Inside Mandalay Bay, right where the casino meets the stretch of shopping known as Mandalay Place that connects to the Luxor, there sits one of the most creative kitchens on the Strip. It’s called Rx Boiler Room, and it’s upstairs from proprietor Rick Moonen’s signature destination, RM Seafood. Once the Top Chef Masters competitor and renowned champion of sustainable sourcing and cooking set the standard with RM Seafood, he created the Boiler Room to indulge his more experimental tendencies. And that’s saying something, too, because Moonen is one of the true culinary mad scientists of Las Vegas.

Rx Boiler Room’s bewitching ambience is as unique as its delicious offerings. It looks and feels like the food and drink laboratory it is, with rustic, steampunky accents everywhere you look around this lush bar, lounge and dining room. In fact, sidling up to the long brass-and-wood bar for an inventive craft cocktail is an absolute necessity before your meal, as this team is among the best-regarded booze crews on the Strip. The elegantly smooth Poire Dakkar, constructed with oak-aged cognac and chai-honey sour, and the aromatic, ultra-fun smoked whiskey and cola are just two of the recommended libations, but your favorite flavor is ready to be discovered as well.

The drinks will get you in the mood for a true gastronomic adventure, and the journey begins with the Boiler Room’s small-plate selections. The bacon wrapped bacon-n-egg is a one-bite treasure, a buttery brioche toast with tomato jam and a tiny sunny side-up quail egg, all enveloped in savory pork. The chicken pot pie nuggets are playful and nostalgic, the most scrumptious version of the classic TV dinner also assembled in a snackable format. Cool lettuce wraps are served not with seasoned chicken but with Peking duck, rich and tender and topped with pickled onions and cucumber-cilantro coleslaw. Find more duck in a decadent tater tot poutine drenched in Bordelaise, and find the place where bar-food faves chicken wings and oysters come together with the Angry Buffalo oysters, a dish that must be devoured to be believed.

Charcuterie and cheese boards designed for sharing are next up, followed by salad options including a farm-fresh catch-all with locally grown greens. The Boiler Room has a selection of steaks from Creekstone Farms in Kansas, but the more exciting land-based fare includes Greek-style braised lamb shank with toasted orzo, gremolata and ricotta salata; a rabbit ragu with root vegetables over pappardelle with Parmesan foam; and the complex ancho mole-braised beef shortrib, which, rightfully (and righteously), is listed with “no knife needed” as a hashtag description. This meat is so fall-apart tender, you could eat it with a spoon.

Of course, Moonen brings some seafood to the upstairs party, most notably in the form of the shellfish pot pie—shrimp, scallops, lobster and king crab beneath puff pastry. The standout sides are five-cheese mac and cheese and the Moroccan-spiced baby carrots, which happen to go well with each other, too.

The Shoppes at Mandalay Place 5-11 p.m. daily. 702.632.9900