Jennifer Lopez Gets a First Look Inside Spago at the Bellagio

Wolfgang Puck kick-started the celebrity chef trend in Las Vegas when he opened Spago at the Forum Shops at Caesars in 1992. In January, he closed the restaurant and opted to move to a resort locale instead. In early June, Spago takes on a second life at the Bellagio, taking over the former Todd English Olives space on Via Bellagio with its views of the Fountains at Bellagio.

On Sunday, none other than superstar singer Jennifer Lopez and a bevy of celebrities got a first look and taste of the new restaurant. After her Billboard Music Awards performance, she joined Puck to celebrate the release of her new single, “Dinero,” at a private party.

Spago previewed new dishes including prime beef sliders with smoked onion marmalade, pan-seared black bass, spiked citrus lollipops with yuzu cream and lemon caviar, and the chef’s wood-oven pizzas.

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“I believe the Bellagio is the premier hotel here in Las Vegas. I think it will be a great new destination for the guest to come here to Spago,” he tells E Online. “We were the first one here in Las Vegas 25 years ago when we started Spago at the Forum [Shops at Caesars], and now it’s the next generation.”

He says that each location of Spago has its own personality, and for the new restaurant at the Bellagio, the view of the Fountains at Bellagio defines its personality. An open-air patio showcases the dancing fountains.

Spago plans to continue to serve Puck’s California cuisine including pizzas topped with salmon and caviar for lunch and dinner, as well as an à la carte menu and Puck’s multi-course California tasting menu. A special bar menu of Wolfgang Puck favorites also will be available, along with a cocktail program and an international wine list.

Architects Massimiliano Locatelli and Annamaria Scevola of CLS Architetti are behind the design of the new restaurant, taking inspiration from Spago’s original flagship location in Beverly Hills.

The restaurant will have an entrance along the resort’s Via Bellagio with a lounge and bar. Brass fixtures, smoked-oak wood floors, leather chairs and couches are among the pieces that decorate the space. A wine room lit by a neon light fixture commissioned for the space becomes the focal point of the room.

The main dining room will feature floor-to-ceiling floating glass windows.

• Wolfgang Puck’s Spago Departs The Forum Shops [ELV]

• All Coverage of Spago [ELV]