Arts District Lip Smacking Tour

Duration: 2.5 hours

Number of Stops: 3

Highlights:

• • A deep-dive look into the 18b Arts District, one of the city's most spirited neighborhoods.
  • Three stops at acclaimed restaurants, where food on the plate is as inspired as art on canvas.
  • Three to four different signature dishes at each restaurant.
  • Optional specialty cocktail package.
  • VIP service at every venue.
  • An expert guide who leads the tour.
  • Stops at the city’s most arresting and unforgettable public works of art.

Art lovers will be privy to a unique perspective on the vibrant 18b Arts District in Las Vegas in this Lip Smacking Foodie Tour, that spotlights three exciting, chef-driven restaurants, including the newest one to make a big splash. This tour traverses one of the city’s most distinctive and colorful neighborhoods. It’s where “First Friday’’ began 20 years ago, Vegas’ premier arts and cultural festival that attracts upwards of 15,000 people the first Friday of each month to stroll and admire one-of-a-kind art. 

As with every award-winning Lip Smacking Foodie Tour, this one takes the hassle out of researching restaurants on your own, calling for reservations, and waiting to be seated. Instead, you are whisked right past the host stand to a premier table immediately, where you’ll enjoy VIP service from the get-go. It’s a leisurely stroll between stops, with the welcome opportunity to stretch your legs and get fresh air, too.

Full of spunk and creativity, the Arts District is a lively mix of independent businesses including vintage clothing boutiques, antique stores, theaters, art galleries, and of course, bars and restaurants with personality to spare. Guests will get a taste of all of that, as well as meet some of the district’s best chefs whose plates are akin to canvases for striking edible creations. That’s no more evident than at Esther’s Kitchen, where the seasonal Italian cuisine is actually served on handmade plateware fashioned at a pottery studio just steps away. Vegas native, Chef James Trees, who has worked under such culinary luminaries as Gordon Ramsay and Eric Ripert, takes pride in making all his pastas, pizzas and breads from scratch. His talents even earned him a James Beard finalist nod in 2020 for “Best Chef: Southwest.”

From there, it’s on to Palate, which debuted in spring 2024. It’s helmed by Executive Sterling Buckley who knows a thing or two about showmanship. After all, his mother Hazel Payne was a founding member of the hit musical group, A Taste of Honey of “Boogie Oogie Oogie’’ fame. Although Buckley performed, wrote and recorded music as a teenager, his passion for cooking eventually won out. The former executive chef at Gordon Ramsay Steak who has competed on TV’s “Chopped,’’ he takes a playful, creative approach to Southern cuisine at Palate by injecting unexpected Latin American, Pan Asian and European influences that surprise and delight.

Then, it’s on to view more arresting art, including “Paintbrush Gateway,’’ Dennis Oppenheim’s two 45-foot-tall steel paintbrushes that emit beams of rainbow-colored LED light 2,000 feet skyward; and the thought-provoking “Chain Migration’’ by artist Izaac Zevalking, aka Recycled Propaganda, which depicts the Statue of Liberty in handcuffs. You’ll hear the stories behind these iconic works.

The final stop is The Pepper Club inside The English Hotel, which takes its name from James Beard Award-winning chef Todd English. The menu at his sleek restaurant is a unique blend of Mediterranean and Japanese influences from his two favorite cuisines. It features an extensive sushi bar, as well as grilled items and shareable plates, many with playful descriptions and inspired combinations of ingredients. With establishments worldwide, this marks English’s second one in Las Vegas.