Serving Las Vegas since 1988 Paymon’s Restaurant is as close as it gets to a local “institution,” its longevity attributable to fair prices and the sort of Food that is “ethnic” but familiar and focused on good products made fresh daily.
A labor of love from Paymon Raouf, the decision to change from a “Mediterranean Café” to a “Fresh Kitchen and Lounge” in 2020 seeing the menu expand into Indian and Italian options, plates still focus on healthy preparation eschewing additives and preservatives with options to suit most dietary preferences.
Ordered as delivery, everything arriving temperature appropriate in individual packaging, the first thing one will notice is that instead of just Rice the Kabobs arrive with Roasted Vegetables and Potatoes with limited Salt but lots of seasoning to match moist but well-cooked Meats.
Teamed with Jeff Ecker since 2000, a number of accolades earned since, Paymon’s Hummus arrives smooth with lots of Garlic matched to Tahini, though Pita is unfortunately no better than the store bought stuff.
Looking next at Fesenjan, decent but a far cry from Zaytoon in terms of taste or consistency, dueling Desserts perform well whether one prefers thick Baklava with Walnuts or large-grain Rice Pudding with Whipped Cream on top that eats light like the versions in France.
Recently passing the one-year mark Bar Bohème began offering Sunday Brunch on Mother’s Day, the collaboration between Chef James Trees and investors continuing a choice of a la carte or Prix Fixe over from the dinner menu with three courses including a Pastry Board for just $55.
Designed as a Mediterranean-inspired French Bistro, think florals and lots of light with white tablecloths, guests visiting 1401 South Main Street during the daytime are greeted by a smiling hostess before being handed off to service that remains a serious “work in progress.”
Continuously evolving thanks to customer comments and a commitment to excellence, Pastry Chef Jake Yergensen’s Baguette now the best in Sin City after attending classes in Paris, all tables (or most since the table adjacent saw theirs forgotten) begin with housemade Jam and good Butter plus a Seasonal Danish, Cream-filled Cruffin and Butter Croissant that would not be out of place in France.
Allowing guests to choose their own plates, some with a supplement and new ideas coming soon, course two includes the likes of Boheme’s Onion Soup or Steak Tartare re-imagined as a Banh Mi Sandwich plus decadent Porridge and Tomatoes on Toast that are remarkable considering the local landscape.
Not about to pass up a Smoked Salmon Crepe Cake, the idea once seen at Chicago 1* Band of Bohemia here sized down and refined, a server fond of terms like “Captain” and “Chief” unfortunately forgot to serve Boheme’s Lobster Cocktail until reminded much later, though the dish remains excellent.
Onward to Entrees, a proper Omelette with Morels unparalleled in Sin City, Boheme’s “Caramelized Brioche” falls short in terms of taste and execution when compared to a shareable Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich or Esther’s French Toast just down the street.
Half-full at 1:00pm, the environment and Food with forgotten plates and slang akin to staffing a Berluti store with Payless employees, Yergensen’s “New York Style” Croissant stuffed with Duck Confit at the base of a Benny is masterful, as are all three Desserts including the seasonal Paris Brest.
Tucked inside Suite 130 of a complex on Rainbow Boulevard it is upon entry that eyes are immediately drawn to Chinese-born Chefs working inside the restaurant’s glass prep-room, and with Chef Jimmy Li’s time at 3 Villages, 1900 Asian Cuisine and Niu Gu well-known to fans the fact that everything on-site is made from scratch should come as no surprise.
Recently updating the Southwest Menu and putting in serious #influencer work, expansion to Texas part of a growing brand, it is now alongside Las Vegas’ best Soup Dumplings that guests will find delicate Sweet Water Shrimp kissed by Garlic and Yuxiang Pork with a generous bit of heat.
Affordable without skimping on Ingredients, all thanks to Chef Li and Joe Muscaglione’s dedication, a distinctive feel is ensured by the fact that almost every single item on-site is imported from or near Shanghai to compliment dishes like Fried Rice and Fat Noodles or all-new additions like fragrant Cumin Lamb or Crispy Shrimp.
Now expanded to Dallas as well as Plano with more to come, slow expansion ensuring quality, sliced Prawns arrive on a bed of Glass Noodles thirsty for complex Garlic Sauce while Lobster Xiao Long Bao and crinkly String Beans would not be out of place at Jasmine or Mott 32 at more than twice the cost.
86th Street Square Pie – Mozzarella Cheese, Tomato Sauce, Romano Cheese, Olive Oil, Old School Pepperoni
Brooklyn Jr – Mozzarella Cheese, Tomato Sauce, Romano Cheese, Olive Oil
Cannoli
Serving Las Vegas for over forty years one might well assume Metro Pizza has the take-out game down to a science, and even now with more competition than ever John Arena and Sam Facchini’s Pizzeria remains irreproachable in terms of customer service and quality.
Last visited in 2013 a second look at Master Donuts shows almost nothing changed over the past decades, that ‘hole-in-the-wall” feel of spotty floors and shaky tables still present in a part of town where low prices clearly matter more than quality.
Comparable to Ronald’s or Dee’s in the past, Pinkbox’s expansion and spots like Glaze or Wicked since raising the bar Sin City-wide, a dozen from Master still runs about $20 for bone-dry Cake and cloying-sweet Maple Frosting while yeasted options are ever so slightly better.
Popular with their target audience since 1996, though nothing they do here is particularly spectacular, The Bagel Cafe fills a niche and does so consistently at a fair price.
Debuted in 2025 at Boca Park and open 24-hours Pinkbox Doughnuts remains Las Vegas’ premier spot for unique Doughnuts, just as it has since debuting over a decade ago.
More and more social-media savvy over the years this visit entailed far beyond the usual “OG Classics,” and although PinkBox’s Old Fashioned Cogwheels are still Las Vegas’ best additional traditional choices are mostly as expected making “Fancy Pancy” or “Show Off” choices a necessity.
Fully committed to clever nomenclature, Roberto Armanino’s famous Caramel Cheesecake now “The Caramelo,” “Cookie Monster” succeeds thanks to the homemade Whip and plenty of complexity while “What’s Up Doc” uses Walnuts for texture atop a Ring with bold aromatics.
Replenishing supply as necessary, high volume assuring everything is fresh, Fritters both achieve high marks while “Dubai Chocolate” eats like its namesake with oodles of textural variance.
Founded in early 2021 Milpa has come a long way since it took over the former Elia space at 4226 South Durango Drive, Chef DJ Flores’ embrace of traditional techniques with an eye towards health-conscious cooking earning a James Beard Award semi-finalist nod in 2024.
Open daily for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with an odd location in the lot of a Strip-mall, easily missed despite the fact that Chef Flores is cooking some of the best contemporary Mexican Cuisine in Sin City, guests will find the interior quaint while service is both efficient and charming.
Recently forming Nivel Hospitality Group with Aaron Cappello, their bar called Nocturno earning positive reviews in the Arts District, Milpa remains part Molino and part sit-down Café with stone-ground housemade Tortillas and slowly-braised Meats a point of pride.
Simple in signage, Milpa Mexican Cafe in yellow over the door, most Entrees hover in the $15-20 range with both Barbacoa and Beef Birria with Consomme showing the sort of depth one might expect of a Vegas native with skills developed under thinkfoodgroup and Too Hot Tamales before staging at Quintonil in Mexico City.
Achieving the rare trifecta of healthy, affordable and delicious, all while utilizing time honored techniques plus many local Ingredients, seasonal Tamales are thick, soft and with the perfect amount of moisture while Corn Esquites paired to Chips channel Elotes minus all the Mayonnaise.
www.milpalv.com
Offering over two-dozen flavors daily, in addition to freshly-fried minis available in a keto-friendly fashion, any discussion of Wicked Donuts should begin with the base, buttery Brioche or toothsome Cake enjoyable beneath tangy Buttermilk or Vanilla Glaze, though upgrading to Chocolate, Blueberry or Maple is highly advised.
Eschewing Artificial Colors or Preservatives, a fact pertinent to Cream-filled choices, suffice it to say that most will not last long whether it be decadent “Bella Nutella” or the more nuanced Guava Cheesecake.
Executing Ansel’s invention well, available filled, topped or coated in Sugar, Cointreau Creme Brulee continues to impress in its subtlety while “Puffernuts,” Crullers and Cruffins add even more variability to the collection.
Open from 11:00am until 9:00pm daily, and Sin City’s best place for Barbecue ever since the Henderson original debuted in January 2016, it was for lunch on Thursday that the smell of Big B’s Texas BBQ filled the downstairs, staff quick to gather for an abundance of smoked Meat, Dessert and Sides from the 2025 Sahara location.
Named after its Pit Master and changing the long-held belief that Las Vegas is not a Barbeque town ever since the original opened, Big B’s Texas BBQ features the work of Brian Buechner and Natalia Badzjo, the husband and wife team taking a hands-on approach to every aspect of the operation from build-out to driving in fresh piles of wood as needed from the Lone Star State.
Available for dine-in, take-out, catering and delivery, all presented by one of the most pleasant teams in town, over-ordering is easy regardless of preference for Pork or Beef including Ribs, pulled-style or Brisket with a good smoke ring whether fatty or lean.
Texas through and through, the aforementioned wood just one reason why Big B’s Proteins outpace growing competition, sides are highlighted by Creamed Corn and thick-cut Onion Rings plus Sin City’s best BBQ Beans and Mac n’ Cheese.
Never forgetting Cornbread that seems to get better every time Dessert is a pick ‘em including Pecan or Apple Pie, Chocolate Cake or fresh made Banana Pudding as good as any one will find down South.
Still surprising fans as well as skeptics with Food far better than the typical “celebrity” Restaurant, Shaquille O’Neal’s involvement seeing talented locals tapped from the start, it was via ezCater that timely delivery was seamlessly coordinated at a budget well-within guidelines.
Begun in Vallejo circa 1988 it was not until 2021 that Las Vegas got its first Starbread Bakery, and although Filipino folks line up for Nelly and Romy Maranan’s Señorita bread the shop also offers everything from savory Croissant Sandwiches to Brookies, Donuts and Ube “Squares” akin to Hawaiian Mochi.
Well priced in an era of $8 “artisan” Donuts, the signature sugary batons served warm with a good amount of butter just $3 for five pieces, additional choices are fair-to-middling with two-bite Donuts basic beneath commercial Glaze while Malasadas are under-filled and artificial tasting.
Founded in early 2021 Milpa has come a long way since it took over the former Elia space at 4226 South Durango Drive, Chef DJ Flores’ embrace of traditional techniques with an eye towards health-conscious cooking earning a James Beard Award semi-finalist nod in 2024.
Open daily for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with an odd location in the lot of a Strip-mall, easily missed despite the fact that Chef Flores is cooking some of the best contemporary Mexican Cuisine in Sin City, guests will find the interior quaint while service is both efficient and charming.
Recently forming Nivel Hospitality Group with Aaron Cappello, their bar called Nocturno earning positive reviews in the Arts District, Milpa remains part Molino and part sit-down Café with stone-ground housemade Tortillas and slowly-braised Meats a point of pride.
Simple in signage, Milpa Mexican Cafe in yellow over the door, most Entrees hover in the $15-20 range with both Barbacoa and Beef Birria with Consomme showing the sort of depth one might expect of a Vegas native with skills developed under thinkfoodgroup and Too Hot Tamales before staging at Quintonil in Mexico City.
Achieving the rare trifecta of healthy, affordable and delicious, all while utilizing time honored techniques plus many local Ingredients, seasonal Tamales are thick, soft and with the perfect amount of moisture while Corn Esquites paired to Chips channel Elotes minus all the Mayonnaise.
Popular with their target audience since 1996, though nothing they do here is particularly spectacular, The Bagel Cafe fills a niche and does so consistently at a fair price.
Now with four locations, the newest in Paso Robles replacing a closure of its Atascadero store in August 2025, SloDoCo offers “over 100 different donuts. Every. Single. Day.” per their website, with prices ranging $1.95 to $3.95 depending on style.
Strangely an underserved market, DK’s of So.Cal really the only other choice for anything beyond the basics in Paso Robles, SloDoCo resides in a barn-like structure on Spring Street where bags of flour and board games act as décor from 5am till 9pm Monday through Sunday.
Not at all a concise concept, Rings along the back-wall difficult to decipher and those in the case varying significantly, arrival at 8:49am on Sunday oddly found many choices “sold out,” though finding an alternative isn’t so hard when such abundance is available.
Friendly in terms of service, Mother’s Day seeing several decorative options offered, $3.95 for a simple glazed Ring with a dollop of Oreo Cream feels expensive considering all three Yeasted options were no better than those yielded by commercial pre-Mix in terms of consistency.
Equally unimpressed by the Fritter, even a small chunk of Apple hard to find, SloDoCo’s Cruller performs well with a light and custard-y center while Blueberry Cake fares far better than a bone-dry Old-Fashioned cogwheel that may as well have been day-old.
Black Sheep Sourdough Micro-Bakery is a small-batch shop in Paso Robles from Paula Kopper, a woman who only began baking two years prior to opening when her spouse developed gluten sensitivity requiring a change in diet.
Previously operating her own daycare, test batches of Bread developed after an internet search often finding their way home with pupils and their parents, July 2025 finally saw Kopper open up shop at 1306 Pine Street where her goods now frequently sell-out daily.
Working exclusively with a Sourdough starter named Dough-Rita, even Black Sheep’s Cookies subject to traditional fermentation, guests now will find both sweet and savory treats alongside full loaves with clever names like “The Basic B” and “Mob Boss.”
Originally sold at the Paso Robles Farmers Market, opening of a storefront delayed as she relied on friends and family for everything from paint to plumbing, May 2026 now sees Paula regularly trying new things ranging from hefty Cinnamon Rolls to an absolutely stellar Sourdough Blondie that starts sweet and sticky before dissipating with an almost boozy sort of linger.
Leaning into the “Black Sheep” name with some clever signage, a Sourdough “Cinny Roll” weighty beneath tangy Icing, those looking for something breakfast-y will note Scones and “Breaky Bombs,” or their sweet brethren called “Lachee” filled with Fruit and Cream Cheese riffing on Czech Kolaches.
Opened in November of 2019 Les Petites Canailles sees former Guy Savoy Chef Julien Asseo and his wife Courtney operating under their own rules, white tablecloths replaced by a more casual sort of spot where the Food and service are still exceptional at a modest price point.
Part of a growing collection of locally-driven eateries on Spring Street, downtown Paso Robles nearly so charming as Asseo’s hometown in Southern France, the Restaurant named after his “little rascals” actually represents something of a homecoming for the Chef whose father helped pioneer local winemaking at L’Aventure.
Trained outside Bordeaux before returning to work with the likes of Rick Moonen, Joel Robuchon and Guy Savoy in Las Vegas, Julien’s considerable skill-set on full display at Les Petites Canailles, guests are invited to dine a la carte or to “Trust Us” with a 6-course tasting for $125.
“Fancy-casual” per the husband and wife team, a collection of Wines ranging from Krug to locally made Caliza Grenache earning distinction from Wine Specator, dinner begins with properly made Gougeres followed by one-bite Canapes including an Oyster with Kumquat and Pea Tartelette crowned in Caviar.
Adding a few daily specials, “Bougie Tots” the very definition of fancy-casual, Steak Tartare features a fine grind and traditional flavors while Tarte Flambée emerges from the oven Cracker thin and with all the tang of Fromage Blanc to make it feel like a trip to Paris.
Clearly taking notes from his mentors, Pomme Purée a la Robuchon an eponymous homage served with Gravy, in the know diners will not miss “Peas All Around” cribbed from Guy Savoy with even more nuance while Leeks à la Plancha are an Asseo-original worthy of signature status.
Sticking more to Appetizers on this visit to maximize variety, though Mussels with a kiss of Calabrian Sausage proved too compelling to miss, Escargot Risotto is generously portioned and faultless in texture before finishing with Desserts including “Strawberries & Pistachio” that remind guests that Julien started out in Pastry.
baja shrimp burrito – beer battered and fried shrimp, cilantro rice, pico de gallo, cabbage and chipotle crema
Part of a steadily growing number of Chef-driven eateries in Paso Robles Finca comes from Stephanie and Patrick Aguirre along with their son Diego, its location inside Old Hometown Nursery’s historic farmhouse just steps from the Lofts at the Market.
Spanish for “estate,” or in this case farm, counter-style service and limited interior seating part of Finca’s charm, Chef Aguirre’s training includes the likes of Suzanne Goin and Thomas Keller while California’s central coast yields a bounty of Fish, Meat and Produce.
Offering Baja style quick-casual Mexican Food since May of 2021, Avocados from Morro Bay mashed into under-seasoned Guacamole with freshly made Chips, ownership focuses on local Wines and spirits across a menu of beverages including housemade Agua Fresca with flavors that change daily.
Pricey for what it is, though ownership clearly cares about local businesses from Mary’s Poutry to Octopus and Shrimp from independent California fishermen, guests can choose to sit indoors or on a porch out front while dining on wood-grilled Steak or a California-style Burrito filled with battered Shrimp.
Attuned to the flavor profile of its target audience, namely the sort of people touring Paso Robles’ wineries, those expecting spicy Mexican cuisine need to keep this in mind as Jalapenos largely come pickled while other Peppers are tempered by Cream, leaving dishes like the Duck al Pastor nearly too sweet.
Located on the corner of East Truxtun and Haley in East Bakersfield Emmanuel’s Bakery is not the sort of place seeking headlines, but for locals and passers-by in need of freshly baked Pan Dulce the family-owned space offers everything one might want at a fair price.
Open at 4:30am daily for decades, neither the interior nor outside suggesting luxury, guests are invited to load their tray with tongs from either the plastic cases or freshly made trays ready to restock supplies until evening.
Traditional in its offerings, Concha and Guava Empanadas both residing adjacent tricolor Cookies and Pastel, Emmanuel’s Donuts are light and fluffy while choices like Orejas and Besos are better than what one might expect in an area with little competition.
A proud part of the local community, staff exceedingly friendly even when English is limited, Flan and Tres Leches hide at the far left of a cold case but are certainly worth asking for as the latter offers an open Sponge with less sweet Sauce than most plus Fruits including Strawberries or Mandarin Oranges.
