Esther’s Kitchen

An Italian-leaning restaurant in the Arts District, opened in 2018 by chef James Trees and named after his great-aunt. It moved in 2023 from Casino Center Boulevard to a larger site on South Main Street, with an open kitchen, a long bar and a bakery producing the bread and pasta on the premises. The menu shifts with what is available and leans on Californian and Nevadan produce: seasonal vegetable dishes, hand-cut pastas, wood-fired pizzas at lunch. There is a considered natural wine list and a substantial amaro and vermouth selection. The restaurant did much to establish the Arts District as a dining quarter rather than simply a gallery strip, and the surrounding blocks of South Main now hold enough bars and shops to fill an evening on foot.