burger places + reservations (a two part question)

First time poster... long time lurker

My fiance and I (late 20s) will be in Vegas for five days in late October. Our second trip, but haven't been since 2008. We aren't into fine dining so will likely be going to mostly casual places and buffets. My two questions:

1. I'm surprised at the number of burger places on the strip. What are some of the best? We will likely try more than one. We'll be staying at Aria but plan to make it to both ends of the strip.

2. What, if any, of the casual restaurants should you make a reservation at? I don't know if the all even take reservations, but I'd hate to try and wing it, if we should be making reservations before leaving.

Thanks in advance!

 

Can't help with the burger places as we rarely do burgers. That said, we have been to Stripburger a couple of times using a Restaurant.com cert and it was OK. We should be trying Le Burger Brasserie this trip as I have a Groupon for it. However I have read, on here probably, that it is not as good as it used to be when it had a good reputation. KGB Burger are on Groupon at the moment.

For casual dining we like PF Chang's and usually make a reservation as it is always heaving when we go. Even with a reservation we still may have to wait a short while. I know that some people diss it because it is a chain, but we don't have one in the UK. We find it cheap both for food and drinks there compared to normal strip prices.

 

Welcome! Its about time you started posting... I know some people were starting to talk and wonder if you ever would!

In Las Vegas they do a lot of copying whatever is popular. A few years ago gourmet burgers started becoming popular and then soon everybody had to have one.

I like KGB Burger at Harrah's and Burger Bar at Mirage. Haven't eaten at the one at Cosmopolitan (Holstein's) or at the Gordon Ramsey Burgr (Planet Hollywood) but have heard they are both supposed to be really good.

You won't need reservations at casual restaurants unless you are a larger group... not even sure if any of them take reservations. Because Las Vegas can be pretty big I would personally rather just wait until feeling hungry and deciding its time to eat and then just try to find somewhere nearby to have dinner instead of a "Well, we are having a great time here and are doing pretty good gambling but I guess we have to start heading off to _____ to make our reservation" moment.

 

I think any place with a good view of the Bellagio fountains (Mon Ami Gabi, Olives, etc) would be somewhere that you'd want to make reservations. It also probably wouldn't hurt to make reservations if you want to eat during popular dining times on a weekend (especially busy ones).

 

[edited snipe at PF Chang's]

Seconding Auggie's rec of KGB. The last time we ate there the burgers were quite tasty. Not the greatest on atmosphere, but hey, it's a burger joint.

 

Best Burger joints

North strip: Stripburger
Mid strip: Holsteins
South strip: Burger Bar

 

For burgers I really enjoy Burger Brasserie at Paris (I was there in March and it was still very good) and Holsteins at Cosmopolitan. There are a few new ones I haven't tried though. Reservations are not required for either of those or for any of the casual restaurants in Vegas.

A few favourites of mine for casual dining are The Grand Lux at Venetian or Palazzo, the 24/7 Café at The Palms, The Earl at PHo and Planet Dailies at PHo. A good inexpensive buffet off-strip at The Palms. For higher end buffets on the strip I like Wynn and Wicked Spoon at Cosmo. Many rave about Caesars Bacchanal Buffet but I must have hit it on an off day because it was disappointing when I went for lunch shortly after it opened. I'll have to give it another try to see. I haven't had the Bellagio Buffet in quite a while but it was very good last time I did.

 

Holsteins at the cosmopolitan is GREAT for burgers and shakes.

 

The new B&B Burgers and Beer (Batali/Bastianich) place at the Venetian had an awesome burger and a relatively gentle price. It would get my vote over BurGR and Holsteins any day--primarily for meat quality and willingness to serve it very rare.

 

there is a Burger Brasserie Groupon right now...just got the email a few hours ago

 

Awesome. Thank you all for the replies! Making notes and adding Vegas to my Groupon list as well

 

If you want decently priced, casual burger places, I cannot recommend Cheeseburger Oasis (inside the Miracle Mile mall) and BLT Burger (inside The Mirage) enough. Two of my faves for sure

 

Just in case you make it downtown, I would recommend Binion's and El Cortez. They both make excellent burgers in their diners. El Cortez does a half pound burger with chips and a beer for 5 bucks, Binions does something similar. The quality at both joints is surprisingly good. Probably a better bang for your buck than anything you will find on the strip.

 

Burger Bar @ Mirage and Holsteins @ Cosmo. are both good options. I'd choose Holsteins over Burger Bar though.

 

Burger Bar @ Mandalay Bay gets my vote for best burger, no reservation needed. BLT @ Mirage, Gordon Ramsay @ PH, ILUV Burgers @ Pallazo all good also. Will be trying Holsteins next time.

 

The menu at Burger Brasserie has changed for the worse since our last visit. We spoke to the hostess yesterday and she said that the new menu wasn't so popular, so they were changing it again in a week or two. She couldn't be more specific, but since we have almost four more weeks this trip, and another trip in the Fall, we will wait to see what the changes are. We were planning on using a MRB coupon for 2/1.

New Menu

Old Menu Sorry for the poor quality.

The old menu was far better. We loved the Lamb burger.

 

BLT is the burger joint at Mirage. I personally do not care for it, many others like it.

 

It's a good deal. There's almost always a Burger Brasserie Groupon available.

 

WitI don't have time to compare eat item what are the differences other than the lamb burger (which wouldn't interest me anyway)... It looks like the regular burger offerings are the same and that's why most people go there. I'm sure I'm missing something...

 

I really like KGB's burgers. The atmosphere just seems to be bland all of the times I've been there. Not sure why, but the burgers are great. The groupon makes it a really good meal for lunch as atmosphere isn't always top-bill as compared to say, a dinner.