The Secret High-Roller Menus of Las Vegas

By Food & Wine
Updated December 13, 2016
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Credit: Courtesy of Delmonico Steakhouse
In Sin City, everybody’s always searching for bigger, better, and more baller. Home to some of the country’s best (and most expensive) restaurants, the ultimate Vegas itinerary includes exclusive access to an insider secret—and the accompanying bragging rights. We’ve discovered the best-kept secrets on the Strip: off-menu items at top restaurants that guests must ask for by name. Raise the stakes (and steaks) with these secret dishes at Vegas’s top celebrity restaurants. —Nadine Jolie Courtney
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Le Cirque: the Ultimate Surf and Turf

Credit: © Bellagio, Le Cirque

On a dare, executive chef Wilfried Bergerhausen of Bellagio’s Le Cirque created a larger-than-life dish using every single ingredient at Le Cirque, most notably featuring Japanese wagyu steak covered in perigourdine sauce made from truffles, and topped with foie gras and a layer of shaved truffles. The sideshow is a two pound butter-poached Maine lobster tail covered in lobster caviar and with a 24-carat gold leaf, plus a deep fried potato fondant resting on beef bone marrow.

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é by José Andrés; Tasting Menu

Credit: Courtesy of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

For $250 per person, diners who apply online for spaces and receive a Golden Ticket in the mail can eat at Jaleo’s secret dining room, é by José Andrés, enjoying a mind-blowing tasting menu featuring 23 courses of avant-garde Spanish cuisine. The surreal setting, designed by Juli Capella, features file cabinet décor and spills into the room to mimic the thoughts, ideas, and memories of Chef José Andrés' brain.

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Tom Colicchio Heritage Steak: Marinated Grilled Eggplant

Credit: © The Mirage

A secret vegan menu at Tom Colicchio Heritage Steak at The Mirage includes a large cut of eggplant marinated and grilled, topped with house-made chimichurri sauce and served with a popcorn and roasted cashew glaze.

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CRUSH: 32-Ounce Pepper-Crusted, Bone-in Short-Rib

Credit: © Peter Harasty

MGM Grand’s Crush—from Michael Morton, son of iconic restaurateur Arnie Morton—features two secret offerings, including a 32-ounce pepper-crusted, bone-in short-rib and an Ultimate Surf and Turf 8-ounce beef filet and lobster tail topped with crispy rock shrimp and caviar cream sauce.

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Blossom: Spicy Water Fish

Credit: © ARIA Resort & Casino

Aria’s fine-dining Chinese restaurant Blossom offers a five-alarm Szechuan dish known as Ma Lat, which translates to “Spicy Water Fish.” Its insane over-the-top heat means it’s not on the menu to avoid requests for altering its spiciness.

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MR CHOW: Fish Joanna

Credit: © Dusty Fruend/Caesars Palace

While Caesars Palace’s MR CHOW offers an on-menu Chicken Joanna—chicken breast sautéed with wine and garlic—the similarly prepared Fish Joanna is off-menu and is available by request-only.

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Charlie Palmer Steak: "Cut of the Week"

Credit: © Four Seasons, Charlie Palmer Group

For only $58, guests who request the Cut of the Week get the best cut of meat in the Charlie Palmer Steak kitchen at Four Seasons, including a special price for three courses, shared steakhouse sides, and unlimited wine pairings.

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Carbone: Mario's Meatballs

Credit: © Major Food Group, ARIA Resort & Casino

Based off his mother’s meatball recipe, Aria’s Carbone chef Mario Carbone’s famous secret meatballs are made with ground beef, pork sausage, veal, sautéed onions, garlic, parsley, parmesan cheese, and panade.

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STRIPSTEAK: Duckfat Fries

Credit: © Mandalay Bay

At Michael Mina’s Mandalay Bay restaurant STRIPSTEAK, Chef Tony created an Amuse Bouche featuring fries cooked in duck fat, served with garlic-herb oil, sriracha ketchup, and truffle aioli.

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Portofino: Lobster Milanese

Credit: © The Mirage

Chef Michael LaPlaca at Portofino at The Mirage makes a Lobster Milanese dish from a full-pound New England lobster tail, which is flattened out, lightly poached in butter, covered in savory breadcrumbs and fried until crispy. The lobster is finished with a white wine lemon butter sauce and served with sautéed garlic spinach.

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The Steakhouse at Camelot: Secret Menu

Credit: © Excalibur

At Excalibur’s traditional The Steakhouse at Camelot, there’s an entire secret menu that must be requested from the waiter, including macaroni with lobster and truffle oil, and an 8-ounce beef tenderloin topped with tomato, bleu cheese and asparagus.

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Rivea: Grilled Lobster

Credit: © Delano Las Vegas, ALAIN DUCASSE Restaurant & Hospitalité

Iconic chef Alain Ducasse’s Rivea at the Delano Las Vegas offers a secret Grilled Lobster—invented by executive chef Bruno Riou—dressed with parsley, garlic, and mouthwatering mustard butter.

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Jean-Georges: Angus 300 Tomahawk Chop

Credit: © ARIA Resort & Casino

A colossal stab of steak available only at Aria’s Jean-Georges restaurant, the Angus 300 Tomahawk Chop is cooked over a wood-burning grill and served on a bed of smoking coals that heats the meat and gives the table a campfire scent.

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Carnevino Italian Steakhouse: Riserva Cut

Credit: © Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group

At Carnevino Italian Steakhouse in The Palazzo, in-the-know guests can request a Riserva Cut of steak, hand-selected by the executive chef, aged for up to 120 days, and sold by the inch.

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Delmonico Steakhouse: Private Dining Room Menu

Credit: Courtesy of Delmonico Steakhouse

Request a seat in the glass-paneled private dining room at Emeril Lagasse’s Delmonico Steakhouse at The Venetian and you’ll roll the dice with a menu—including corresponding wine pairings—that changes nightly. Recent menus have included Japanese wagyu, piemontese and in-house dry aged cuts, paired with selections from a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence Wine Cellar.

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