Award-winning New Orleans chef opens restaurant at Wynn Las Vegas
A restaurant that’s now open at Wynn Las Vegas will taste familiar to New Orleans diners who are acquainted with Saba, Miss River or Chandelier Bar at the Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans.
Restaurateur Emily Shaya and partner Alon Shaya, the James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef, have begun a restaurant residency at the Wynn Las Vegas called Safta 1964.
Safta translates to grandmother, and the residency of Safta 1964 is meant to be a nod to the heyday of Alon Shaya’s own grandma, or “safta,” spotlighting 1960s-era Las Vegas with retro colors, floral touches and glitzy details.
“Vegas is the city where I got my start as a young chef, and my own safta helped me fall in love with cooking from a young age, so I’m excited and honored to pay tribute to her with this culinary residency at Wynn Las Vegas,” Shaya said.
The Safta 1964 menu aims to be a culinary journey beginning with a salatim (salad) platter of Shaya’s handpicked dips, spreads, vegetables and fresh-milled wheat pita.
Other offerings include jumbo lump blue crab hummus, prime bone-in ribeye, beef tartare with osetra caviar and duck matzah ball soup with black truffle.
“With Safta 1964, we’re traveling back through time, imagining the kind of magical dinner parties that she would have thrown in the 1960s. We’ll be bringing out all my favorite ingredients and some fun tableside touches for the ultimate celebration,” Shaya added.
With dessert options like chocolate tahini pie and tableside “jelleaux” service featuring layers of cherry-berry, elderflower yogurt and limeade gelatin, the Shayas hope their sweets will offer a memorable ending for diners.
Open for dinner Thursday through Monday nights and located within Jardin at Wynn Las Vegas, Safta 1964 is the “prequel” to Safta, the Shayas’ Michelin-recommended restaurant in Denver. The residency is expected to last at least a year, and reservations can be made online at wynnlasvegas.com/dining/ fine-dining/safta-1964-by-alonshaya.