Vegas Top 5: The Best New Restaurants

We all have our own reasons for loving Vegas: maybe it's the blackjack, the nightlife, the shopping, the shows, or the $18 cocktails worth every penny. But for many, Sin City is a destination because of its fine dining and adventurous eating options. With a glut of concepts debuting this year, we thought it a perfect time to present the top five new restaurants in Las Vegas (in no particular order). Let us know if we missed anything in the comments.

FIVE50 Pizza Bar opened earlier this year at the beautiful Aria resort — an Out Traveler Award nominee — and instantly wowed with its creative pies from Shawn McLain. Vegas food critic Max Jacobson recommends starting with pork rinds in a paper cone and the North Beach pizza with clams and mozz. Deserts are also top notch, with milk-chocolate lavender custard and fried zeppole, an Italian pastry ball. And the name? It's the temperature the pizza is cooked at: steer clear! (3730 Las Vegas Blvd. South, more info)

Rx Boiler Room, a trendy eatery at Mandalay Bay from legendary chef Rick Moonen, instantly made waves with its traditional American comfort cuisine and inventive bar food. Rx Boiler Room is definitely the testing ground for creative meat dishes, with Squid-E-Os served with Moroccan-style minced lamb meatballs in black sauce and braised oxtail croquettes Dijonnaise. The restaurant's design is also dark and sexy enough to be nominated for an Eater Vegas Award as Stone Cold Stunner of the Year. (3930 Las Vegas South, more info)

MTO Cafe is one of the newest Downtown destinations in Vegas. The retro diner is attracting City Hall workers and local hipsters with its Atomic Age design, fun communal seating, and diverse menu that includes everything from lemon poppy seed and vegan carrot pancakes to the Fat Elvis sandwich with French toast, banana, bacon, peanut butter, strawberries, and Nutella. Oh, and the owners are seriously cute. (500 S. Main Street, more info)

PUB 1842 is an American restaurant and pub that boasts more than 50 types of beer, which is appropriate for an establishment that commemorates the date the pale lager Pilsner was created within its name. In addition to its plentitude of ales, stouts, and lagers, PUB, at the MGM Grand, has many liquors that are as equally eclectic, with options that include seasonal punches, barrel-aged whiskey, and “fizzy lifting drinks,” or carbonated cocktails like the “Soda Popinski.” The food is also downright delectable — burgers feature such creative twists like the peanut butter crunch burger and the menu includes many Southern options like a pulled pork sandwich, ribs, and wood-fired steaks. And don’t forget the “homemade frickles,” PUB’s famous appetizer of fried pickles with a special sauce. (3799 Las Vegas Blvd. South, more info)

Kumi was established by The Light Group at Mandalay Bay and is a Japanese restaurant and sushi bar helmed by the world-renowned chef Akira Back. Patrons rave about the impeccable service of the 10,000 square-foot establishment on The Strip, which goes out of its way to ensure customers have an exemplary dining experience. The sushi and sashimi menu boasts many unique signature rolls, including the “hot mess,” a mixture of crab, sashimi poke, and “screaming orgasm sauce,” as well as “pop-rockin,” a mélange of spicy tuna, crab, salmon, avocado, and actual pop rocks. For carnivores, Kumi also serves a number of meaty entrees with an Asian flavor, including the jidori chicken, the bone-in pork chop, and a 14-ounce ribeye steak flavored with black peppercorn teriyaki. (3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South, more info)