Shanghai Plaza
Endless food options at Shanghai Plaza in Chinatown, just a few minutes off the Strip 👉
📍 Spring Mountain
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It’s the preferred late-night destination of Strip insiders; the go-to dining street for chefs when they’re off the clock; and holds a wealth of spas, trippy dessert parlors, toy stores, Asian groceries, and more. But the Chinatown moniker barely does justice to the diversity and deliciousness of the three-mile stretch of Spring Mountain Rd. that runs directly west from the Strip.
When the Chinatown Plaza Shopping Center opened in 1995, with its impressive Tang Dynasty-style gate welcoming everyone into the massive, two-floor complex, Las Vegas finally got its Chinatown. Then-Governor Kenny Guinn made it official four years later, setting the neighborhood’s boundaries as Las Vegas Boulevard on the East, and Rainbow Boulevard on the West. Locals refer to the whole district as Spring Valley Rd. Chinatown turns into Little Korea the farther west you go, beginning with Korea Town Plaza’s massive grocery, K-beauty stores, jewelry, bakeries, and great barbecue. These days, you’ll find everything in between.
Endless food options at Shanghai Plaza in Chinatown, just a few minutes off the Strip 👉
📍 Spring Mountain
For the past quarter century, the area’s authentic Chinese offerings have attracted massive crowds of Chinese tourists—and those looking for the best Cantonese, Sichuan, and Hunan dishes around. But Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai, and other Asian restaurants have also flourished. And when veteran Strip chef Brain Howard opened the globally influenced, modern-American Sparrow + Wolf in 2017, it opened the floodgates for a wide variety of world cuisines—from the sophisticated Spanish of EDO Tapas to the world-class French fine dining of Partage, to the casual Mexican fare and hip hidden speakeasy of Mas Por Favor.
Proximity to the Strip, easy access to the west side suburbs, and late hours have long made the area a favorite after-work destination for casino restaurant employees. Live blues bands at the Sand Dollar Lounge, the over-the-top kitsch of the Golden Tiki (where local luminaries are “honored” with a shrunken head version of themselves), and tons of late-night bars have widened its scope.
National press and culinary institutions have taken notice. Chef Mitsuo Endo has been spotlighted in the New York Times and earned numerous James Beard Award nominations for the robata skewers at Raku. Other Chinatown nominees for that prestigious award include Sparrow + Wolf’s Howard, EDO’s Oscar Amador, Jimmy Li of Shanghai Taste, and Aibin Xing, who operates the tiny Big Dan Shanxi Taste within an Asian grocery store in the Pacific Asian Plaza.
Chinatown is an easy drive from the Strip, with some of its best restaurants located just five to ten minutes from Wynn Las Vegas, T.I. and The Venetian. The makeup of Spring Mountain Rd. is mostly strip malls and shopping complexes, so once you arrive at one, there will be plenty you can walk to. Keep in mind that the restaurants and stores are often clustered together with shared parking, making rideshares your best option.
These are some of the hottest complexes for dining, exploring and shopping, with a few highlights of each.
Partage (French fine dining); 00 Pie & Pub (Top 50 Pizza USA honoree); Mas Por Favor (Quick-serve Mexican in front, speakeasy in back); Izakaya Go (Casual Japanese); Hot N Juicy Crawfish (Southern seafood); Suzuya Patisserie (Japanese bakery); Gyu+ (Japanese Sandwiches); Golden Tiki (Tiki bar); Feature (cutting-edge sneaker store); The Mayweather Boxing Club.
Shanghai Taste (James Beard-nominated Chinese); Weera Thai (Thai); Paleta Bar (gourmet popsicles); Cruncheese (Korean hotdogs on a stick); Kura (revolving sushi); Shibuyala (Japanese skincare); Manga Hole (rare art toys): Moxie Ultra Lounge (Asian club and hookah lounge).
Sparrow + Wolf (James Beard-nominated modern American); Lamai (Thai).
District One (Vietnamese); EDO Tapas (James Beard-nominated Spanish); Chubby Cattle (Pan-Asian hotpot).
Raku (James Beard-nominated Japanese robata); Monta (Japanese ramen); Trattoria Nakamura-Ya (Japanese/Italian); Zen Curry House (Japanese curry); Kabuto Edomai Sushi (fine-dining omakase sushi); Soulo (Japanese head spa); Kung Fu Tea (bubble tea).