Halloween night in Las Vegas started early for us — not with costumes or candy, but with a pre-show dinner at Ada’s, the renowned wine bar and restaurant in the heart of the Arts District.

 

A Michelin-mentioned dining room created by Chef James Trees, Ada’s is home to the World’s Most Original Wine List, an honor from The World of Fine Wine it has now taken two years running, 2024 and 2025. From the moment we sat down, we understood why. Chef Trees and the Wine Goddess herself, general manager Kat Thomas, provided the kind of exceptional service and hospitality that turns a dinner into an occasion.

The room glows as evening settles in — candlelight on dark wood, leather-bound wine books close at hand, and a team that clearly loves what it pours. Our evening began with a welcome glass of champagne, and it went on from there.

The menu, from Executive Chef Jackson Stamper, reads like a love letter to the season: miche bread with onion jam and butter, cured wagyu beef with aged beef fat, whipped brie with blackberry and honey. We dove into the burrata with persimmon and salsa macha — bright and creamy, with just the right whisper of heat — and the braised short rib over butternut squash polenta and peppercorn was pure comfort on a plate.

And then there is the wine. Kat’s list is an adventure all its own, deep with bottles you simply do not see anywhere else, and we finished on a sweet note with the Donnafugata Ben Ryé 2023, a Passito di Pantelleria that tastes like liquid Sicilian sunshine.

Fueled and happy, we stepped back out into the Halloween night, bound for Symphony Park and the evening’s show. Ada’s, you set the bar — we will be back.