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Spring finally arrives in two weeks, and already 2018 looks to be a big season for restaurant openings in Las Vegas. The warmer weather serves up 10 anticipated restaurant and bar openings all across Las Vegas. Ricardo Zarate, the godfather of Peruvian cuisine, opens his first restaurant in Las Vegas, José Andrés dabbles in food and drink at the new Esports Arena, and the Palms promises a new steakhouse, boutique nightclub, and lounge. Plus the very first cat cafe arrives in the Arts District, and matcha and ube bring Instagram-worthy treats. Here's a look at what's on the horizon for restaurant openings in spring 2018. See something missing? Drop it in the comments.
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Once
Location: Grand Canal Shoppes
Key Players: Ricardo Zarate, the godfather of Peruvian food, from Los Angeles
Projected Opening: March 12
Los Angeles-based chef Ricardo Zarate opens his first Las Vegas restaurant Grand Canal Shoppes, taking over the former Table 10 space vacated by Emeril Lagasse on New Year’s Eve. He promises a Peruvian Nikkei dining experience at Once, pronounced on-seh, which means “eleven” in Spanish and symbolizes Zarate’s spot in his line of 13 siblings. The menu focuses on dishes that blend flavors from Peru and Japan, all taking their inspiration from Zarate’s childhood. The tiny menu features 11 à la carte shared plates that will rotate weekly since they rely on seasonal ingredients.
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Esports Arena
Location: Luxor
Key Player: José Andrés
Projected Opening: March 22
Avid gamer José Andrés and his ThinkFoodEntertainment put together a players menu at the Esports Arena Las Vegas opening at the Luxor. The 30,553-square-foot, two-level space takes over the shuttered LAX Nightclub, with a menu promised to be delicious, but also practical for the gaming environment. Inside, gamers will encounter a bar, a competition stage, a huge LED video wall, plus, “telescopic seating, daily gaming stations, and state-of-the-art streaming and television-quality production studios.”
Scotch 80 Prime
Location: Palms
Key Player: Barry Dakake
Projected Opening: May
Station Casinos has remained pretty tight-lipped about the steakhouse taking over Barry Dakake’s N9NE Steakhouse at the resort since the restaurant closed in September. Station Casinos did file for a service mark for Scotch 80 Prime in November. The resort promises that Dakake remains in the kitchen. N9NE debuted at the Palms in 2001 when the resort opened. Dakake took over the reigns three months in and became known in Las Vegas to celebrities, sports figures and VIPs for his Celebrity Shakedown Door signed by the who’s who of the red carpet.
Apex Social Club
Location: Palms
Key Player: Clique Hospitality
Projected Opening: May
Station Casinos revamps the Palms with a new boutique nightclub, Apex Social Club, in the former home of Ghostbar. The 8,000-square-foot club features rooftop views of Las Vegas.
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Camden Cocktail Lounge
Location: Palms
Key Player: Clique Hospitality
Projected Opening: May
The lobby of the off-Strip Palms lands a new cocktail lounge from Clique Hospitality. Camden Cocktail Lounge features drinks from Eric Hobbie, who previously worked for Rick Moonen, Charlie Trotter, now disgraced Mario Batali, and Giada De Laurentiis.
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Flower Child
Location: Rampart Commons
Key Player: Fox Restaurant Concepts
Projected Opening: May
Happy food for a healthy world arrives next to the Williams-Sonoma store at the Rampart Commons from Fox Restaurant Concepts, which already has North Italia in the shopping center, along with Culinary Dropout at the Hard Rock Hotel. Flower Child takes over 3,830 square feet with a menu that highlights vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free choices.
Meow or Never
Location: 80-100 E. California St. in the Arts District
Key Player: Rhiannon Gladney
Projected Opening: April
Las Vegas joins the ranks of San Diego, Atlanta, Chicago, and Montreal with a cat cafe when Meow or Never opens. Half of the 1,500-square-foot space, which is still under construction, will feature pastries and coffee, while the other half hosts a playroom for the 15 to 20 cats. Diners can also play with the cats on an enclosed patio. Patrons can pick up pastries, bought from outside vendors, or pour-over and cold-brew coffees.
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Meet Fresh
Location: 3900 Spring Mountain Road
Key Player: The operators of the Mongolian hot pot restaurant, Chubby Cattle.
Projected Opening: This weekend
Meet Fresh comes from Sister & Brother Fu, septuagenarian experts in the creation of taro ball, herbal jelly, jelly ice, tofu pudding, rice noodle, as well as other traditional desserts like turnip cake, rice dumpling, and oil rice, with all dishes imbued with Taiwanese kindness and traditional flavors. The main attractions for Meet Fresh obsessives are the hot and cold taro ball selections, made with natural ingredients with no added preservatives.
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Cafe 86
Location: 5697 S. Jones Blvd.
Projected Opening: April
Ube galore makes the menu at California’s Cafe 86, making its debut in Las Vegas. The root vegetable similar to a yam finds a home in Halo-Halo bread pudding, plus ube Pop Tarts, ice cream, pies, and the breakout hit, leche flan cupcakes, large enough to balance a mini flan on top.
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Matcha Stand Maiko
Location: 3400 S. Jones Blvd.
Projected Opening: March
Honolulu’s Matcha Stand Maiko lands in the Ninth Island with a menu of ice cream, sponge cake, and “adzuki bean topping” made in house with matcha. The very vibrant green dishes are created with finely ground green tea leaves imported from the Harima Garden in Uji, Kyoto, a famed supplier since 1858.
• The Biggest Restaurant Openings in Las Vegas in 2018 [ELV]