leach calls them "unequaled masterpieces."

Fine Entertainment in Las Vegas

Park Theater - Monte Carlo

Lance Burton’s former showroom is still doing magical things—such as presenting Cher, Ricky Martin and Bruno Mars in exclusive concert residencies. The 5,200-seater features one of the largest video mapping stages in the world.

After a show at the Park Theater, the perfect nightcap is only footsteps away: a brand new inner-city park with trees, plants, benches and modern sculptures ringed by restaurants, including Sake Rock, where a roving MC— according to Leach, "a cross between Ziggy Stardius and "Cabaret’s" Alan Cummins—drinks sake bombs with customers whenever someone orders an expensive platter of sushi and sashimi.

Cigarbox

If you’re like Leach, your idea of a great night out is lighting up a stogie instead of a dancefloor. And this joint, located off-Strip by the Rio, is the place to enjoy a drink and a smoke, according to Leach. Run by Michael Frey (Casa Fuente), it features walk- in humidor and leading brands from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

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