The Biggest Restaurant and Bar Openings in Las Vegas This December

The end of the year always brings a stampede of new restaurants and bars in Las Vegas, hustling to open before a new year begins. December brings 12 highly anticipated openings, including new restaurants from David Chang and Michael Mina, a second location for Lotus of Siam, a chocolate cafe, a beer garden off the Strip, a new look for Emeril Lagasse’s steakhouse, and more. Here’s a look at 12 of the most-anticipated openings coming in December.

Majordōmo Meat & Fish

Location: Palazzo

The Players: David Chang

Projected Opening: December

David Chang, the chef behind Momofuku at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas along with the Netflix series Ugly Delicious and more than a dozen restaurants spanning from New York to Los Angeles, plans to open a second restaurant in Las Vegas. Majordōmo Meat & Fish, a restaurant that brings the DNA of his LA location that’s fresh off a James Beard Foundation semi-finalist nomination for Restaurant of the Year, opens before New Year’s Eve at the Palazzo. Already Chang plans a smoked prime rib cart, Korean barbecue, and an off-shoot restaurant called Tastys serving sliders.

• All Coverage of Majordōmo Meat & Fish [ELV]

International Smoke

Location: MGM Grand

The Players: Michael Mina ad Ayesha Curry

Projected Opening: December

Michael Mina replaces Pub 1842 with an ode to smoke-infused dishes, a collaboration with Family Food Fight host Ayesha Curry. Wood-fired dishes meant for what Curry calls “the adventurous eater to the one who doesn’t stray from classics” include smoked St. Louis cut pork ribs, a dish diners can spice with smokey mama sauce, Vietnamese lemongrass with Saigon streusel and Korean sesame-gochujang with toasted black sesame seeds; a shellfish platter heaped with charcoal-grilled oysters, shrimp, lobster, and crab are served hot and steamed table side with lemon grass tea; a cornbread from Curry served with Thai red curry butter; and more.

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The Mayfair

Location: Bellagio

Projected Opening: New Year’s Eve

The Mayfair Supper Club, the Bellagio’s newest restaurant, plans to open in time for New Year’s Eve. The restaurant, which finds inspiration in supper clubs in London, combines dinner and a show in an evolving production that changes throughout the night. A menu of contemporary takes on American classics accompanies live entertainment performances nightly and a view of the Bellagio Fountains.

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Vesper Bar

Location: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

Projected Opening: Before New Year’s Eve

The James Bond-inspired Vesper Bar, one of three cocktail venues to debut at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas when it opened back in 2010, closed in October for a major remodel of the 24-hour lounge located a few steps from the hotel lobby. Additions include new carpet, furniture, and bar top, plus a refreshed face of the bar.

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Delmonico Steakhouse

Location: Venetian

The Players: Emeril Lagasse

Projected Opening: Late December

Emeril Lagasse’s Delmonico Steakhouse celebrated 20 years at the Venetian back in May, and now the classic restaurant with a New Orleans twist plans to spruce up. The steakhouse along Restaurant Row at the Venetian closes to renovate, planning to reopen in mid- to late December. Delmonico filed paperwork to upgrade its main dining room, the Kitchen Table space, and main facade, filing for $743,000 in estimated construction work alone.

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The Front Yard

Location: Ellis Island

Projected Opening: December 6

Ellis Island, the casino loved by locals and those who like a good deal on beer and barbecue, plans to finally debut The Front Yard, more than a year and a half after it originally estimated. The two-story outdoor dining, drinking, and entertainment venue plans to have a brewpub atmosphere, bar games, regular live entertainment, and views of the Las Vegas Strip. The space features room for 300 along Koval Lane with decor such as wood fixtures, exposed steel, and low lighting, as well as interactive bar games such as cornhole, shuffleboard and beer pong. The second floor plans to feature an atrium view. Ellis Island Brewery will be incorporated in the design of The Front Yard with a window so patrons can see the copper tanks and brewing process from inside. Patrons will be able to taste some of the spirits Ellis Island plans to distill as well. A seasonally rotating stock of beers from the brewery as well as a full cocktail and wine menu will also be available at the bar.

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Dandelion Chocolate

Location: Venetian

Projected Opening: Early December

San Francisco-based Dandelion Chocolate and its single-origin bean-to-bar chocolates brings a chocolate cafe and retail shop inside the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian. Dandelion Chocolate only uses cacao sourced from countries near the equator and sugar from Brazil. Each bar includes a story about the source of the cacao beans and the year they were harvested. Beans hail from farms in Belize, Vietnam, Ecuador, Tanzania, Madagascar, Costa Rica, Sierra Leone, Honduras, and more. Aside from a collection of single-origin 70-plus percent cacao bars for sale, the cafe plans to feature house-made pastries, hot chocolate, coffee drinks, confections, and gifts. That hot chocolate comes in three varieties: thick and rich European drinking chocolate, an American riff on house hot chocolate with marshmallows made in house, and Mission hot chocolate with its spicy kick.

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Lotus of Siam

Location: Commercial Center

Projected Opening: December 2

Fans of Saipin Chutima’s northern Thai cuisine may soon be able to return to the original location in the Commercial Center. Lotus of Siam plans to reopen the restaurant more than two years after it closed following the collapse of its rain-soaked roof on East Sahara Avenue. Some of the new touches to the space include carpets, wallpaper, a waiting area for customers at the front, and a shuttle between the two restaurants.

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Diablo’s Cantina

Location: Mirage

Projected Opening: December 23

Fresh off opening Diablo’s Cantina at the Luxor last December, MGM Resorts plans to expand the Mexican restaurant’s footprint with a second location at the Mirage. Diablo’s takes over the LVB Burgers & Bar space at the resort. Diablo’s Cantina plans to be open for lunch and dinner with a menu of guacamole styles that can go from mild to spicy, as well as tostadas with chorizo bean purée, shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, crema fresca, pickled onions, and cotija cheese with the choice of shredded beef or chicken or a platter of three tacos with choice of carne asada with marinated steak, abodo-marinated chicken thigh, or carnitas with slow-roasted pork served in corn tortillas topped with onion and cilantro. Other options include Mexican corn, a churro funnel cake, and, of course, margaritas, including the Vixen with blanco tequila, fresh-squeezed lime juice, hibiscus, and mint.

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Icebar

Location: The Linq Promenade

Projected Opening: December 4

Sprinkles Cupcakes & Ice Cream, the cupcake and ice cream emporium, already closed at The Linq Promenade with Icebar, a new project created by Noel Bowman of Minus5 Ice Experience, taking over the space next to the promenade’s fountain, filled with a frozen landscape and sporting a new feature, dynamic projection mapping. The decor features blue and green elements and signs on the exterior, as well as a 1,000-square-foot covered patio facing the promenade’s fountain. A “warm space” with a warm bar and lobby sits at the front entrance. The icy confines fill 1,200 square feet and feature more than 100 tons of hand-carved ice maintained at 32 degrees Fahrenheit by a refrigeration system. Visitors slip on parkas or faux fur coats before entering the ice lounge, which features immersive ice sculptures and educational features. Customers ages 21 and older can order from chilled cocktails, such as The Ice Man, frozen mojito, and frosé, all served in glasses made entirely of ice. The attraction is also family friendly, offering icy mocktails.

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Pepper Lunch

Location: Shanghai Plaza

Projected Opening: Before New Year’s Eve

Cult-favorite Pepper Lunch confirms its “sizzle-it-your-way” dining experience is headed to Las Vegas, creating the third U.S. expansion for the Japan-based international chain. The restaurant heads to Chinatown’s Shanghai Plaza on Spring Mountain Road with a menu of sizzling plates of beef, hamburger steak, chicken, pork tonkatsu, tofu, salmon, and Black Angus rib-eye, plus appetizers including calamari, shrimp, oyster, gyoza, and croquette potatoes.

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85C Bakery Cafe

Location: Shanghai Plaza

Projected Opening: Before New Year’s Eve

The Taiwanese 85C Bakery Cafe was founded in 2004, rapidly expending to more than 1,000 global outlets and debuting its first U.S. branch in Irvine, California, in 2008. Built on the philosophy of serving “premium coffee, bread, and cake at affordable prices,” the name is inspired by the best temperature to keep a coffee’s flavor. On the menu, sweet and savory breads, cream puffs, and egg tarts, slices of cakes, plus hot and cold coffees, teas, and boba drinks.

• All Coverage of 85C Bakery Cafe [ELV]

• Keeping Track of All the Restaurants and Bars Headed to Chinatown [ELV]

• The Biggest Restaurant and Bar Openings in 2019 [ELV]

Disclosure: David Chang is producing shows for Hulu in partnership with Vox Media Studios, part of Eater’s parent company, Vox Media. No Eater staff member is involved in the production of those shows, and this does not impact coverage on Eater.