According to movies and TV, Las Vegas is all about drinking, gambling, waking up with a tiger in your bathroom and marrying people you’ve known for less than 12 hours. But though Sin City is defined by slot machines, expensive drinks and general debauchery, you don’t have to subsist on cocktail olives and shady buffet food during your visit if you don’t want to.

Many of the most popular and famous restaurants in NYC, LA, DC and elsewhere have opened outposts in Las Vegas, which is nice if you’ve always wanted to visit the originals and haven’t gotten the chance. This isn’t an exhaustive list of the best restaurants, of course, but I hope it will still help you make some decisions when planning a trip.

Serendipity

Don’t go to Serendipity if you’re not that hungry or just looking for a light snack. There aren’t many low-cal offerings, and the entire point of the place is dessert, so you need to bring your appetite.

However, it’s a perfect place if you’re famished or have a hankering for ice cream: The food and frozen hot chocolate are absolutely delicious. I ordered the grilled cheese (it’s triple decker, naturally) and tomato soup, because I’m secretly 8 years old, and it was one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches I’ve ever had. Melissa and Stephanie also really enjoyed their (slightly more grown-up) meals, and pretty much everything on the enromous menu looked amazing.

The frozen hot chocolate is Serendipity’s thing, so you should probably try it on your first visit. I got mine with marshmallows (duh), but you can add all sorts of fun toppings, or just go with the original topping-less version. It’s hard to explain frozen hot chocolate, and it sounds ridiculous, but it really was glorious. I just wish I had skipped dinner or split my dessert with someone else, because I barely made a dent.

We made a reservation, but if you don’t want to deal with waiting for a table, you can also order several menu items from a to-go bar not far from the entrance. If you do get a table, though, I hope you get the waitress who served us: She was delightful.

Mon Ami Gabi

Mon Ami Gabi is one of my favorite places to have breakfast, period — not just in Las Vegas. The restaurant is in the Paris hotel and has a lovely French vibe, with lots of French pastries and crepes and omelettes. We liked it so much that we went two days in a row, so I was able to try an omelette with spinach and goat cheese (yum), a pineapple with mint syrup (obsessed), bacon sweetened with figs (yes, please) and a crepe-like “big skinny pancake” with pineapple, passionfruit puree, lemon sugar and more mint. Everything was fabulous, but I think I enjoyed the pinepple and the crepe the most. Clearly I am a sugar (and mint) addict.

One of the best things about Mon Ami Gabi is its patio, which has an awesome view of the Bellagio fountains… but sitting outside will almost certainly require a wait. OpenTable said that we could request a table outside when we arrived for our reservation, but the hostess the first day acted like we were insane for even suggesting such a thing. The next day, I heard a different hostess tell an elderly couple the exact same thing when they were making a reservation. So I don’t know what to tell you about that. I do know that there are some places inside that are almost as nice, view- and light-wise, as outside, and they have the added bonus of not being subject to the weather.

And though I have never eaten at Mon Ami Gabi for dinner, my parents have, and they said it was fantastic.

Jaleo

I LOVE Oyamel, which is Jose Andres’ Mexican restaurant in DC, and I had been to the Jaleo across the street once as well, so I knew we would enjoy the Jaleo in Vegas. But it was even more fabulous than I anticipated.

Jaleo is a tapas restaurant, but while they serve lots of traditional Spanish items, it’s not your typical tapas place. Exhibit No. 1 is La Serena con mebrillo, which is tiny bread cones filled with extra-pungent cheese and quince paste and topped with a bit of walnut dust. They’re unlike anything I’ve ever had before, and in the first few seconds after I took my first bite, I wasn’t sure I was going to like them. But the flavors really come together well, and the sweetness of the quince paste really helps tone down the crazy-strong cheese.

We hadn’t planned to order the Patatas Bravas, because fried potatoes didn’t sound that exciting when compared to some of the other menu items. But our waiter suggested them, we took the bait, and they were absolutely amazing. Turns out, there’s a reason they’re the most popular item on the menu.

All of the plates really are tiny, so we ordered tons of things and shared all of them (although I didn’t partake in the shellfish items, since I wanted to live to see dessert). Desserts are also pretty small but still sharable. The light in the restaurant was not great for photos, as you can see, but the decor and ambiance are very cool and modern… and after a few days in Vegas, you may be thankful for the lack of bright lights.

Rao’s
First off, Rao’s is pronounced like ray-oh’s, not like “ow” with an R. We learned that while traversing the expansive Cesaer’s casino, looking for the restaurant and asking anyone with a nametag for help.

Other things to know: You probably won’t have any trouble getting a reservation, even though the original is apparently a Big Deal in NYC, and it’s virtually impossible to get a table there unless you are born into the right family. It’s an old-school Italian restaurant, with the kinds of dishes you’d probably expect. The portions are also pretty enormous, and neither Stephanie nor I really liked our salads, so I would skip the salad and go straight to pasta or another entree. But the pasta was very good, as were the meatballs (which Melissa ordered), even if they weren’t terribly surprising or trendy, and our server was wonderful. Plus, the bus boy was hot, so that’s a positive.

Sorry I don’t have any photos… of the food or the bus boy.

Bouchon

I own the Bouchon Bakery cookbook, but I’ve never made a single thing from it. It’s gorgeous, but it seems like everything has a million steps and takes hours — or even days — to make. But I jumped at the chance to go to Bouchon for brunch, since that meant I could try some of those labor-intensive treats without lifting more than my fork and my credit card.

The restaurant is beautiful inside and full of light, with a vibe that’s a mix of Northern California and France. The waiting area has couches and chairs and coffee tables stacked with magazines and newspapers to read, though Stephanie noted that all of the Vegas patrons were too busy clicking and scrolling on their smart phones to pick up the WSJ or NYT.

I was supremely bummed out to learn they were out of their beignets with raspberry jam, and decided not to order the other beignet option, which sounded potentially too dense for my taste (I have an extremely strong aversion to most dense baked goods). But we were served beautiful crusty bread at the table, so I was able to sample at least one baked treat in addition to the chicken and waffles we all ordered.

The chicken and waffles were each delectable on their own — the bacon-chive waffle was light and crispy perfection, and the chicken with the accompanying sauce was juicy and flavorful. The problem was that I felt like they didn’t go together at all. I like fried chicken on top of waffles with maple syrup, but waffles with a side of roasted chicken doesn’t really do it for me. Regardless, though, this place is good. I just would recommend ordering something else.

Bars and clubs:

Thank goodness for Melissa, who knows from previous Vegas trips that women can get added to guest lists at clubs by Instagramming photos with Las Vegas-related hashtags during the day. Promoters look for those hashtags and geotags and will comment on the pictures. You can also look at promoters’ pages to see what the specials are for that night… it seemed like women and couples got in free before 11:30ish most places anyway, but if you’re on a list, you can go a little later.

As for bars, we ended up going to The Chandelier at the Cosmopolitan just about every night, because I had been there once before and it was pretty close to our hotel. It’s a multi-level bar designed like you’re in the middle of a chandelier, so it’s great for photos, but they also have good (but strong) craft cocktails.

Of course, it’s not hard to find a place to drink in Las Vegas… you can buy yards of alcoholic slushie-like concoctions to drink while walking down the street!