Raiders Q&A: Center shares his favorite Las Vegas restaurants
Among the many benefits of living in Las Vegas is the access to great restaurants. And that’s one of the aspects that Raiders center Andre James appreciates about where his NFL career has taken him.
An undrafted free agent in 2019 out of UCLA, the former offensive tackle moved to center as a rookie and spent the next two seasons learning his new craft. By 2021, he was ready to assume a starting job and has not looked back since.
James has become one of the many “foodies” in the Raiders’ locker room, and he is always quick with a restaurant tip when asked.
James was approached by Vegas Nation to list his favorite local restaurants. He agreed, but asked for a day to give it some thought. By the next day, he had a complete list that included his five favorite restaurants on the Strip and five favorite off the Strip.
On The Strip
5. Delilah
Wynn Las Vegas
“You gotta check it out. It’s definitely the place to be seen on the weekend. There’s always someone there. The live entertainment is always amazing. For the appetizers, they do chicken tenders. Unreal. I like to get the Caesar salad and make little cups. But for the main, I’m going beef Wellington. The Beef Wellington there is out of control.”
4. Zuma
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
“All the sushi at Zuma is amazing. It’s super fresh all the time.”
3. Mott 32
Palazzo
“Dude, that’s my place. My go-to is, I always get the barbecue pork, and then I do the barbecue pork buns. They’re out of control. I can go there and eat those all day. And, of course, you gotta do the duck. The crispy duck is amazing. All the dumplings there are always really good, too.”
2. Bizarre Meat by Jose Andres
SLS Las Vegas
“I’m so picky with steak, and I feel like the steak they do there is out of control. They do it right. They dry age it; all of it … from Australian Wagyu or American Wagyu. They have everything. And then they finish it off with the wood fire grill, which is super rare to find here in Vegas. It’s out of control. By far my favorite steakhouse in Vegas.”
1. estiatorio Milos
The Venetian
“It’s kind of like Mediterranean food, and they cook everything on Argentinian grills, the open flame. It’s ridiculous. All the fish there is flown in from the Mediterranean Sea. My favorite thing to get there is the lamb chops. I love those. They’re amazing. For the appetizer, I’m doing the Milos special, which is fried zucchini and squash. They lightly fry it, and in the middle is like a tzatziki, which has a bunch of different sauces. It’s out of control. The lamb chops, the ribeye are amazing. And I always like to do either a sea bass or some type of fish on the open grill.”
Off the Strip
5. Lamaii (Thai)
“When I’m at Lamaii, I love the crispy duck with the panang curry sauce. It’s absolutely amazing. They also do crispy prawns — out of this world.”
4. Meraki (Greek)
“When I’m there, I always get the gyro platter. It comes with gyro meat, sliced. The lamb and the beef are incredible. And I do it with half a side of fries and half rice. It also comes with a little side salad. I always do a side of baklava and rice pudding. That’s my go-to on that.”
3. Other Mama (Seafood)
“They do like seafood, sushi. And all their appetizers are amazing.”
2. Lotus of Siam (Thai/Asian)
“Obviously everything there, you can’t go wrong.”
1. Sushi Hiro (Sushi)
“Just an incredible place.”
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.
