Conrad Gallagher's PoshBurger Bistro Calls It Quits

In perhaps one of the shortest tenures of a restaurant helmed by a Michelin-starred chef, PoshBurger Bistro from Irish chef Conrad Gallagher is now closed. The news should come as no surprise to those who have followed the drama of the restaurant since it opened in March and were forewarned by Eater Vegas' blow by blow breakdown of a sketchy culinary career in freefall.

Critics offered up mixed reviews of the place with some such as John Curtas said the joint offered "a variety of good meats you can consume without fear and with the confidence that you are eating the best hamburger Vegas neighborhoods have ever seen."

On Al Mancini's personal blog, where he touts many of the free meals set up by publicists, he said diners should eat at the restaurant, "Because Poshburger is, quite simply, the best burger restaurant I've ever experienced."

Jim Begley at Las Vegas Weekly called the menu a "Noah's Ark, as the more common Black Angus is accompanied by lamb, wild boar and venison," although specials such as elk, ostrich and duck were "conspicuously absent during my visits."

Most didn't mention Gallagher's sketchy background if they mentioned his name at all. Odd.

Others encountered horrendous burgers. Erik Chudy had a doozie of an experience with a Groupon while a chef from a Strip restaurant watched a server eat a French fry off a plate and waited more than 30 minutes for his meal when the place had a mere two tables, yes, picnic tables, seated on a Saturday night.

The death knell for PoshBurger rang early and often. Only a month after opening, employees reported that they weren't getting paid. Within two months, a local butcher reported that he wasn't getting paid and another vendor said he reported PoshBurger to the district attorney's office. By the end of May, the restaurant shut down its OpenTable account.

Multiple sources reported that PoshBurger didn't honor deals. For example, a $10 burger deal touted for any of the restaurant's designer creations, including Kobe beef with seared foie gras, became simply a design your own deal with three toppings.

One tipster who worked at the restaurant said the meat served at the restaurant was not grass-fed as advertised and instead "brought in from local suppliers and named Kobe and Angus."

Even last week a tipster said the restaurant was only accepting cash payment.

Gallagher's expanded plans for a Las Vegas empire included Gallagher the Grocer, "a small boutique gourmet food store, wine shop and cooking school warehouse in Summerlin." and The Green Artichoke, "A Modern Paris Bistro" intended for the same strip mall location as PoshBurger Bistro.
· All Coverage of PoshBurger Bistro [~ELV~]