Aroma Latin American Cocina

From Guatemala City to Spring Mountain Road

Steve Kestler grew up in Guatemala City and came to cooking after three years of music school, switching to culinary work at 25. He moved to Las Vegas in 2013 and cooked at Bouchon at The Venetian and Bazaar Meat at the Sahara. In late 2021 he opened Aroma Latin American Cocina, as chef and co-founder, on North Green Valley Parkway in Henderson.

The Henderson restaurant drew notice fast. Yelp's 2023 ranking of taco spots across the country put Aroma at number one, and in 2024 Kestler was a James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: Southwest. After closing in Henderson, Aroma reopened in May 2026 at the eastern edge of Chinatown. Kestler told the Review-Journal that customers had asked for years for a more central location, and that Asian cooking already gives some of his dishes their tone.

On the menu

The cooking pulls from across Latin America, with Asian and European touches. Dishes listed on the restaurant's site and in recent coverage include:

• Peruvian ceviche with leche de tigre, camote and yellowtail
• Lomo saltado Nikkei with soy reduction, sushi rice and ají amarillo cream
• Churrasquito: grilled picanha with chimi potatoes
• A Guatemalan enchilada with hard-boiled egg
• Beef short ribs with mole
• Pepián negro, duck confit with a chipilín tamalito, which Kestler traces to a ceremonial Mayan recipe
• Pastel de queso with guava and alfajor crumble

The new room

The Chinatown space is about the size of the old one but laid out differently. The open kitchen is visible from the door, banquettes seat two or four, and one table holds ten. A mural of a woman in a jaguar mask meets guests at the entrance.

Hours on the website: dinner Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m.; late-night bites Friday and Saturday, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Reservations are taken by phone or online.

Visit or contact Aroma Latin American Cocina

3355 Spring Mountain Road, Unit 35, Las Vegas, NV 89102
(702) 683-4135
Business website

Researched September 26, 2026. Source 1; Source 2; Source 3; Source 4. This is an independent directory listing, not a claim that the owner has joined or installed a badge. For a correction or removal, contact Cody. Listings are free and badges are optional.