One of the great things to do in Reno is to take full advantage of the dining scene. Even though this is a casino town, the top restaurants aren’t dictated by the whims of renowned chefs or hotel management. Most of them are family-run businesses that gain new customers via word of mouth.
When our colleagues at Power Clean Pros are not doing services like paver cleaning or glass and mirror cleaning. They like having a nice meal at a restaurant. 10 locations from the top areas in the Reno and Sparks metro area are included in our list.
Fourk Kitchen
The underlying idea: Fourk Kitchen, Reno’s restaurant adopts a straightforward strategy. For just $49 per person, the restaurant offers a four-course prix-fixe menu that changes with the seasons. The restaurant only offers one 24-person sitting per night, and only four evenings each week. The start of happy hour is at 5:30, and dinner’s at 6:30. Customers are guided through each meal by the Fourk Kitchen staff as they describe the process of food preparation.
At Fourk Kitchen, there are no regulations. A soup and a salad can be served as the first two courses, or you can choose a tasty option like baked mac n’ cheese with ranch and bacon. The dessert normally follows after the third meal, which is typically a steak or other meat dish. The natural tastes of the foods may readily come through because the recipes are simple. Staff members take part in a taste test four times every year, and the winners are chosen.
Each person’s meal is $49 plus additional fees for wine and drinks. Wine pairings with the dinner come in two price ranges: $24 and $44.
Making a reservation: Do this on the restaurant’s website well in advance.
Bistro Napa
The basic idea: The greatest fine-dining restaurant in the Atlantis casino draws its elegance and flare from Northern California. One of Reno’s top wine lists places a strong emphasis on fresh, organic dishes. The dining area is cheery and lively with sky blue rotundas and an open kitchen.
Taking care of the wine comes before thinking about the cuisine. Bistro Napa’s 4,000-bottle wine cellar has a private dining room and a tasting area. Despite a heavy focus on California brands, there is significant global involvement. A wood-fired oven is effectively utilized, whether it be to cook the corn for the jumbo lump crab chowder or a superb range of flatbreads. Allen Brothers in Chicago serves fingerling potatoes and organic veggies with their 28-day dry-aged steaks.
Small meals range in price from $13 to 24, while flatbreads are priced between $14 and 16. Entrees and steaks cost from $23 to $59 per item.
Book online to make a reservation.
Beline Carniceria & Deli
The quick version is: Some of the greatest Mexican street food in Reno is quietly delivered by Beline, a simple and modest company. Because of this, an increasing number of city residents are driving to its location in the far north valley.
Tortas, which are often served on golden telera bread and cooked with a variety of marinated meats (steak, chicken, chorizo, or ham), constitute the meal’s main dish. On Saturdays and Sundays, side orders of the substantial, delicious soups menudo or birria are available and perfect for dipping. A bottle of Mexican Coke will help you digest everything.
Soups and tortillas go from $7 to $11.
Enter, conduct a little food shopping, and then put your order at the counter. You can also phone in advance to arrange for pickup (775-657-8683).
Shanghai Bistro
The quick version is: Go to Virginia and Plumb and look behind Black Bear Diner to see Shanghai Bistro. It’s the newest project by renowned restaurateur Ellen Woo, whose 168 Cafe earlier occupied the space. Talented chef Hong Li, who had prepared meals for Deng Xiaoping and other high-ranking members of the Chinese government, has returned to the group. Over the years, Woo has managed restaurants, markets, and other businesses, making him an important figure in developing and promoting Asian culture in Reno.
The food: The menu features regional specialties from all around the world, ranging from the spicy hot pots infused with Szechuan spices to the fatty pork of Lion Head meatballs in the Shanghai style. While the majority of the menu is designed with American preferences in mind, a selection of the chef’s favorite meals may be found on the last page.
Price: Soups and appetizers cost between $5 and $13. The price range for noodles, fried rice, and other meals is $10 to $15.
Making a reservation: Call 775-622-3098 to place an order for pickup or to ask about seats.
Liberty Food & Wine Exchange
The short tale is that after launching and selling Campo, Mark Estee replied by establishing Liberty Food & Wine Exchange a block away. The restaurant’s modern exterior is offset by the menu’s rustic charm, vintage decor, and black-and-white photos that pay homage to celebrity culture. Only a few tables may be found on a tiny patio outdoors.
The meals: Estee puts a lot of focus on meats and pastas in his cooking, which demonstrates his support for Nevada ranchers and farmers. For pizza cooked with dough that has been fermented for 72 hours and veggies acquired locally, there is a wood-fired oven. The market and butcher shop are located below and provide charcuterie, sausages, breads, and pastries. Although the variety of wines available is always expanding, the seasonality of the mixed drinks produced with in-house syrups, shrubs, and garnishes also changes.
Pizzas go $16–19, pastas run $18–28, while appetizers and salads range from $19–36. The market value of the meats determines the bulk of meal prices.
Reserve a room: To book a reservation or place an online order for pickup, use the restaurant’s website.
Great Full Gardens
Conclusion: If you have dietary restrictions, Great Full Gardens stresses health without losing flavor or taste. All meats are grass-fed, fish is wild-caught, and if feasible, everything is organic. Gino Scala established the business with the aid of his wife Juli after being diagnosed with diverticulitis and switching to a plant-based diet. Although there weren’t many vegan restaurants in Reno at the time, he had experience with food supply and distribution. The two finally started what would become Great Full Gardens by making orders for all the nutrient-dense foods other restaurants seemed to be avoiding.
The food: A line of soups, marketed under the name Gino the Soup Man, served as the inspiration for the concept’s beginnings. The line now comes in 18 flavors. Later, it grew to include salads, burgers, and pizza. Raw food bowls are typical. The same is true with raw desserts, especially fruit and nut cheesecakes. The meal that typically draws the biggest audiences is the vegan-style tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich.
Salads cost anywhere from $6 and $20, pizza costs between $14 and $17, while bowls, wraps, and sandwiches cost between $10 and $13.
Reserve a room: Online or in-person orders for pickup or delivery are both accepted.
Charlie Palmer Steak
The specialized steakhouse at The Grand Sierra Resort is maybe the closest thing to a classic star chef restaurant that Reno has to offer. Charlie Palmer Steak is specifically designed to make excellent dining available to the casino community with a setting that effectively uses an open layout, modern decor, and a dynamic combination of deep color palettes. The setting has a sense of an event even if it is not frightening. Palmer’s fastidious attention to detail and predilection for cattle from the Midwest are evident throughout the cuisine, which is overseen by Executive Chef Michael Mahoney.
On a Montague top-down broiler, the food is cooked hot and rapidly, sealing in the juices and producing the perfect amount of char. The restaurant creates its own salt blend to sprinkle on top of the slices using about 30 ingredients, including fleur de sel, white pepper, garlic, celery seed, and paprika. The meaty beef chunks are in humorous contrast to the thin-cut house potato chips, which are cooked at the beginning of each shift.
Starters, raw bar items, steaks and dinners, sides, $11 to $19 for wine by the glass, and $16 to $23 for cocktails are priced between $12 and $65 per person.
How to book: To make an online reservation, use OpenTable.
Süp
What’s up? is not a part of the name, to put it simply. Because they are experts in soup, the term is pronounced “soup.” The restaurant makes between 60 and 70 liters of it each day, and its menu is often updated. The concept originated when the husband and wife team behind the business started having people over to sample their handmade soups. The energy was formally moved to Süp, a venue from the 1920s in Midtown with a big wooden deck outside that was lighted by string lights. Bring your animal.
The staple dishes are chicken noodle, tomato bisque, broccoli cheddar, and chicken tortilla, however on Mondays and Fridays, respectively, loaded baked potatoes and New England clam chowder are always available. Anything else is fair game, including interesting ethnic cuisines like the West African peanut stew or the Colombian stew ajiaco. No matter what you order, the dishes are frequently simple but delectable and not excessively filling. Additionally, there are sandwiches, salads, beer, and wine on the menu, but all of the sauces, dressings, and stocks are produced from scratch. The beef baguette tastes as well with chimichurri or horseradish prepared from roasted red peppers.
Salads, sandwiches, and soups are priced between $4 and $12.
Reserve a room: Just go right in, but keep in mind that seats fill up quickly. Orders purchased online can always be picked up.
Gold n’ Silver Inn
The quick version is: One of Reno’s most iconic restaurants and a place rich in history is this 24-hour diner. The Gold n’ Silver Inn is regularly visited by the governors, senators, and lobbyists who have been shaping Nevada law in neighboring Carson City for decades. The restaurant is a taste of “Old Reno” and one of those places where families have been dining for decades, usually with lines out the door on busy weekends, even if it would not seem like much to someone outside of the neighborhood. If you’re interested, there isn’t an inn here; nevertheless, there is a small casino with slot machines just adjacent to the eating area.
There are a few amusing, albeit relatively well-known, standout items on the menu. The Lemonade Pork Chops are coated with a tangy tomato sauce prepared with a full lemon, in contrast to the boiled and sautéed tri-tip steak sandwich, which is served with the restaurant’s own “Mahogany Sauce” (there’s definitely bacon in there someplace). The chocolate pistachio cake was made using a recipe created by a staff member.
Snacks, appetizers, and salads cost anywhere between $4 and $28, meals cost somewhere between $8 and $20, and pizza costs between $10 and $15.
There are no bookings taken, but you may purchase online for pickup or delivery.
Estella
The most crucial thing to keep in mind is that Estella is a contemporary taqueria located in a brick structure that was formerly a wagon and blacksmith shop. The Jesse, a simple boutique hotel with six rooms and a sizable patio where guests may dine, presently houses it. The abundance of plants, tables, and ceiling string lights provide a beautiful glow in the area after dusk. Prepare your cameras. The bar offers a wide variety of alcoholic drinks from Mexico. The main ingredients are mezcal and tequila, although there are other less well-known choices like sotol and raicilla available.
The tacos have a light, crisp taste since they are made using local ingredients. The sweetness of the pineapple counters the sour, fiery flavor of the guajillo peppers, making the al pastor taco particularly tasty. Three salsas are offered with tortilla chips, and they are sometimes changed depending on the availability of seasonal fresh ingredients. On Sundays, the brunch menu is expanded to include items like a plantain mole with queso and a pig chili with an egg on top. The eatery serves fascinating agave-based drinks. Consider the Bloody Mary, a great house combination with a mezcal base.
Costs per order for tacos are $5–7, for sides, $3–15, for brunch meals, and for beverages, $10–12 each.
Reservations are not necessary. Just show up and cross your fingers that a table is free.