Las Vegas’ Lip Smacking Foodie Tours a Gourmet Value Proposition

During their average three-night stay in Las Vegas, clients typically aim to prioritize their time—and vacation budget—by choosing wisely when booking restaurants, shows, spa services, and attractions. When it comes to the city’s top eateries, the myriad of choices can often be overwhelming: which restaurant to choose, how to secure a hard-to-get reservation, and which dishes to order.

Ideally, these choices would be handled by an expert—not the hotel concierge, who may steer clients to in-house restaurants.

When former Las Vegas hospitality worker Donald Contursi created Lip Smacking Foodie Tours 10 years ago, he designed the product to take the guesswork—and more importantly, the hassle, risk, and high cost—out of visiting Las Vegas’ best restaurants.

We recently joined two of the company’s tours, both impressive examples of a VIP-level experience. Participants visit three or four restaurants over 2 1/2 to 3 hours, enjoying immediate VIP seating and a tasting menu featuring three or four signature dishes from each venue. Here’s how our experiences played out.

Downtown Lip Smacking Tour ($125)

There’s a renaissance happening in downtown Las Vegas, and that includes some of the city’s best dining in the Fremont East District, adjacent to the eastern terminus of the Fremont Street Experience. We met our knowledgeable guide at Carson Kitchen, the first stop on the 2 1/2-hour afternoon tour. A table was already set for our small group, and dishes came out within minutes.

Our guide provided an overview of each dish: crispy chicken skins with smoked honey; “devil’s” eggs with crispy pancetta and caviar; broccoli crunch with green goddess dressing and dried cherries; and killer shrimp with Amarillo pepper cream. We enjoyed them at our leisure before moving on to Therapy, just around the corner. Along the way, our guide offered expert commentary on downtown’s cultural and aesthetic highlights.

At Therapy, the signature dishes included a chicken meatball with jalapeño cilantro pesto; “In the Gnudi” with baked ricotta and truffled fig jam; goat cheese and almond-stuffed dates; and a decadent chicken and red velvet waffle slider. After a brief stop at downtown’s Container Park for a complimentary cocktail, we moved on to culinary hotspot 7th & Carson. The three courses there included a curry pasty with whiskey jam, grilled pear and burrata salad, and an impossibly rich potato gnocchi with braised short rib.

While water was served at each venue, other beverages were available for an additional charge. Gratuities are included in the $125 per person price.

Savors of the Strip ($199)

This three-hour, prime-time evening tour visits three standout restaurants on the Strip, typically at the same property to minimize walking distances. Our ARIA-focused tour began at Javier’s, the popular and perpetually busy upscale Mexican restaurant just off the casino floor. The tasty Enchilada de Mariscos is stuffed with shrimp and Dungeness crab, then covered in green tomatillo sauce, Monterey Jack cheese, and sour cream. The accompanying chicken enchilada is topped with guajillo sauce. Both enchiladas are plated with rice and beans, with house-made chips and salsa provided for the table.

On the way to the next stop, our guide pointed out a stunning piece of art by noted sculptor Maya Lin: “Silver River,” an 84-foot-long sculpture suspended above the hotel registration desk. Although Las Vegas is rich with Michelin-starred, chef-run restaurants, Julian Serrano Tapas is renowned as one of the best. The Spanish classic Tostada Manchega is elevated here, with tomato purée and imported Manchego cheese atop perfectly toasted Cristal bread drizzled with olive oil. Other tapas served included premium Medjool dates, wrapped in pancetta and stuffed with herbed goat cheese, artistically plated over apple purée with dark balsamic. Spanish chicken croquettes followed, but the pièce de résistance was the classic Paella Valenciana, made to order in a custom pan and seasoned perfectly.

A short walk into the upscale Crystals shopping mall led us to Mastro’s Ocean Club, a hotspot revered for its steak and seafood dishes. We started with a multi-hued heirloom tomato and burrata salad, drizzled with balsamic, followed by Mastro’s signature New York strip steak, served medium rare with creamed spinach. Since this was our final stop, desserts came out in force. The trio included a New York-style cheesecake, a decadent flourless chocolate sin cake, and Mastro’s rich, signature warm butter cake, served with vanilla bean ice cream and raspberry sauce.

A Gourmet Value Proposition

On both tours, there was never a wait for a table at any venue, nor a delay in service, thanks to our guide messaging each restaurant in advance to confirm our arrival time. Service was brisk and attentive, with dishes arriving hot and fresh. Our guide added value by describing each dish, its provenance, and cooking techniques, while also handling logistics, making the tour a well-orchestrated, gourmet experience that would be difficult to replicate independently.

Restaurants and dishes may vary depending on the day of the week, but management assures that quality remains consistent. The company’s tours are commissionable at 12%, and all accommodate allergies and dietary restrictions.

Visit https://www.lipsmackingfoodietours.com for more information or email don@lipsmackingfoodietours.com to book.