12 Great Mexican Restaurants for celebrating Cinco de Mayo in Las Vegas

Looking for a great place to celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Have no fear. My new app, Neon Feast, has you covered.

When I surveyed local chefs, critics, restaurant owners and assorted influencers, and asked them where they send their friends and families for Mexican food, the same dozen names were mentioned over and over again. Their picks span all price ranges, and have locations throughout the valley—so there’s something for just about everyone.

Are these the best Mexican restaurants in Las Vegas?  I’ll leave that for you to decide. But I’m confident saying that each of the places below is an amazing Mexican restaurant with a serious fan base in the local F&B community.

To make them a little easier to organize, we’ve divided them into separate lists for places located on or off The Strip. You can find more information on each of them on the Neon Feast app, or at NeonFeast.com.

Top Off-Strip Mexican Restaurants

Bajamar Seafood and Tacos (Multiple Locations): Las Vegans have two options for the seafood-focused Mexican bites of Bajamar: a strip mall on Blue Diamond Road or the original, just north of the Strip on Las Vegas Boulevard. Lip Smacking Foodie Tours founder Donald Contursi raves about the “flavorful seafood specialties” and “easy drinking Micheladas,” while he and many others are fans of the low prices (which also landed the restaurants on our “Cheap Eats” list).

Birria El Compa (3700 E. Charleston Blvd.): Food blogger Philip Tzeng recommends this place because it “does (birria) the right way -- serving goat meat and putting in the time and care to do it right.” If goat’s not your thing, the restaurant also serves beef barbacoa birria, tacos or quesadillas, as well as fried bean tacos and quesadillas, and the corn tortillas are made by hand.

El Dorado Cantina Restaurant and Bar (Multiple Locations): While they have three locations, I'm still partial to the one on Sammy Davis Jr. Drive, adjacent to Sapphires Gentlemen's Club. (My first job as a critic involved reviewing strip clubs.) But all offer organic and non-GMO ingredients with authentic Mexican cuisine inspired by regional recipes. Street and signature tacos, enchiladas, taquitos, queso fundido, and fajitas are just some of the items available in these vegan-friendly eateries.

El Luchador Mexican Kitchen + Cantina (Multiple Locations): After opening in early 2021 in Mountain’s Edge, this wrestling-themed eatery has done well enough to warrant a second location at Warm Springs and Stephanie in Henderson. House specialties include eight types of tacos, tableside guacamole and a selection of chimichangas, nachos, burritos, enchiladas and fajitas. Wash them down with one of over 80 tequilas and mezcals.

Juan’s Flaming Fajitas (Multiple Locations): This restaurant is well-named. The first thing you’ll notice upon entering is the scent of roasting meat wafting through the air as the fajita plates are ignited with a shot of vodka and oregano. If fajitas aren’t your things, the West Side and Water Street locations also offer other Tex-Mex favorite like quesadillas, tacos, burritos, enchiladas, huevos rancheros, carne asada, tostadas, chile relleno and flautas, at extremely reasonable prices.

La Neta Cocina and Lounge (Downtown Summerlin): This relatively new spot was chosen by our pros as both a top Mexican spot, and a great place for a romantic date night. Instagrammer Lindsay Stewart (@thelasvegasfoodie) says the "dark and sexy" decor "makes you feel like you’re on the beaches in Mexico, with a sultry party vibe," while celebrity chef Rick Moonen notes that "Israel (Castro), the chef, is exciting in what he does with Mexican cuisine."

Letty's de Leticia's Cocina (807 S. Main Street): Located on the northwest edge of the Arts District, Letty’s operates in a building that once housed one of Las Vegas’ oldest Mexican eateries (El Sombrero). It’s now run by popular local chef Leticia Mitchell, who is wowing the Downtown crowd with her signature tacos, award-winning quesataco (seared cheese, chipotle crema and choice of protein), and tortas.

Tacotarian (multiple locations): With three locations across town (Downtown, Southwest and Henderson), the vegan restaurant serves up something for everyone with both mock meat and veggie options. They also have VegansBaby.com founder Diana Edelman calls one of the best brunches in town for vegan eats, plus margarita flights, specialty cocktails, craft beers and wine. For an Instagram moment, try what the owners call the world’s largest taco (measuring the length of a forearm and stuffed to the gills with all the taco fixins’ AND fries).

 Top Mexican Restaurants on The Strip

Border Grill (Mandalay Bay): This modern Mexican eatery by celebrity chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger is a vegan-friendly favorite for both brunch and Mexican cuisine, with a patio that offers views of Mandalay Bay’s lazy river and pool. The menu focuses on light and healthful cuisine with a large dose of flavor -- something the chefs deliver through the use of seasonal, locally-grown ingredients whenever possible, as well as antibiotic-free, hormone-free meats and poultry and sustainable seafood.

Casa Playa (Encore): The restaurant, which replaced Chef Enrique Olvera’s short-lived Elio, is located between the Encore casino floor and Wynn/Encore’s high-energy dayclub. And its posh beach-house vibe is just as welcoming to high-rollers taking a break from the tables and EDM fans on their way to a cabana. Chef Sarah Thompson offers crudos, ceviche and seafood tartare alongside tacos, flautas and enchiladas – with the kinds of luxury touches you expect from Wynn and Encore.

Javier’s (Aria): Family-owned and family-operated, Javier’s is brought to us by Javier Sosa, who immigrated to California from Tijuana, and worked his way up from dishwasher to waiter at a pair of restaurants before opening his own spot in Laguna Beach.  Signatures dishes include Chile Negro (braised Angus short ribs in the chile-infused sauce) and Pollo Josefina (airline chicken breast with mushrooms and creamy chipotle sauce).

Viva! By Ray Garcia (Resorts World): Esquire magazine Chef of the Year Ray Garcia’s lively take on Mexican cuisine is reflected in the colorful murals and wood and rope accents that characterize this restaurant. Viva! is a rarity among Mexican restaurants in Las Vegas in that it offers a three-course prix-fixe menu. If you'd rather choose from the entire menu, options include carne asada,  wood-fired chicken quesadilla, steak tacos and the signature Snapper Zarandeado. And you can reserve a table directly from the Neon Feast app.