The Strat Has a Winner With Blvd. and Main Taphouse

By Scott Roeben, on May 04 2019
3 min read 9 comments
Las Vegas Las Vegas Restaurants

The Strat is in the middle of a $140 million renovation, and that means lots of new offerings, including a new bar and restaurant, Blvd. & Main Taphouse.

We dove headlong into the menu at Blvd. & Main Taphouse and can happily report this new venue serves up hearty bar food (sorry, “pub cuisine”) with lots of satisfying twists.

Strat Blvd. & Main Taphouse
It’s always smart marketing to include your restaurant’s address in the name of the place. The “Blvd.” is Las Vegas Boulevard, of course.

Blvd. & Main Taphouse spans about 6,000-square feet and sits near the resort’s shiny new sports book and a new lounge, View Lounge. Yep, The Strat is pulling out all the stops.

Oh, and The Strat is now The Strat rather than The Stratosphere. Please try and keep up.

Blvd and Main Taphouse
We’d tap that again.

The menu at Blvd. & Main Taphouse was concocted by Executive Chef Johannes Bernau. His name makes him sound like one of those fancy, snoot chefs, but he’s down-to-earth and has a great sense of what guests are looking for, especially given the proximity of the restaurant to the sports book.

Real food for real people, with a little something for everyone.

Hell, we even liked the salad, which is no small feat. This is the Super Food Salad and it was as pretty as it was tasty.

Strat Blvd. & Main
Destination salad, actually.

It didn’t take long for us to notice the cocktail menu, of course, and we made quick time of In the Clouds, with Don Julio Blanco, La Pinta pomegrantate tequila, lime sour and cantaloupe juice.

Strat Blvd & Main
No, we’re not going to make a melons joke. It’s called maturity. Check out those balls, though!

You won’t want to miss the meatball appetizer, half beef and half Nueske’s bacon, which is apparently a thing for bacon lovers.

Strat Blvd & Main
Nueske’s bacon is “smoked 24 hours over smoldering Applewood embers.” We’re so turn on right now.

Another must-try are the Bierocks (pronounced bee-ROKs).

The dish comes with three rolls filled with stout-braised short ribs. There’s also a Pilsner beer cheese dipping sauce for good measure.

Blvd. & Main restaurant
Bierock can also be spelled beerock, berrock, bierox and beerrock, which can be very confusing when a bierock renews its drivers license.

Here’s a peek inside that bad boy.

Blvd & Main Taphouse
Your salivary gland are working just fine.

Next up, some delicious BBQ short rib sliders with chipotle BBQ sauce, a sauce so good they named a restaurant chain after it.

Blvd and Main Stratosphere
How are these not a thing everywhere?

We definitely didn’t have room for the fish and chips, but wouldn’t want to let you down, so we powered on. The fish and chips were great, we’re pleased to report.

Blvd and Main Stratosphere
Kneel before cod.

We felt compelled to try several desserts on your behalf, so we went for the butter toffee cake.

There’s a whole production around the butter toffee cake, as the buttered rum-toffee sauce is poured tableside. There’s creme fraiche ice cream inside.

Blvd & Main dessert
Remember, Vegas calories don’t count.

A fine finish to our visit was the “Fondue for Sharing.” What’s not to love about dipping things into melted chocolate? Our only suggestion for this dish would be to include Rice Krispie Treats as one of the dippable treats.

Strat fondue
Oh, yes, we fondid.

All in all, Blvd. & Main Taphouse delivers a diverse selection of accessible snacks and entrees, all in a welcoming, casual atmosphere.

Yes, there are sports on the TVs, but the volume isn’t intrusive, and during our visit there was live entertainment, a lone singer with a guitar.

The decor features art pieces commissioned by local artists, too, so make sure to explore.

Check out the full menu on the official Stratosphere site.

You’ll also want to pop next door to View Lounge.

Strat View Lounge
View Lounge serves up drinks and small bites. Yep, the bar has video poker.

Here’s a look at the Strat’s William Hill sports book, in case you’re into sportsball.

Strat sports book
There’s a lot of new, with more to come. That’s just how we roll in Vegas.

Blvd. & Main Taphouse is a solid addition to the restaurant line-up at The Strat, and big thanks to the folks at The Strat for hosting our visit.

While you’re at The Strat, one more item of interest: The hotel recently unveiled a statue out front called “Look.”

Strat Look statue
It was originally called “Point,” but they didn’t want to be rude.

Stratosphere’s transformation into The Strat is ongoing, and the marquee is getting an upgrade at this very moment.

Stratosphere Strat
A refresh isn’t official until it makes its way to the marquee. It’s the law.

Let us know what you think of all the changes at The Strat! Especially if you agree with us about the Blvd. & Main Taphouse. We’re a big fan of being agreed with.

Blvd. and Main Taphouse at The Strat