We think tasting your way through celebrity chef restaurants on a Las Vegas secret food tour is one of the best experiences you can have in Sin City. Not only will you sample delicious food, but you’ll also learn about the history and the success stories for each establishment. It’s a win win because food tours are like a crash course featuring the best places to eat in Las Vegas.
In this review we’ll share our own Las Vegas secret food tour experience with an emphasis on not giving away any of the locations, so you don’t need to worry about spoilers. Our guide is filled with photos featuring the delicious meals we tried.
Disclaimer: We received Secret Food Tour Las Vegas tickets in order to share our opinion about this product. But this is not a sponsored post and our opinions are honest.
Our Experience
A food tour typically involves walking around a city and sampling unique foods from local places while learning about the backstory of the restaurants and how they been woven into the community. But a secret food tour take those same principles and adds an element of surprise because you don’t know what food you’ll be tasting.
We decided to book the Las Vegas Secret Food Tour in November 2021 after a few action packed days in Sin City. It was the perfect way to slow down, sample some of delicious culinary delights from the various celebrity chefs in town and see a side of Vegas we had yet to experience after two visits. Read more about us.
What To Expect
Our tour lasted just over 3 hours from start to finish. It began at 2:00pm and ended shortly after 5:00pm which was a great way to break up the day. We visited 5 different restaurants, but we won’t name them to keep the surprise for you.
There were a total of 4 people in our group, us and another couple. It was an intimate size which left us with plenty of time for questions and a chance to talk with one another as we tasted every dish. And since there were only 4 of us, we had heaps of food to go around!
If you want to book the same tour we took, click here. But we’ll go over exactly what you can expect in detail including photos of the food we tried. After eating all afternoon, we were completely stuffed and didn’t need to eat the rest of the day so you may not need those dinner reservations if you take an afternoon tour like we did.
Keep in mind the Secret Food Tour itinerary or menu will change based on availability and circumstances. If you have an allergy or dietary restriction, it’s also important to let your tour guide know prior to taking the tour so they can make arrangements for you.
And here are the mouthwatering bites we tried:
1. Short Rib Kettle Chip Nachos
The first stop on our secret food tour hit close to home because it’s a famous British themed restaurant on the Las Vegas strip. It was our meeting place and where we tried our first two appetizers.
Both appetizers came out very quickly once we sat down and said hello to everyone in the group. The food was sizzling hot and smelled delicious. Bobby, our wonderful tour guide, gave us a quick overview about the food we were about to try.
The first plate was a take on short rib kettle chip nachos featuring both shredded corned beef and juicy short rib meat. It was covered in a thick glaze of English cheddar cheese, sour cream, chives and pickled peppers. We thought the meat was incredibly tender, the sauce was tasty and the warmed nacho tortillas were perfectly crispy.
And then the second appetizer came…
2. Hellfire Wings
At first we were surprised by the chicken wing dish because it doesn’t sound like a celebrity chef food item. But the wings had a chile beer glaze that lightly covered the flavorful hellfire wings and they were served with a side of blue cheese. We thought the wings were delightful, sending our taste buds into the stratosphere.
Kristen is a tough critic of wings after growing up in upstate NY and living in Buffalo which has the claim to fame as the birthplace of the chicken wing. But we can tell you these hellfire wings passed the Kristen wing test with flying colors. They were thick and crispy with a nice crunch. The glaze had a mouth warming kick to it.
Finding the restraint not to fill our boots at this first stop was the most challenging part of the whole tour. There’s plenty more food to eat yet!
3. Lemon Ricotta Cookies
The second stop on our Las Vegas secret food tour was just what we needed. Without going into much detail, we truly felt as if we were at this famous female celebrity chef’s kitchen table for desert. We were handed homemade lemon ricotta cookies topped with a smooth and silky lemon glaze. Mmm!
Each lemon cookie was fluffy, tart, soft and gone in almost one bite. After the larger portion we just ate at stop one, this snack style stop was just what the doctor ordered. The restaurant itself was very welcoming and the staff were just lovely. After hearing about some of the owner’s history and her story, we were treated to a bonus ice cream to sample.
We’ll be honest and tell you we went back 2 days after our tour to pick up more of these delectable cookies!
4. Pizza With A Modern Twist
After living and eating world famous pizza in New York City, it will come as no surprise that pizza has become one of our favorite foods. So, you can imagine we were thrilled to find out pizza was our next stop on the Las Vegas secret food tour. It was just a short walk from where we had previously sampled the lemon cookies.
The delicious restaurant we sampled pizza in is owned by celebrity doctor Andrew Weil, who invented the anti-inflammatory food pyramid. If you’re not familiar with it, the anti-inflammatory food pyramid is a practical guide to eating because it focuses on reducing the risk of disease and improving overall health. This establishment is also located inside one of the most famous and classiest casinos on the strip.
While we waited for our fresh pizza to come out of the oven, we listened to Bobby tell Andrew Weil’s story. In addition to sampling many delicious meals, we thought a highlight of this tour was learning about the chefs at each restaurant. This one in particular serves health conscious items with several vegan options.
This secret restaurant has a seasonal menu, which added to the fun because only food in season is served during that specific time of the year. Bobby ordered the four of us a sourdough pizza split with half margherita and half butternut squash. We trusted his judgement and ordered a cocktail while we waited for the pizza to cook.
Overall we though each slice of pizza was light, crisp and extremely tasty. The margherita slice had a perfect ratio of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil. The butternut squash option was unique with a lemon almond ricotta, caramelized onion, organic kale and dried cranberry to top it off.
Kristen preferred the the seasonal butternut squash slice and Mark thought the margherita slice just about edged it in terms of flavor. We also enjoyed the ambiance of the restaurant because it was very calming yet uplifting.
5. Wine In A Backpack
After we finished eating pizza, Bobby explained our next stop was a bit of a walk. So to give us an extra boost of energy, he pulled chilled wine out of his backpack. Yes, you read that correctly… he pulled chilled wine out of his backpack and poured all four of us a glass.
We then walked through up the Las Vegas strip with our wine listening to Bobby speak about the history of the city and how it became popular with celebrity chefs.
Travel Tip: It’s legal for pedestrians to carry open containers of alcohol on the Las Vegas strip as long as the alcohol is in an appropriate vessel such as a plastic or paper cup. Viva Las Vegas baby!
6. Chocolate Delights
The fourth stop on our secret food tour in Las Vegas might be slightly more challenging to conceal from our photos. But it’s one heck of a sweet stop (pun intended)! Without naming it, there’s a Japanese chocolate company located somewhere in Las Vegas globally renowned for Nama chocolate.
Their chocolate is a form of ganache made with melted cacao and fresh cream. It’s then finished with a dusting of fine cocoa powder. This stop on our secret food tour was different because instead of eating one or two dishes, we sampled several different types of chocolate.
An employee from this location gave us a crash course on each different flavor profile. We learned about their best selling chocolate and why it was so popular. The samples were incredibly creamy and melted in our mouths. We also had a few minutes to wander around the shop and browse the other treats available. We may or may not have purchased chocolate covered potato chips the day after our tour.
7. Italian Classics
We think the last stop on our Las Vegas secret food tour was the best one. The celebrity owner of this restaurant is a boss, a very well known cake boss. Can you get it with our hint?!
At this point, we were so stuffed we didn’t know if we’d be able to try any more food. But then the homemade focaccia bread with balsamic spread was placed on the table and we couldn’t resist. Bobby began discussing the intriguing history of the family run restaurant and its success in Las Vegas.
Then a massive eggplant parmesan and something known as Grandma’s meatballs were placed on the table. The eggplant was flavorful, savory and succulent. It was cooked to perfection with a light crisp plus plenty of tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan. Even though we were full, we couldn’t get enough.
Grandma’s meatballs were just as good as the eggplant parmesan. They were a triple threat made from a combination of beef, pork and veal, topped with thick tomatoey marinara and parmesan cheese. This was the last meal during our tour and we were so full we didn’t know if we’d be able to walk back to our hotel!
Book A Food Tour
Las Vegas is well known for casinos, partying and entertainment. But we think the eclectic food scene is also one of the reasons Sin City got its famous nickname. Our Secret Food Tour was the perfect addition to an otherwise hectic Las Vegas itinerary.
The city is expensive and we always say it’s better to accept that your wallet is going to take a hit. Personally, we think this food tour is one of the better value for money things we’ve done in two separate visits to Las Vegas. Tasting high quality food and having an extremely knowledgeable tour guide made our trip extremely memorable.
The Secret Food Tour Las Vegas may sound expensive at around $120 per person, but it’s actually a great value if you consider the fact you’re getting a tour as well as trying several new restaurants. Plus you probably won’t have to eat for the rest of the day.
So if you want to book a food tour, there are many options. We booked the first option listed below, the small group walking food tour with Secret Food Tours in Las Vegas. It features restaurants along the strip, but they also have a downtown option (second option) or a private tour (third option) if you want to try that instead.
You can also book on their official website, but we found the price for the LV strip tour to be cheaper on Viator.
The Morgan Conclusion
What we liked: Overall, we were really impressed with our Secret Food Tour along the Las Vegas strip. Our tour guide Bobby was incredibly knowledgeable about the city, the food and the restaurants we found ourselves sitting in. We tried meals we wouldn’t have otherwise tasted and learned a lot about Las Vegas in general.
What we didn’t like: To be honest, there wasn’t much we didn’t like about our Las Vegas Secret Food tour. The tour is expensive, but considering you’ll be sampling multiple meals at various celebrity chef spots in Sin City where prices are high anyway, it’s a fair deal. We were also able to take home left overs from a few places where our group didn’t eat everything so that was a bonus.
Is the Las Vegas Secret Food Tour worth it? Yes, we think taking a Secret Food Tour in Las Vegas is worth it. Not only will you be able to try some delicious meals at various celebrity chef restaurants, but you’ll learn about the city as well. It’s a fun way to spend a few hours in Las Vegas and we’d definitely consider another tour on our next visit. If you’re a foodie, we highly recommend a secret food tour.
More From Las Vegas and Nearby
- Fun and unique things to do in Las Vegas
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- Top rated Las Vegas shows
- Visiting Las Vegas in November
- Popular day trip options from Vegas
- How to hike the Fire Wave Trail
- Best Red Rock Canyon hikes
- Driving from Las Vegas to Hoover Dam
- Tips for visiting the Seven Magic Mountains
Want more Nevada content? Head over to our Nevada Travel Guides to explore state parks, beautiful landscapes and the best things to do in Las Vegas.
We hope our review of the Secret Food Tour in Las Vegas helps you decide if this tour should be included on your itinerary!
Please let us know if you have any questions about Secret Food Tours or visiting Las Vegas in the comments below.
Happy Snacking,
Mark and Kristen
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Mark and Kristen Morgan are travel, hiking and photography experts. Over the last 6 years traveling full time, they have explored more than 40 countries and 30 US states.
Where Are Those Morgans has been featured in USA Today, Gestalten, Get Your Guide, CityPASS and Condé Nast Traveler along with various other publications. Read more about us.
I really liked your review. As a foodie, which this tour is geared towards, timing is part of it too. I wouldn’t want cookies and chocolate before meatballs and bread. This looks like so much fun, but I’ll pass.
Hi Heidi, thanks so much for reading! You made a great point about dessert before meatballs and bread, but we both have an insatiable sweet tooth so we were in trouble.