These new (and renovated) restaurants, hotels and casinos, bars, lounges, and performance spaces in Las Vegas are opening in the coming months and have indoor, outdoor, private, and semiprivate spaces for small and large groups, for meetings, events, holiday parties, and business entertaining.
1. Central Michel Richard at Caesars Palace has plans to open in September, as the first-ever round-the-clock restaurant to be helmed by a James Beard award-winning chef. Central Michel Richard will be open 24 hours per day, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with signature dishes including a charcuterie tower showcasing an arsenal of cured meats, goat cheese Caesar salad, crab cake with leek tartare, and lobster burger. The 9,600-square-foot restaurant will seat about 300 guests in all, including on a patio terrace that can be booked for private parties.
2. Caesars Palace will become home to historic New York restaurant Old Homestead Steakhouse. The eatery will replace Neros restaurant and is slated to open before the end of the year. Offering more than 16,000 square feet of space, the venue will have 250 seats with a full dining room, private dining room, lounge, and bar.
3. The Barrymore is slated to open Labor Day weekend, offering a seasonally rotating menu, signature cocktails, and a wine list with 50 selections under $50. On Convention Center Drive between Las Vegas Boulevard and the Las Vegas Convention Center, the venue's decor uses a palette of cream, chocolate, and blue. The dining room will hold 50 guests, and the fireside patio will seat more than 20.
4. In October, Margaritaville and the Flamingo Las Vegas will open Margaritaville Casino at the Flamingo as the first casino gaming space to bear the Margaritaville name. Adjoining the restaurant and directly accessible from the Strip sidewalk, the Margaritaville Casino will offer 15,000 square feet and 22 gaming tables, 220 slot machines, and the centerpiece 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar.
5. The Light Group just announced the opening of 1Oak at the Mirage Hotel & Casino, where it will replace Jet Nightclub. It will be a partnership with New York-based lifestyle and hospitality company Butter Group (owners of restaurants the Darby and Butter, and lounges and nightclubs the Darby Downstairs, 1Oak NYC, Butter NC, and 1Oak Brazil), and is slated for a New Year's Eve opening. The Light Group, which owns and operates 15 restaurants and nightspots on the Las Vegas Strip, will close Jet on September 6 to make way for the project. International design firm Munge Leung will execute the interior design vision for 1Oak’s Las Vegas outpost, which was conceived collaboratively between the Light Group and the Butter Group. Artist Roy Nachum will incorporate original works of art into the look.
6. An outpost of SBE's Hyde is slated to open at the Bellagio in the former Fontana Bar space on New Year's Eve, with a lounge-y feel by day and a club vibe at night. The indoor-outdoor space will have fountain frontage. Philippe Starck is working on the design, keeping in line with the look of the Bellagio and blending it with the Hyde brand. The capacity is about 730 people in 12,000 square feet.
7. Flamingo Las Vegas announced plans to open the first West Coast location of high-energy Mexican eatery Carlos’n Charlie’s. The restaurant and bar is slated to debut later this winter. Adjacent to the Race & Sports Book, Carlos’n Charlie’s will comprise more than 8,000 square feet, serving lunch and dinner daily. The dining room will have seating for 150, and a terrace will overlook the Flamingo pool and gardens, with oversize umbrellas and cooling misters, accommodating an additional 150. The large bar will seat as many as 40 guests, bringing the venue’s full seating capacity to 340, with additional space for gathering and dancing.
8. Lynyrd Skynyrd BBQ & Beer is set to open in the fall at Excalibur Hotel & Casino. Michael Frey and Craig Gilbert of Drive This! Entertainment, the team behind such Vegas venues as Rhumbar and Tacos & Tequila, will unveil the restaurant and nightlife concept in the former location of Sherwood Café. The rock 'n’ roll-inspired venue will include decor like original album covers, guitars, artwork, and band pictures. The center of the action will be a concert stage where a variety of cover bands and musical acts, will perform. Bar staff will sing on the bars and stage, leading spontaneous sing-alongs to mash-ups of classic Skynyrd songs.
Looking ahead to 2012, here are some more planned venues to keep on your radar:
The Smith Center for the Performing Arts is a public-private partnership that will bring performances by resident companies, as well as first-run touring attractions, to town. The five-acre cultural campus will include three performance spaces: the 2,050-seat main performance area in Reynolds Hall, and Boman Pavilion’s 258-seat cabaret-jazz theater and 250-seat studio theater. The campus will also be home to the Discovery Children’s Museum. In downtown’s Symphony Park, the Smith Center broke ground in May 2009 and is slated to open in March 2012.
Caesars Palace Las Vegas and Nobu Hospitality are developing the first Nobu Hotel, planned for a summer 2012 opening. The concept will integrate a hotel tower with the first Nobu restaurant and lounge on the Strip. Under the plan, the interior of the Centurion Tower at Caesars Palace will undergo a multimillion-dollar renovation to create the Nobu Hotel within the resort. The 180-room Nobu Hotel will offer 16 suites and a penthouse with an interior design that makes use of natural materials, along with Nobu’s signature Japanese style. Nobu Hotel guests will have private check-in and room service from Nobu’s culinary team. The centerpiece of the renovation is Nobu Restaurant and Lounge. Chef Nobu Matsuhisa's new space will encompass 9,500 square feet at the base of the tower.
Gordon Ramsay is widely expected to open two venues, one at Paris, and one at Caesars. While speculation and rumors have been flying for months, details are still unconfirmed and yet to be announced.
