Behold, Daniel Boulud's DB Brasserie, Opening Thursday

Hold your breath; Vegas' next big restaurant is about to open. Daniel Boulud make his return to the city on Thursday with DB Brasserie, his contemporary French restaurant at the Venetian.

While the menu is not complete, already dishes such as poisson fume, a smoked fish platter with smoked salmon and sable rillette, a Tunisian lamb duo with a lamb sausage and a roasted lamb chop as well as the Le President, a chocolate hazelnut mousse tart make the menu. Boulud promises to bring many of his favorites from across his spectrum of restaurants to DB. Crispy calamari and escargots, duck confit and coq au vin, steak frites from the grill and three of Boulud's gourmet burgers (no, not the infamous DB Burger that started the gourmet burger craze, at least not at the opening) turn up on the menu.

Executive chef Dave Middleton says that his mentor, Alex Stratta, worked under Boulud oh so many years ago when he ran Le Cirque in New York City, so they speak a common food language.

Initially, the 280-seat restaurant will only open for dinner with lunch to come and perhaps even brunch. The dining room, as elegant and refined as Boulud himself, features a faux skylight that recalls a classic Beaux Arts train stations and restaurants. Jeffrey Beers International designed the look of this space with its travertine limestone panels at the entrance and four-panel, 12-foot-wide exterior doors that open to the casino.

Single Edison bulbs mounted to antique brass fixtures hang from a coffered Venetian-plastered ceiling. Cement green and white tile in a hexagonal pattern give that Paris Metro vibe in the bar area while an oak floor sits beneath the skylight.

Behind the bar and lounge with room for 40, find an amber glass backbar and a marble-topped communal high-top table with wood and green leather bar stools. Two private dining rooms with space for 40.

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• [Photos: Jenna Dosch]
• [Photo: Bill Milne]

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