Vegas flush with new fine-dining options
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — For at least two years now, the Vegas dining scene seemed to have shifted to meet the eating habits of a young demographic. Pizza and casual American fare cafes were all the rage, followed by an ongoing hunger for burgers, as evidenced by the opening of Umami Burger, Bobby’s Burger Palace, B&B Burger & Beer and the perpetually mobbed Shake Shack.
These days, however, it appears Sin City has an appetite for delicious glam. Upscale restaurants marked by chef-driven menus and high-design style have taken hold of the Strip, ushering in the next era of posh dining. Here are some of the new haunts heating up the scene.
Bardot Brasserie: Celebrity chef Michael Mina has had a multi-venue presence in Vegas for years. Diners enjoy his ability to go ultra highbrow (Michael Mina at Bellagio), or steakhouse chic (StripSteak at Mandalay Bay) or cool casual (Michael Mina Pub 1842 at MGM Grand). And now they’re willing to take a stroll with Mina straight into the heart of Paris with Bardot Brasserie, the gleaming new power bistro at Aria.
Bardot looks every inch the grand Parisian café — it’s almost easy to forget you just stepped off a generic hallway on the mezzanine level of the casino resort. The menu includes Mina’s creative take on iconic French dishes — duck a l’orange is served as duck wings, an uptown approach to quintessential American bar food — as well as classic fare (escargot, steak tartare, bone marrow, onion soup gratinée, cote de boeuf for two served with beef fat fries). The wine list, bubbles and beer selection are impressive; the cocktail offerings may make you forget the blackjack tables downstairs. And in a town crowded with so-so brunch offerings, Bardot’s Sunday is pure fun-day — especially with a bottomless glass of rosé for $20.
Vitals: At Aria Resort & Casino, 3730 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 877-230-2742; aria.com
Lago: Bellagio could hardly be accused of skimping on any aspect of its restaurants, but the resort that taught everyone how to serve up luxe on a platinum platter has outdone itself with its flashy new Lago.
Chef Julian Serrano, who already has a home at Bellagio with his haute French Picasso, recently unveiled this new Italian charmer. The high-energy dining room, with a patio perched waterfront on the hotel’s fountains, delivers artful plates of Italian morsels including charred octopus, seafood ravioli, short rib cannelloni, spaghetti chitarra with clams and roasted branzino.
While Serrano’s food menu is of the quality you’d expect from a Michelin-starred chef, Lago’s cocktails aim higher than the famous dancing waters. There’s so much inventiveness at hand — the Smoked Peach Margarita made with Herradura Reposado tequila, house-smoked peachello, vanilla-thyme syrup, mescal peach compote, peachwood-smoked sea salt rim and a garnish of a salted-lime agave cone — that you might be tempted to drink your dinner.
Vitals: At Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S, 866.2597111; bellagio.com
Rivea and Skyfall Lounge: When visiting Vegas you might as well shoot for the stars. And the closest you’ll get to them on the Strip is at the top of Delano hotel, where the formidable chef Alain Ducasse has opened Rivea restaurant and Skyfall Lounge.
The menu is inspired by the French and Italian Rivieras — simple, fresh Mediterranean flavors such as Niçoise-style baby vegetables; prawn and calamari crostino; linguine and clams; octopus salad; lobster and purple artichokes; and striped bass with minestrone reduction.
While the food aims to thrill, the sights from the 64th floor of the hotel will amaze. Not only does Rivea have them, but the adjacent Skyfall Lounge, with its 180-degree view of the city that may make you want to order another bottle of champagne. Skyfall has the bubbles (as well as a slew of handcrafted cocktails and a light fare menu from Rivea), the music and a newly minted cache geared toward sending customers home on a cloud.
Vitals: At Delano Las Vegas, 3940 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 877-632-7700; delanolasvegas.com
Carbone: Who gets excited today about old school Italian-American fare like linguine with clams, lobster fra diavolo and chicken Scarpariello? All the hip kids, apparently. Restaurateurs Mario Carbone, Rich Torrisi and Jeff Zalaznick managed to turn-on jaded New Yorkers in 2013 with their Greenwich Village restaurant specializing in elegant, almost excessive versions of red-sauce Italian dishes.
Piggybacking on their sensation, the partners have opened a Carbone outpost at Aria in Vegas. But don’t expect a design copy of the Big Apple restaurant. San Franciscobased designer Ken Fulk has created a grand, theatrical set of rooms that evoke old Vegas glamour, Rat Pack excess and New York wiseguys swagger. The menu’s the same, though — upscale iterations of retro Italian food served up tableside by tuxedo-clad table captains. The prices might make you gasp ($64 for veal parmesan), but what’s a few C-notes for the experi- ence? Carbone’s is a scene, an abbondanza of the highest order. Goodfellas never had it so swell.
Vitals: At Aria Resort & Casino, 3730 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 877-230-2742; aria. com
SW Steakhouse: The big ticket restaurant at Wynn never looked or acted like a typical steakhouse. And perhaps that’s why the plush dining room — a handsome merger of meticulous service and unstuffy fine dining — has always been one of the most coveted reservations on the Strip.
Now there’s even more to celebrate about SW, which recently completed a $1 million nip-tuck that has brought even more warmth and drama to the space. Expanses of sandstone and marble are mixed with a palette of cream, copper, white and gold, providing a rich environment for chef David Walzog’s high-roller fare of seafood towers, caviar service, lobster tails, king crab legs and pedigreed beef (Wagyu and USDA Prime steaks).
The redesign has allowed for an expanded terrace, adding more tables alongside the hypnotic Lake of Dreams multimedia show in SW’s backyard.
Vitals: At Wynn Las Vegas, 3131 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-770-3325; wynnlasvegas.com
ON THE HORIZON
Costa di Mare: Mediterranean seafood star Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare lost its James Beard Award-winning chef Paul Bartolotta last month and had to quickly retool as Costa di Mare. But the Wynn jewel appears to be in good hands with chef Mark LoRosso, formerly of Encore’s Botero and Wynn’s Tableau. Although open, diners may want to give LoRusso a chance to get his sea legs.
Mr. Chow: After years of flirting with the idea, Michael Chow is debuting a Mr. Chow at Caesars Palace in December. Known for its hedonistic, celebrity-littered atmosphere, Mr. Chow will put down its seventh restaurant overlooking the Garden of the Gods Pool Oasis. Sure, Chow’s famous green prawns, chicken satay, Peking duck and champagne trolley will be on offer, but something tells us the food might be second to the scene.
Harvest by Roy Ellamar: Bellagio is replacing Sensi with this new farm-to-table restaurant next month. The modern-Americancuisine concept will make use of local produce and sustainably produced proteins. Former Sensi chef Ellamar will dish out artisanal American cheeses, catch-of-theday whole fish, grass-fed beef, organic poultry and pork and market-driven vegetable dishes.