El Sombrero

No tour of Old Vegas's ethnic eateries would be complete without a stop at its oldest restaurant. It opened in 1950, and has had José Aragon at the stoves since 1955. He will tell you his cuisine is New Mexican, not Mexican, and his chile verde and chile colorado, with their deep, fiery flavours, are as reminiscent of Albuquerque as anything you will find in this neck of the woods. Aragon's salsas, burritos, enchiladas and huevos con machaca are made from scratch – not from a can – at prices ($10-$13) that seem to have been frozen in the "We Like Ike" era. If you're looking for spicy authenticity, this is as cheap as it comes.
• 807 South Main Street, +1 702 382 9234, no website, mains from $10. Open Mon-Thurs 11am-4pm, Fri-Sat 11am-8:30pm

Bar+Bistro

Chef Beni Velázquez has turned this moribund space into a place foodies flock to. His cheesy mac 'n' cheese, definitive Cuban sandwich and do-it-yourself fish tacos have enlivened the downtown eating scene. Tapas and small plates are the watchwords here and Velázquez's signature dishes such as shrimp or crab mofongo, carnitas tacos and sweet potato cabrales (cheese) fries have become legendary. Call ahead to see if he's doing an outdoor pig roast on any given Saturday, and cure a hangover with some cinnamon-spiced pancakes and a few $6 bloody marys or mojitos at the weekend Hangover Brunch.
• 107 East Charleston Boulevard, +1 702 202 6060, barbistroaf.com, main meals from $26, average tapas price $9. Open Mon-Fri 11am-3pm and Mon-Sat 5pm-10pm, Hangover Brunch Sat and Sun 11am-3pm; bar hours Mon-Sat 4pm-11pm

The Steakhouse at Circus Circus

A steakhouse in the cheap eats section? Yes, if you're in the mood for a slice of prime steer and a sip of old Vegas at (relatively) bargain prices. First, you have to brave the smelly environs of Circus Circus, but if you do, you'll find the best bargain in dry-aged beef in town. The steaks here average a good $10-$15 less than similar cuts in the more high-falutin' hotels, but they've got nothing on the $42 porterhouse steak in a meat locker you walk past to get to your table. Another bargain: a very relaxed bring your own wine policy.
• Circus Circus Hotel and Casino, 2880 Las Vegas Boulevard South, +1 702 794 3767, circuscircus.com/steakhouse, main courses from $28. Open Mon-Fri and Sun 5pm-10pm, Sat 5pm-11pm

Monta

Japanese noodle house Monta, with its 10-item menu and 26 seats, proves that less is more in succulent form. The proof is in the pork. The chashu (roasted pork) melts in your mouth, right after you pluck it from bobbing in the tonkotsu (pork bone) broth that simmers for hours to extract every bit of goodness. The lighter shoyu (soya) ramen also come topped with roasted pork, along with shredded green onions, bamboo shoots (takenoko) and wood-ear mushrooms (kikurage). Essential additions (though you'll pay slightly more) include the most unctuous poached eggs you've ever eaten – yolks cooked to barely beyond liquid – and corn, butter, mustard greens or kimchee in any combination your tastebuds desire.
• 5030 Spring Mountain Road, +1 702 367 4600, montaramen.com, basic ramen from $6.95. Open daily from 11.30am-11pm

China Mama

No noodle trek through Chinatown is complete without an obligatory stop at China Mama for soup dumplings. There are dozens of excellent savoury items on the long and confusing menu, but every one starts with the soup dumplings (item P23). Called "Steamed Juicy Pork Buns" by the management, they are a staple of Shanghai noodle parlours and have a rich broth contained within the pork-filled dumplings. Man does not live by dumplings alone, however, so be sure to order the crispy beef (sweet, hot and crunchy – H28 on the menu), and the spicy lamb with cumin (H39).
• 3420 South Jones Boulevard, +1 702 873 1977, no website, average main meal $10. Open daily 10.30am-10.30pm

Greenland Supermarket Food Court

This food court is in an Asian supermarket at the far end of Chinatown (about four miles west of the Strip) and will allow you to take your time and experiment with the myriad combinations of meat, noodles and vegetables that comprise the Korean diet. You can't really go wrong with any of the food stalls, but we're partial to Chapaghetti's jjambbong (which means "mix up" at $7.99) – a spicy melange of seafood and vegetables. Also highly rated are Noodle Village's bowls of cold and hot noodles – of which the spicy noodle with vegetable ($6.99) has the biggest variety of plants, and the spicy chicken ($10.99) takes no prisoners.
• 6850 West Spring Mountain Road, +1 702 459 7878, no website, main meals about $10

Payard Patisserie and Bistro

If this place was easier to find it would have a queue out the door all day long. As it is, you can stand directly in front of the patisserie portion of the operation and not be aware there's a cosy, comfortable 40-seat bistro adjacent to all those intense pastries and chocolates. As good as the breads, pastries and brunch items are, it's the seasonal prix fixe lunch that grabs the attention. Three courses cost $21, including either a vine-ripened tomato salad with buffalo mozzarella or shrimp Romesco, followed by either a nice hunk of sea bass over ratatouille or an impeccably roasted poussin. Food this good at this price should be illegal.
• 3570 Las Vegas Boulevard South, +1 702 382 9234, payard.com, main meals from $11. Open daily 6.30am-10pm

Settebello

This sole bastion of Verace Pizza Napoletana (pizza certified as authentic by Italian authorities) in Vegas has deliciously raised the pizza IQ and created a standard for excellence that makes it difficult to return to lesser pizza. True Italian wood-fired pizza is about the smoky, chewy-yet-crispy dough, and one bite of pizzaiolo Carmine D'Amato's margherita, cheese-less marinara or carbonara pizza with egg will have you swearing off franchised pizza forever.
• 140 Green Valley Parkway, +1 702 222 3556, settebello.net, pizzas from $8.50. Open daily 11am-10pm

Raku

Chef and owner Mitsuo Endo continues to create pristine Japanese robatayaki (Japanese barbecue) creations that put all others in town to shame – at prices that are far from wallet-bending – although the blizzard of plates that invariably show up on your table can ratchet up the cost if you're not careful. Every chef and foodie who comes to Vegas now makes a pilgrimage to Raku. What they find is a menu that's simplicity itself. The tsukune (grilled ground chicken on a skewer), butter-sautéed scallop, bitesize foie gras bowl, pork ear, corn stuffed with potato, whole (headless) hokke (Japanese mackerel), skewered tomatoes and meltingly tender kobe beef skewers are so good they will leave you speechless.
• 5030 West Spring Mountain Road #2, +1 702 367 3511, raku-grill.com, starters from $4, robata grill menu from $1.50. Open Mon-Sat 6pm-3am

Estiatorio Milos

By night Milos's Greek seafood is one of the pricier restaurants in town (see our upscale reataurants list) but during the day it's a different deal. All expensive sins are forgiven as the kitchen turns out three-course lunches for $20.11, which may be the best deal in fine food in Las Vegas … ever. For the price of a good glass of wine, you get the whole white tablecloth treatment, top service, a beautiful setting, the town's prettiest patio and a choice of nine appetisers, six mains, and three non-fattening desserts. You'll be tempted by the crab cake or tuna burger, but don't miss the whole lavrakia (sea bass). A martini glass of Greek yogurt with honey makes the perfect ending.
• In the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino, 3708 Las Vegas Boulevard South, +1 702 698 7930, estiatoriomilos.com, average lunch price $20.11. Open daily for lunch from noon-2.30pm

• John Curtas is a Las Vegas-based restaurant critic and food writer. He writes at Eating Las Vegas