© Café Lola
With it being Women's History Month-actually, no, we don't need a special month to celebrate all of the hard-working, inspirational women busting their butts in Las Vegas' food and beverage industry. Here, we celebrate some of the women who are shaping the local culinary scene in extraordinary ways as the owners (and sometimes also chefs) of some of the most popular, and most renowned, restaurants in Las Vegas.
And while this list places a focus on restaurants owned by Vegas locals, we'd be remiss not at least nod to the celebrity-backed, women-owned restaurants on the Strip like Giada at The Cromwell, owned by Giada de Laurentis; CHICA Las Vegas, owned by Lorena Garcia; Border Grill at Mandalay Bay, owned by Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken; and Mama Rabbit (temporarily closed) at Park MGM, owned by Bricia Lopez.
Whether you're sticking to the Strip or eating your way through the greater Las Vegas area, make it a point to support these worthwhile restaurants not just during Women's History Month, but all throughout the year.
© Café Lola Summerlin South, Henderson
Co-owners Alexandra Lourdes and Lin Jerome have built something of a local empire in Las Vegas. In addition to owning and operating several restaurants-which include two of the French bistro-inspired Café Lola locations (now offering franchising opportunities), the couture doughnut bakery Saint Honoré, and the Pizza Anonymous pop-up that takes over Saint Honoré and Café Lola Henderson at night, serving everything from a gooey cheese bread appetizer to a garlic veggie pizza that can be optionally vegan or gluten free with a housemade cauliflower crust, plus mini beignets and bombolonis for dessert.
How to order: Visit the restaurant website for specific ordering information.
Downtown Las Vegas
Jolene Mannina, originally from New Orleans, has over 20 years in the hospitality industry and is a fixture on the Las Vegas culinary scene. As head of culinary for the Life is Beautiful festival, she shaped the festival's renowned food and beverage offerings, and as founder of Secret Burger, she created unique off-menu food experiences at restaurants on and off the Strip. Most recently she opened Vegas Test Kitchen downtown, a start-up food business incubator and restaurant space that hosts a number of different rotating vendors, guest chefs, and food events. Several women-owned restaurants are popping up in the kitchen at the moment, including Banichka, Pop 'N Pies, and Bodega Bagel.
How to order: Make reservations or order takeout online.
© The Black Sheep Rhodes Ranch
Chef Jamie Tran is co-owner of The Black Sheep, a restaurant in Southwest Las Vegas that serves refined Vietnamese American comfort food in a stylishly modern space. Tran infuses flavors and ingredients from her Vietnamese upbringing with the French techniques she honed in the kitchens of Charlie Palmer's Auerole at Mandalay Bay and Daniel Boulud's DB Brasserie at The Venetian. Tran began planning out The Black Sheep when she and her two business partners, all of whom worked at DB Brasserie, got word that the restaurant would be shuttering. It was an instant hit, furthering Tran's reputation as a top chef in Vegas and seeing her all the way to becoming a contestant on Top Chef: Portland, the eighteenth season of the show that will premiere April 1.
How to order: Reservations can be made online.
© Mothership Coffee Roasters Green Valley North, Downtown Las Vegas, Henderson
Owner and CEO Juanny Romero has grown a much-beloved coffee house on Sunset Road into a local business empire. The popular Sunrise Coffee is the longest-running independent coffee shop in Las Vegas, serving coffees from organic fair trade single-origin farms and a hearty selection of breakfast and lunch items made from scratch, with an emphasis on vegetarian and vegan offerings. Since opening Sunrise in 2008, Romero started her own roasting operation under the label Mothership, and there are now three additional Mothership Coffee Roasters locations in Las Vegas, including the impeccably designed space at the DTLV community hotspot Fergusons Downtown.
How to order: Walk-ins welcome at Sunrise or order pickup via Toast.
Downtown Las Vegas
When Chef Natalie Young opened eat. in 2012, DTLV was a very different place. Her restaurant was one of the first businesses funded by billionaire Tony Hsieh's Downtown Project, opening at a time when not many people were paying much attention to Vegas's then-neglected downtown. It was practically an overnight sensation, quickly turning into a multi-million-dollar business and leading to several more restaurants for Young. The original location is still going strong, and Young also operates Old Soul in the World Market Center downtown, a gorgeous space inspired by the pre-Prohibition era and packed full of vintage china and crystal, currently only open for weekday lunch though we very much look forward to the return of full dinner service. Young has a serious passion for vintage things (china, cars, you name it), and her newest concept, a vintage furniture and home goods store called Authentik Furniture DTLV, is a full-on celebration of that passion.
How to order: Make reservations for Old Soul on OpenTable; order pickup for eat. on Toast.
© Tacotarian Downtown Las Vegas, Rhodes Ranch
Tacotarian is a 100% plant-based Mexican eatery with two locations, one in the hip DTLV Arts District and the other in Southwest Vegas. Owned jointly by two husband-and-wife teams, Tacotarian is helping to cement Las Vegas's growing reputation as something of a vegan haven. Most recently, co-owner Kristen Corral is working to launch LoCo Las Vegas, a local food delivery co-op that pushes back against the exorbitant fees charged by third-party delivery apps like Postmates and Doordash by offering local restaurants cooperative ownership, reasonable commissions, and living wages for drivers.
How to order: Select your location and order online.
Multiple locations
Debbie Roxarzade developed Rachel's Kitchen (named for her daughter) as a quaint café serving fresh, reasonably-priced bistro fare with a gourmet touch in a casual atmosphere, with plenty of options for different diets, from paleo to vegan, as well as classic comfort food for the times you just need it. With seven locations around the Las Vegas Valley, Rachel's is also available for franchising.
How to order: Order online for delivery or pickup.
© Rooster Boy Cafe The Lakes
Chef Sonia El-Nawal infuses her worldly inspirations into her cozy café, serving exquisite buttery baked goods and breakfast foods. El-Nawal is of Armenian and Lebanese descent and has worked as a celebrated pastry chef for some of the world's most renowned restaurants and chefs, from Paris to Brussels to Mexico City. At Rooster Boy, she serves hearty, rustic comfort foods, like Dutch oven pancakes and curry chicken pot pie, as well as a variety of homemade breads and pastries. The food may sound humble enough, but the flaky, buttery crusts of her galettes and quiches are truly divine. The Rooster Boy Granola is another one of her specialties, with multiple varieties available to purchase, and El-Nawal is now furthering expanding her offerings through the pop-up Bodega Bagel concept at Vegas Test Kitchen.
How to order: Walk-ins welcome for patio dining or order online for pickup.
Green Valley South
Owned by Magnolia Magat and Chef Jackie Lim, Truffles N Bacon started as a humble café inside an antique market and has grown into a local favorite with a cultish following. Known for its decadent and often over-the-top (not to mention highly Instagrammable) comfort food creations, Truffles N Bacon has been featured on the Food Network's Ginormous Food Show for their 10.5-pound "Belly of the Beast" burger. But the items that really cemented TNB's local cult food status are the gorgeously indulgent ube French toast and ube pancakes (since expanded to also include pandan pancakes, ube and pandan waffles, ube bread pudding, and ube horchata).
How to order: Make a reservation by joining the Yelp waitlist or order pickup and delivery online.
© Honey Salt Summerlin
Celebrated restaurateur Elizabeth Blau's flagship restaurant Honey Salt is the restaurant she is best known for, though she is partnered with many others, including celebrity chef Buddy Valastro's Buddy V's inside The Venetian. This from-scratch, farm-to-table restaurant was arguably among the first of its kind in Las Vegas, introducing Las Vegans to the concept at a time when "farm-to-table" was still pretty niche (and certainly not a presence in Vegas). Blau founded her restaurant development and consulting company Blau & Associates in 2002, which boasts a national client roster of high profile and multinational restaurants; she opened Honey Salt in 2012 with her husband, Chef Kim Canteenwalla.
How to order: Order takeout, delivery, or make a table reservation online.
Spring Valley
Chef and owner Nina Manchev opened Forte Tapas when she was just 22 years old. For more than ten years now, she has been sharing her Bulgarian culture and cuisine with the Las Vegas community through the popular European tapas bar. Most recently she launched a new concept through Vegas Test Kitchen called Banichka, which serves a wide selection of hearty sweet and savory Bulgarian pastries and baked goods with different toppings and fillings.
How to order: Make reservations online or order Forte To Go for pickup and delivery.
© La Strega Summerlin South
Chef Gina Marinelli's La Strega, which translates to "The Witch" in Italian, is an inspired Italian restaurant that focuses on the cuisines of Italian coastal communities, with homemade pastas, pizzas, piadines (Italian flatbread sandwiches), and beautifully-prepared dishes, from whole branzino to braised rabbit.
How to order: Make reservations online or order via Chownow for pickup.
Henderson, Downtown Las Vegas, Enterprise
Bad Owl opened as a bit of homage to the Harry Potter franchise, with some menu selections (ButterBrew lattes) and decorative details (a white owl statue in a cage) serving as a nod to the beloved books and movies. But the theming is more playful nod than all-out gimmick, and Bad Owl's house-roasted coffees and menu of loaded-up toasts and hearty croissant sandwiches would have garnered a following with or without its association with The Boy Who Lived. Owner Bailey Cheng and her husband and partner Yuko Kono have found so much success with their cheery coffee spot that they now have multiple locations throughout the Las Vegas Valley and are set to open a new location in Chicago.
How to order: Walk-ins welcome or order pickup on their website.
© Yu-Or-Mi Sushi Bar Downtown Las Vegas
Despite everything that happened in 2020, the DTLV Arts District still managed to thrive, with a head-spinning number of fantastic new bars and restaurants opening in the midst of it all. Yu-Or-Mi Sushi is one of the new hotspots in town, opened by partners Melissa Robinson and Johnny Lee. It's the first Japanese restaurant in the Arts District and has a chic, modern design; a playful drink menu (hint: sound out the cocktail names out loud), featuring high-end Japanese whiskeys and sake; and an inventive menu by Chef Virakone Vongphachanh, who previously worked at Nobu at Caesars Palace.
How to order: Order pickup or delivery via Toast.
Downtown Las Vegas
Another pandemic-era newbie in the done-up Arts District, Nevada Brew Works is as much a restaurant as it is a brewery. Though their kitchen operation is limited to beer-friendly bar foods like pizza, burgers, and wings, these are some of the best bar pizzas, burgers, and wings in Vegas. (Get their house burger topped with fried cheese curds that would make any Wisconsinite proud.) Lauren and Jason Taylor, the owners of NBW, are also passionate about supporting charitable causes in the Las Vegas community. If you purchase a pint of their Ariana RyePA, a portion of proceeds go to benefit the Ariana Rye Foundation - named after their daughter Ariana Rye, who has cerebral palsy and auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder, the foundation helps families in need of medical equipment for their disabled children.
How to order: Walk-ins welcome or order for pickup or delivery on their website.
© Coffee Religion W. Charleston
The centerpiece of the endlessly charming Coffee Religion is an 11-foot-tall sculpture of the second Buddha, designed by shop owner Lotus Leeventan's grandfather for a king who decided he wanted a bigger one (of course), so this one has been in her family ever since and she had it shipped overseas to preside over her space. In just over a year Coffee Religion has become a huge hit among the local foodie influencer/Instagrammer set for their beautifully presented afternoon tea service with a generous selection of delicious homemade pastries and sandwiches, as well as their handmade Nepalese steamed dumplings ("momos"), pretty lattes, and other flavorful (and Instagrammable) eats.
How to order: Walk ins welcome.
Downtown Las Vegas
Yet another fantastic and much-anticipated opening in the DTLV Arts District in 2020, Main Street Provisions-owned by seasoned restaurant industry professional Kim Owens-was getting major buzz in the local culinary community long before their doors were even open. The American comfort food melting pot menu helmed by celebrated local chef Justin Kingsley Hall is already garnering buzz for MSP as one of the best new restaurants in Las Vegas, and Owens' stewardship ensures a top-notch experience from start to finish.
How to order: Reservations can be made online.
Sign up here for our daily LA email and be the first to get all the food/drink/fun Los Angeles has to offer. Nicole Rupersberg is a contributor for Thrillist.