VEGAS DINING NEWS: World-Class Buffet May Be Back for Seconds, Vegas’ Top Ranked New Restaurants

• Rio execs are considering bringing back the Carnival World Buffet
• Three Vegas eateries made Yelp’s list of the year’s 25 best new restaurants

The beloved Carnival World Buffet at the Rio just might be revived. In a licensing hearing before the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) last week, property CFO Chris Balaban said he and CEO Patrick Miller recently spit-balled the idea of bringing back the buffet “to see what it looks like from a capital structure.”

“When you walk the floor and talk to people, everyone brings up the buffet,” Balaban told the board, according to the Las Vegas Advisor. “It resonates and there’s a lot of pent-up demand from people who had great experiences at the Rio and want a good reason to return.”

The Rio closed Carnival World during the pandemic in March 2020, replacing it with the Canteen Food Hall, which opened in January 2024 to conspicuously thinner crowds.

Yelp Yourself

Three Las Vegas eateries showed up in Yelp’s “25 Best New Restaurants for 2025” roundup:

• Caramá at Manadalay Bay landed at #18. Chef Wolfgang Puck’s culinary tribute to his mother currently holds a 4.2-star rating from 140 reviews.
• The Guest House Las Vegas, located in the Town Square mall just south of the Strip, claimed the #14 spot. Serving up New American fare and “Alice in Wonderland”-inspired cocktails, it boasts a 4.2-star rating from 369 reviews.
• Sgrizzi by Chef Marc, located 6.5 miles southwest of the Strip at 9250 S. Rainbow Blvd., ranked highest among Vegas entries at #5. The Italian steakhouse holds a 4.5-star rating from 347 reviews.

The top spot was taken by Dōgon in Washington, DC, followed by Celeste in Narragansett, RI, and Theodora in Brooklyn, NY.

Dining Ins & Outs

How Ya Dough’N Pizzeria, a South Florida pizza chain famed for its Nutella-stuffed Dubai pie, plans to be the first restaurant to open at the new BLVD retail complex, across the Strip from the Aria Campus (formerly CityCenter), in November.

The Cupcakery, which once boasted four local spots and counted among its customers one President Barack Obama, will close its final location (9690 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 100) on Feb. 1, 2026, after 20 years. “Our lease isn’t being renewed and TBH, the expenses to keep quality high has killed our profits in the last few years,” the outlet posted on Facebook.  “I don’t think I’m alone in the struggle of small business right now. I could elborate, but it’s just exhausting.”

Sofia, a modern Italian brand popular in Miami and Toronto will open a pop-up eatery in Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, from November 11-22 in the former Olives space. Leading the menu will be corporate executive chef Patrick Ochs and Sofia Miami executive chef Abel Vuelens.

27 Club Coffee, the Cleveland coffee shop founded by rapper Machine Gun Kelly and named for famous musicians who died at age 27, will also get a Vegas pop-up. It will run October 17-19 at Más Por Favor Taqueria y Tequila at 3879 Spring Mountain Road in Chinatown. Coffee, cocktails, food, and merch will be available.