In honor of the arrival of fall—not to mention this month’s return of the Downtown Brew Festival, set for Oct. 16 at the Clark County Amphitheater—it makes sense to turn our attention to Las Vegas restaurants serving some great beer food. ’Tis the season to soak up some suds, and it all starts at the legendary Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas (702.853.2337) where every day is an Oktoberfest celebration. Now, in actual October, a variety of local celebrities and entertainers pop in every Friday and Saturday night to tap a new keg and keep the party going, which is pretty easy to do when you have giant mugs of cold beer and mouthwatering Bavarian specialties to munch on, like crispy pork shank with green cabbage and bacon salad, giant baked pretzels with onion mustard and breaded schnitzel with mushroom sauce.
You know what else goes great with an icy brew? Fried chicken, particularly the Southern variety, and that’s the specialty at Yardbird Southern Table & Bar (702.297.6541) at The Venetian. Get that crispy, juicy goodness on a biscuit with pepper jelly, on a cheddar waffle with spiced watermelon or all by itself, a simple half bird with honey hot sauce. It’s all familiar and flavorful, but you might not know Yardbird has one of the Strip’s best beer selections, including regional craft favorites as well as Las Vegas’ own brewery champions like Able Baker, Big Dog’s, Tenaya Creek and more.
The recently reopened El Burro Borracho (855.888.3463) at the Rio is a terrific spot to enjoy some Mexican food with a draft Modelo Especial or Dos Equis lager. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri has tailored this menu as the foundation for a good time, serving up fresh guacamole, “trash can” nachos with carne asada or al pastor, cheeseburger tacos with Sonoran-style braised beef and chicken mole verde enchiladas.
Out west in the Downtown Summerlin complex, brand-new taproom Beer Zombies (702.780.0297) is curating hard-to-find brews from across the country and the freshest local flavors to offer a one-of-a-kind beer tasting experience, and it’s packing a small-but-mighty food menu to round things out. Square Sicilian-style pizza slices with your favorite savory and spicy toppings will satiate that growing appetite, or snack on addictive crispy chicken wings and Nashville Hot-flavored cauliflower.
Back on the Strip, the always popular Beerhaus (702.692.2337) at The Park will definitely fill up with hockey fans when Vegas Golden Knights games resume this month at nearby T-Mobile Arena. Better get in while you can to work your way through its endless taps and carefully selected beers while munching on rotisserie chicken, barbecue ribs, shaved roast beef sandwiches and IPA cheddarwurst brats covered in smoked bacon onion jam.
Another indoor-outdoor hot spot just up the boulevard is the rooftop Beer Park (702.444.4500) at Paris, where you split your time between watching sports on hi-def screens and observing all the Strip action below. Of course, you’ll also share chili verde nachos, deviled eggs, mac and cheese eggrolls and chicken cheesesteaks along with beer flights that give you four 6-ounce pours so you can sample to your heart’s content. Bottoms up!
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