New York’s Bryce Shuman Heads Up Primrose

If news of Primrose opening at the Monte Carlo didn’t get food lovers excited, perhaps the chef behind the restaurant will

Bryce Shuman plans to take over the kitchen of the restaurant opening this fall from the Sydell Group. Next year, the resort converts into the Park MGM and NoMad Hotel with an Eataly and NoMad to boot.

Shuman helmed the kitchen at New York City’s Betony, a favorite for dinner dates, fancy cocktails and celebratory meals. That restaurant shuttered on New Year’s Eve 2016 after a four-year run.

Eater New York called Betony a “sophisticated fine dining establishment with food in the vein of Eleven Madison Park.”

Betony earned three stars from the New York Times, and a Michelin star three years in a row.

Primrose plans to offer a South of France-inspired, vegetable-forward menu, with an emphasis on open-fire cooking. Shuman tells Eater Vegas that Primrose is not a vegetarian restaurant even though they take center stage.

“We’re focusing on an amazing wood-fire grill that beautiful and right out in the garden,” he says.

During Vegas Uncork’d, he plans on appearing at Picnic in the Park on Saturday, showcasing a few of the dishes he might

Signe Birck

create at Primrose. His rendition of tempura-battered fried pickles and a grilled veggie burger with rutabaga and beets and topped with a lemon aioli along with lettuce, tomato and onion on a potato bun make his Uncork’d menu.

“I’m hoping to give you an idea of the playfulness and fun of the menu,” he says.

A grain salad and his take on short ribs make the move from Betony to Vegas.

Some herbs and veggies may grow in the gardens at Primrose, and Shuman hopes the bartenders might snip a mint leaf or flower to go into a cocktail.

Primrose fills 12,155 square feet at the Monte Carlo in the soon-to-be remodeled lobby space near the pool, also undergoing a renovation. The indoor/outdoor space will add a second floor with a terrace, also accessible from a new upper level addition to the lobby. Shuman says that almost one-third of the dining space sits outdoors.

“It will definitely have a French cafe feel in a lot of the design,” he says. “It’s almost as if the park is moving into the hotel.”

Interior designer Martin Brudnizki, who created The Ivy, Le Caprice and Annabel’s in London, is creating a restaurant with a residential feel that includes rooms in a country house that lead out to a garden and terrace inspired by Southern France.

For construction alone, Primrose has allocated $2,133,931 in estimated costs with room for a maximum of 495 guests. Primrose plans to feature a grill and garden bar, a foyer, a drawing room, ground floor bar, main dining room, plus bookcase and wood-covered walls.

• Primrose Restaurant Opening at Park MGM Lobby [ELV]