4 days ago
The Strip's Biggest Food Hall Just Opened — Here's What to Eat
A new food hall has opened on the Las Vegas Strip — the latest in a citywide boom of food halls that bring together local favorites, national chains, and celebrity chef brands under one roof. And Via Via, which debuted Monday, June 9 at the Venetian Resort, might just be the city's most exciting one yet.
While some Las Vegas casinos have traded buffets for brand-new food halls, Via Via took a different approach — transforming its existing food court by swapping out familiar mall staples like Bonanno's and Fatburger for buzzy, sought-after restaurants from across the country. One standout is Howlin' Ray's, the cult-favorite Los Angeles spot known for its Nashville-style hot chicken. Its fans once lined up for hours to get fried chicken sandwiches, and even nine years after opening its first location in LA's Chinatown, lines are still a common sight on weekends.
James Beard Award nominee and New York Times best-selling author Mason Hereford is bringing a double dose of New Orleans flavor to the Las Vegas Strip. His cult-favorite spots, Turkey and the Wolf and Molly's Rise and Shine, are now slinging sandwiches and breakfast hits at Via Via.
Turkey and the Wolf, the sandwich slinger that Bon Appétit crowned America's Best New Restaurant in 2017, is known for its offbeat menu — think double-decker collard green sandwiches and chicken pot pie-stuffed empanadas with tarragon buttermilk. Right next door, Hereford's Magazine Street breakfast spot, Molly's Rise and Shine, serves up playful takes on the morning classics, like a Grand Slam McMuffin stacked with sausage patties, American cheese, grilled onions, and house-made English muffins.
Also at Via Via, acclaimed New York noodle spot Ivan Ramen serves some of the city's most enjoyable noodles on the Las Vegas Strip — a critic once declared its ramen 'so good it will make your eyes explode.' But the menu goes well beyond ramen, offering a lineup of inventive, izakaya-style small plates like asparagus with miso nuta and stracciatella, spicy pickles, and wagyu pastrami buns.
Some may remember chef Ray Garcia, the talent behind ¡Viva! at Resorts World, and his B.S. Taqueria from its stint at the short-lived Sundry food hall in southwest Las Vegas, where it served tacos, small bites, and a deep tequila list that rivaled full-service bars. Now, the concept returns with a fresh take at Via Via. On the menu are dishes like chile-rubbed al pastor, wood-fire grilled cauliflower, and house-made chorizo, all tucked into freshly pressed heirloom corn tortillas.
The Lower East Side's Scarr's Pizza has been serving pies for nearly a decade, but even its newest location drew lines around the block when it opened in 2023. Owner Scarr Pimentel grinds his own flour in-house to create the ideal foundation for a simple, perfect slice of cheese 'za.
All'Antico Vinaio, the legendary sandwich shop from Florence known for its round-the-block lines, square-cut schiacciata bread, and towering stacks of cured meats and cheeses, opened its second Las Vegas location at the food hall. The first outpost debuted at UnCommons last year.
Lastly, the hospitality group behind Death & Co. — the influential cocktail bar that helped define the modern cocktail renaissance — is bringing its latest concept to Las Vegas. Close Company, which debuted in Nashville just a couple of weeks ago, offers the same high-caliber cocktails as its predecessor but in a more relaxed, neighborhood-style setting. It marks the first Las Vegas venture for Gin & Luck, the team behind Death & Co. locations in New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Washington, D.C., and Seattle.
Via Via is the latest addition to Las Vegas's ongoing food hall boom. At the Miracle Mile Shops inside Planet Hollywood, Tacotarian recently opened inside the new Miracle Eats food court, which is slowly filling out with other vendors like Irv's Burgers and Fat Sal's. Like the Venetian, Caesars Palace also gave its food court a glow-up, replacing its functional but forgettable stalls with celebrity names like Bobby's Burgers by Bobby Flay and Guy Fieri's Chicken Guy. Off-Strip, the short-lived Sundry, which famously closed exactly one year after opening last June, is being replaced by a popular Hawaiian food hall focused on Asian street food. And newcomer H-Mart has brought its own built-in food hall packed with Korean and other Asian favorites.
Via Via follows in the footsteps of Proper Eats at Aria, bringing together talent that already draws crowds in cities across the U.S. With names like Howlin' Ray's, Ivan Ramen, Turkey and the Wolf, and Death & Co. — and menus this stacked — Via Via isn't just a food hall; it's a cheat sheet for what's hot in American dining right now. See More: Vegas Restaurant News
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