Zagat Reports Las Vegas is Nation's Most Expensive Restaurant City While Reviewers Dine Out Less

Diners Cashing in Their Chips at the Cosmopolitan; Food Trucks Work the Streets

Joel Robuchon Wins for Food and Service; Picasso Tops Decor; Bouchon Named Most Popular

Zagat Survey released the results of its Las Vegas Restaurants Survey, with detailed local data, ratings and reviews available on ZAGAT.com, ZAGAT.mobi and ZAGAT TO GO for smartphones. The Survey covers 523 Las Vegas restaurants based on the opinions of 3,736 local reviewers who, all told, ate out roughly 637,000 times in the past year.

Hey, Big Spender: Las Vegas bucks many of the economic trends of other Western cities. As the average meal cost in Los Angeles and San Francisco declined for the first time in many years, it has actually increased for Las Vegas, from $44.44 in the last Survey to $47.53 this year. This maintains the city's distinction as the nation's most expensive dining locale, coming in above cities like New York ($41.76) and Miami ($39.86), which are both well above the national average ($35.44). When it comes to tipping, local diners leave an average 19.4% tip, which is greater than other in Western cities like Los Angeles (18.7%) and Seattle (18.6%).

Crapping Out: As the average meal cost continues to rise, the survey shows Las Vegas diners are eating out less. In the past five years, the average number of meals out per week has declined from 3.8 in 2005, to 3.3 in 2010, only slightly above the national average of 3.1. Furthermore, reviewers by a 15% margin say they are eating out less now than six months ago.

"The increase in meal cost this year is not surprising; as with all things in Las Vegas, dining out is a form of entertainment," says Tim Zagat, CEO of Zagat Survey. "Many of this year's most exciting newcomers are in hotels – and major hoteliers understand that in order to be a contender on the strip – they must have first-class restaurants."

Newcomers: This year's top-rated newcomer is the "exceptional" and "unique dining experience" of Mastro's Ocean Club, located in Crystals at CityCenter. Despite the decline in dining out, the recently opened Cosmopolitan luxury resort and casino is proving that extravagance and luxury are here to stay. In fact, 10 of this year's 30 newcomers are restaurants in this new resort, which has brought a bevy of celebrity chefs to Vegas. Among those chefs are David Myers (Comme Ça), Bruce and Eric Bromberg (Blue Ribbon Sushi), Costas Spiliadis (Milos, Estiatorio) and Top Chef's Stephen Hopcraft (STK). The Cosmopolitan also welcomed an outpost of Jose Andres' tapas restaurant Jaleo as well as his Mexican-Chinese fusion China Poblano, while Scott Conant brought his NYC Italian Scarpetta to the new hotel, along with new restaurant and wine bar D.O.C.G. This influx of celebrity chefs should be welcomed by local diners, 35% of who favor this trend.

Winners: This year, the eponymous Joel Robuchon has been awarded Top Food and Service by Zagat reviewers, boasting a "bucket-list dining experience." The "extraordinary setting" of the Bellagio's Picasso has helped the restaurant – which features "real Picassos on the walls" – earn Top Decor honors again this year, while Thomas Keller's Bouchon (at the Venetian) was named Most Popular. The top five restaurants in each of the major categories include:

Rolling into Town: The food truck trend has driven into Las Vegas, offering mobile and affordable fare to foodies up and down the Strip. A notable 20% of reviewers actively follow food trucks and other restaurants via social networking sites. Two popular trucks include Slidin' Thru, serving up gourmet Angus and pulled-pork sliders and Patty Wagon, the mobile offshoot of the Red Rock Resort's LBS.

Dining Irritants: Service is still the main complaint in Las Vegas restaurants, as 59% of reviewers named it their top irritant, up from 40% in the last Survey. Alternatively, and an obvious result of the decline in dining out, the percentage of those irritated by crowding has dropped from 17% to 1%. When seated next to a noisy party, 51% say they simply try to ignore them, while 34% would ask to be moved to a different table. A brave 5% would "politely ask" them to quiet down. For diners who choose to linger at their table on a laptop or with a friend, 61% of surveyors feel that restaurants should restrict how long guests can remain during peak hours.

Texting, Tweeting and Table Manners: When it comes to table etiquette, 54% of surveyors consider it "rude and inappropriate" to text, tweet, talk and e-mail on a mobile phone at a restaurant. However, 84% feel it is acceptable to take pictures of their food and companions. This is good news for the 20% of surveyors who admit to using their smartphones to take pictures of food plating.

Health Watch: A dominant 91% of Las Vegas reviewers say they agree with the county laws that require restaurants to conspicuously post a letter grade reflecting the results of their health department inspection (a law that is similarly in effect in New York City and Los Angeles). Support for healthful policies only goes so far – 68% of reviewers oppose instituting a tax on sugary drinks and 53% would prefer that the government not regulate the use of salt in dishes.

Survey Details: All of Zagat's ratings and reviews can be accessed by visiting ZAGAT.com, or by downloading one of Zagat's mobile apps, including ZAGAT TO GO for iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7. For information on Zagat's mobile products, please visit http://www.zagat.com/mobile. Be sure to follow Zagat on Facebook and Twitter @Zagat for daily news and updates.