Vegas Test Kitchen Lets Diners Try Out Chefs’ Dishes Before They Open a Restaurant

A new test kitchen for aspiring chefs to give the public a chance to sample their dishes opens in Downtown Las Vegas later this year. Jolene Mannina of SecretBurger, the website that offers limited-edition dishes and meals, opens Vegas Test Kitchen inside the former Chow space from Natalie Young next to Fergusons Downtown.

The idea is to offer a rotation of restaurant projects, pop-up dinners, and special events in one incubator location.

Chef Lanny Chin, the chef de cuisine at The Slanted Door, and formerly at Greene St. Kitchen at the Palms, kicks off a residency for his ramen restaurant, Slurp Society, when the test kitchen opens. He plans to serve tonkotsu ramen, miso ramen, egg rolls, sticky pork belly, and chili garlic wontons during his three-month stint.

Chef Roy Ellamar of Harvest at the Bellagio and chef Chris Conlon at Piero’s Italian Cuisine both plan to test out their new restaurants that they plan to open at the food hall Platform One at UnCommons in early 2022 in southwest Las Vegas.

Resident chefs will be in the Vegas Test Kitchen Wednesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Diners can choose to dine in, take their food to-go, or at it next door on The Yard at Fergusons.

Pop-up dinners will take place from Rooster Boy Café owner and chef Sonia El-Nawal, who will have Bodega Bagel, and Forte Tapas owner Nina Manchev, who will offer Banichka.

Bodega Bagel brings New York-style bagels with house-made gravlax, white fish salad, and a variety of schmears, including a vegan option.

Banichka will showcase a Bulgarian dish, the baniza, a flaky pastry dish layered with Georgian cheeses and other fillings. Banichka will offer a rotating variety of the dish, including with traditional Georgian cheese as well as spinach, meat, mushroom, and even a Bulgarian hot dog.

Other pop-up dinners are planned from Yukon Pizza with its sourdough wood-fired pizza made with 120-year-old family heirloom starter, Pop N Pies from pastry chef Andrea McLean, and Sliced Sushi from chef Sung Park, previously the executive chef of Sake Rok at the Park. Hours will vary depending on the pop-up.

On Saturday and Sunday nights, the venue offers special events.

When Vegas Test Kitchen opens, the space will comply with all COVID-19 regulations, limiting capacity to 50 percent, spacing tables at least six feet apart, thoroughly cleaning and sanitizing between diners, and more.

• Vegas Test Kitchen [Official Site]