AREA15 is a land of wonder, whimsy and wickedly good times. The arts and entertainment district has become one of the city’s most unique gathering hubs for both Vegas visitors and locals alike … and it’s constantly growing and evolving. For nearly six years, guests have been able to experience everything from concerts, raves and yoga to retail, restaurants and a surreal grocery store. Just last year, AREA15’s footprint stretched to include the new Zone 2 and Universal Horror Unleashed. And the creativity and innovation keeps flowing onto the acreage set across the freeway from the Las Vegas Strip! We recently checked out some new food and beverage offerings that have us excited about planning our return visit, because you just never know what else might pop up at this ever-evolving land of fun.

Photo by: Christopher DeVargas

Looper

“We affectionately call it the Carousel Bar, a 40-foot container next to Looper, our carousel,” said Peter Vitolo, general manager of AREA15 restaurants. “Looper has these crazy characters—shark, giraffe, rhino, lion, dressed up in creative props, laser hats, neon, steampunk, and we named the cocktails after the creatures on the Looper.” The psychedelic carousel ride is open to all ages, and tickets must be purchased to ride, but the bar is 21+. Guests can also order various sandwiches with culinary twists on classics like the Cuban, BLT and Italian sub, and even a dessert sandwich of bananas, strawberries and Nutella.

Glow Trotter

Deep Eddy vodka, lemonade, blue Curaçao, simple syrup and popping candy.

Rhino Razzle

Redemption bourbon, blackberry syrup, lemon juice and mint leaves.

Lucid Lion

Bacardi Superior rum, passion fruit purée, lime juice and a chili salt rim.

**Mocktails are on the menu, too, like the Gilded Giraffe with passion fruit and prickly pear, pineapple, lime, Red Bull Tropical and a chili salt rim, and the Pegasus Pop with blackberry syrup, agave, melon, mint, ginger beer and popping candy.

**Order Looper’s version of the viral fried chicken dessert. This version is the Not Fried Chicken Ice Cream, made with waffle ice cream, chocolate cookie bone and corn flakes.

Photo by: Christopher DeVargas

The Beast Mobile Food Trailer

Situated right outside the main building of AREA15, The Beast Mobile Food Trailer feeds hungry peeps some tasty Mexican eats including savory bites along with classic Mexican sodas and paleta (fresh fruit ice pops).

Walking Taco

Vitolo was the catalyst for this dish—he asked the food truck to open a bag of Doritos and throw some meat and condiments in there. Guests caught him walking around with the treat and asked him where he got it. The lightbulb went off! He ordered specialty Doritos bags, made especially for eateries that want to make this type of dish, and the Walking Taco was born. “We sold out a whole case of those bags of Doritos the first day we sold the dish,” Vitolo said. The Walking Taco is filled with your choice of marinated and slow-braised-in-house pork, beef or chicken, cilantro, onion, jalapeños and your choice of salsa with different spice levels.

Elote

This traditional Mexican side dish is corn on the cob that is slightly cooked on the grill to give the kernels a nice char and crisp and is then coated with Mexican creama, lime and cotija cheese. It’s one of the food truck’s most popular dishes … and it’s vegetarian!

Birria Quesadilla

Stuffed into a flour tortilla is your choice of pork, chicken or steak (or go vegetarian with no meat), onions, radish, cilantro, salsa and a blend of Mexican cheeses. The outside of the tortilla is then coated in even more cheese and cooked on the grill to give it a nice crunch. It’s served with made-in-house salsa and a birria consommé (made from the drippings off the slow-braising of the meats) perfect for dipping.

**While no alcohol is served, the food truck is situated right next door to LIFTOFF that offers a full bar. Purchase a cocktail or beer and bring it back over to the food truck to enjoy with your food!

Photo by: Laurent Velasquez

Oddwood Bar

Last summer, Vitolo and the beverage team worked on the Oddwood Bar menu and reformatted a lot of the recipes, creating cocktails that look like science experiments. “We’re doing the laboratory experiments with the cocktails,” Vitolo said. “This is our high-profile mixology bar and a focal point of AREA15. This is the bar where you’ll find top mixology happening.” The new physical menu even looks like notes you’d find in a laboratory research book, with funny anecdotes and notations of cocktail experimenting gone awry. A lot of cocktails are even served in laboratory-inspired vessels like beakers. Vitolo also points out that when you visit Oddwood Bar (it’s hard to miss this bar, with its huge digital maple tree that lights with colors of the rainbow), look for little leaf stickers that contain a QR code that unlocks a secret cocktail menu.

Formula G.H.O.S.T.

Celaya blanco tequila, cucumber agave, fresh lime juice and fresh cucumber served in an Erlenmeyer flask with dry ice and LED lights.

Beaker Burster

El Cristiano blanco tequila, watermelon schnapps, mango purée, watermelon syrup, fresh lime juice and Tajín served in a lab beaker with a pipette for easy drinking.

Loro Rojo

Ilegal Joven mezcal, strawberries, syrup, lemon juice, basil leaves and strawberry, and pineapple fronds for garnish. (This one is from the secret menu!)

**On the weekends, DJs take over with live sets to help set the mood.

**Some of the cocktails on the secret menu offer discounts to various attractions around AREA15. For example, if you purchase the Loro Rojo cocktail you’ll receive 50% off admission to Birdly, or purchase the Mutant Millie cocktail to unlock one free pass to Origin Quest.

Photo by: Christopher DeVargas

Grounded Grills  

If you like the concept of the grilled cheese, then the new Grounded Grills food truck is for you. “(It’s) our food truck that is an homage to one of the most comforting foods to hit food and beverage: the grilled cheese,” Vitolo said. “So, we thought, ‘How do we take a grilled cheese and make it be a traffic driver? What do you have to do to a grilled cheese to make it stand out? How do you get adults to eat grilled cheese?’ So you have to get whimsical and fun, very AREA15.” The result is a menu of five of the most indulgent, over-the-top grilled cheese recipes you’ll ever eat, along with some tantalizing sides like boardwalk fries served with classic malt vinegar, tomato basil soup (dip your grilled cheese in there!) and Mexican key lime pie ice box cake.

Flamin’ Elote Fiesta

Roasted corn salsa, pepper Jack cheese, Oaxaca cheese and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos crust on sourdough bread.

Mac Daddy

White truffle mac and cheese and smoked applewood bacon on sourdough bread.

Cheesequake Fries

Fresh french fries, cheddar, mozzarella and American cheeses, jalapeños, pickled onions and cilantro crema.

**Near the food truck, try your hand at the Skeeball games, or walk a few feet over and take a look at the recently installed 150-foot-long, 60-foot-wide Boeing 747 airplane.

Coming in 2026!

Food and beverage: Alien Pizza Party, Chilango’s Tacos, Cosmic Pretzel, Fuku Chicken, Good Company Burgers, Nacho Daddy, Saint Honoré Doughnuts & Beignets and The Bowl

Experiences and retail: Miniso, House Rules, Dolls Kill, Museum of Ice Cream and iFLY Indoor Skydiving

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