Best Last Minute Deals Las Vegas

Best Sunday Champagne Brunch:

Head for Bally's, at Mid-Strip, where the lavish Sterling Sunday Brunch (tel. 702/967-7999) features tables dressed with linen and silver. The buffet itself has everything from caviar and lobster to sushi and sashimi, plus fancy entrees that include the likes of roast duckling with black-currant and blueberry sauce.

Best Group Budget Meal Deal:

Capriotti's again -- a large sandwich can feed two with leftovers, for about $5 each. Or split a bowl of soup at the Grand Wok (tel. 702/891-7777) in the MGM. This pan-Asian restaurant offers a variety of soups in such generous portions that four people can make a decent meal out of one serving.

Best Bistro:

We ate nearly the entire menu at Bouchon (tel. 702/414-6200), from Thomas Keller, in The Venetian, and didn't find a misstep, just what you might expect from one of the most critically lauded chefs in the country. But don't overlook Mon Ami Gabi (tel. 702/944-4224), in the Paris Las Vegas hotel. Offering lovely, reasonably priced bistro fare (steak and pommes frites, onion soup), it may be our new favorite Vegas restaurant (at least of the non-celebrity-chef variety).

The Best Last Minute Deals in Las Vegas

Best Free Show at Dinner:

At Treasure Island's Buccaneer Bay Club (tel. 702/894-7223), everyone rushes to the window when the ship battle begins outside. And then there is the vista offered by the restaurants in Bellagio (Picasso, Le Cirque, Olives, and Circo), which are grouped to take advantage of the view of the dancing water fountains.

Best Wine List:

It's a competitive market in Vegas for such a title, and with sommeliers switching around, it's hard to guarantee any wine list will retain its quality. Still, you can't go wrong at Mandalay Bay's Aureole (tel. 702/632-7401), which has the largest collection of Austrian wines outside of that country, among other surprises.

Best Beer List:

Rosemary's Restaurant offers "beer pairings" suggestions with most of its menu options, and includes some curious and fun brands, including fruity Belgian numbers.

Best View:

Alizé wins with its floor-to-ceiling window views, but there is something to be said for seeing all of Vegas from the revolving Top of the World (tel. 702/380-7711), 106 stories off the ground in the Stratosphere Casino Hotel & Tower.