Marché Bacchus

Marché Bacchus at 2620 Regatta Drive in the Desert Shores neighborhood of Las Vegas is one of the most unexpectedly lovely dining settings in Nevada — a lakeside French bistro and wine shop occupying a terrace on the shores of the Desert Shores man-made lake, approximately 15 minutes northwest of the Strip in a quiet residential neighborhood that most tourists never discover. The terrace overlooks the water and, in the evening, provides a genuinely romantic setting that is essentially unique in Las Vegas: al fresco French country dining without any casino within sight or earshot. The kitchen produces French bistro cooking in the comfortable, classical tradition — Duck Confit rendered properly to fall-off-the-bone tenderness, Bouillabaisse served in a generous clay pot with rouille and toasted bread, croque monsieur and steak frites at lunch — without attempting to import fine dining ambition into what is, at its core, a neighborhood restaurant attached to a wine shop. The adjoining wine store, which stocks over 100 bottles at retail prices, allows guests to purchase wine directly from the shelves and bring it to the terrace table with a modest corkage fee — an arrangement that makes an already reasonably priced meal even more economical. The wine selection covers French and international bottles at price points appropriate to a neighborhood shop rather than a restaurant cellar. Marché Bacchus is open daily for lunch and dinner and reservations are recommended for terrace seating, which fills at sunset. The restaurant is accessible by rideshare from the Strip in approximately 15 to 20 minutes.