/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70160350/Dominique_Ansel_Bakery_1.7.jpg)
Las Vegas continues its love affair with celebrities — whether they are famous chefs, singer’s families, or reality television stars. So far, the end of 2021 and into 2022 and beyond look to bring a cavalcade of names that belong in neon lights. Here are 13 celebrity restaurants on the way.
Lisa Vanderpump
The celebrity news kicked off with Lisa Vanderpump of Vanderpump Rules and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fame announcing her Vanderpump à Paris opening at Paris Las Vegas. The new lounge is a follow-up to Vanderpump Cocktail Garden at Caesars Palace with whimsical cocktails, and a lush Parisian-inspired decor from Nick Alain. Vanderpump à Paris will be located next to the Paris Las Vegas front desk.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22749109/tetsuya_wakuda_photo_credit_mbs_a_9__1.jpg)
Tetsuya Wakuda
Restaurateur John Kunkel of 50 Eggs Hospitality delves into Japanese cuisine when Wakuda opens at the Palazzo in early 2022. Chef Tetsuya Wakuda earned accolades at his two-Michelin-Star Waku Ghin at Marina Bay Sands Singapore and his popular Tetsuya’s in Sydney, Australia. In Las Vegas, Wakuda promises his first high-end Japanese restaurant with an approachable omakase experience, touching on some of his classic dishes such as ocean trout confit, perhaps his best-known dish, along with yakitori and dishes cooked over binchō-tan.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9350847/RPM_Italian_DC_ribeye.0.0.0.jpeg)
Giuliana and Bill Rancic
A new Italian restaurant from celebrity couple Giuliana and Bill Rancic along with Lettuce Entertain You Restaurant partners R.J., Jerrod, and Molly Melman plans to open at the Forum Shops at Caesars in early 2022. RPM Italian takes over the very short-lived Slanted Door space at the front of the shopping center on Las Vegas Boulevard. Pasta — with dishes from Guiliana’s mother Mama DePandi, who appeared often on Bill and Giuliana’s reality show — makes up a bulk of the menu with more than a dozen made in house daily; think Mama DePandi’s bucatini, Maine lobster ravioli, spicy king crab with squid ink spaghetti, and lobster fra diavolo.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22787426/site_zlife_image_vegas_inside_bar_800x600_1.jpg)
Todd English
Chef Todd English opens a hotel and restaurant in the Arts District in 2022. The chef, who has The Beast Food Hall at Area15 and Olives by Todd English at Virgin Hotels, teamed up with Z Life Co. on the $30 million project that brings The English Hotel and The Pepper Club with sushi and oysters to a restaurant with a patio and glass-enclosed chef’s table at 921 S. Main Street near Coolidge Avenue.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22830459/Bobby_s_Burgers.jpg)
Bobby Flay
Bobby Flay opens two more outposts of Bobby’s Burgers at Harrah’s Las Vegas, across Las Vegas Boulevard from Flay’s original location inside the Forum Food Hall at Caesars Palace as soon as December. In March 2022, it’s headed to the increasingly star-studded Paris Las Vegas.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22867636/Nobu_PLV_Main_Dining.jpg)
Nobu Matsuhisa
Nobu Matsuhisa and his fusion cuisine that melds traditional Japanese dishes with Peruvian ingredients arrive at a third Las Vegas location in early 2022 at Paris Las Vegas. While the chef already has Nobu at Caesars Palace, attached to his very first hotel that opened in 2013, and Nobu at Virgin Hotels, his newest location takes over the former Sekushi space on Le Boulevard next to Café Americano and across from the hotel elevators.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22889680/Duck___Andouille_Gumbo.jpg)
Drew Brees
Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux comes to the Las Vegas Strip in early 2022. Walk-On’s plans to take over the former Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill at Harrah’s Las Vegas with a sports dining venue. Brandon Landry and Walk-On’s teamed up with Hash House A Go Go for the opening. Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is a part-owner. The Harrah’s location will be the first to offer breakfast as well as the Walk-On’s menu of crawfish etouffee, duck and andouille gumbo, and Krispy Kreme bread pudding.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23023724/1277893386.jpg)
Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart’s first restaurant, The Bedford by Martha Stewart, is slated to open sometime this spring inside the Paris Las Vegas. The restaurant is named for Stewart’s country house in Bedford, New York, and will be designed by the lifestyle icon herself, with an eye toward offering an “authentic glimpse of how she lives and entertains in her own home,” according to a press release. Guests will be able to enjoy seasonal dinners, weekend brunch, and holiday menus with ingredients pulled from both local and national purveyors, including many of Stewart’s personal favorites: Las Vegas Farmers Market, Dartagnan Inc., Urbani Truffles, Roe Caviar, Frog Hollow Farm, Jasper Hill Farm, and Vermont Creamery.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10878563/20140624peter_luger_steak.0.0.0.0.0.jpg)
Peter Luger
Peter Luger’s imminent arrival in Las Vegas begs the question, what is a celebrity restaurant, anyway? While not owned by a celebrity, the 130-year old New York steakhouse is a name in its own rite and will likely attract many celebrity guests. The steakhouse is expected to open sometime in late 2022 inside Caesars Palace, taking over the old Rao’s space. The Vegas outpost is the first expansion outside of New York since the restaurant opened in 1887.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23023749/1236245730.jpg)
Blake Shelton
Blake Shelton brings his own venture to Las Vegas in 2023. The country music singer and coach on The Voice plans to open Ole Red, a honky-tonk spanning 27,000 square feet, at the Grand Bazaar Shops in front of Bally’s Las Vegas with Ryman Hospitality. The $30 million, four-story venue, a fifth from Shelton, plans to offer dining and 686 seats, as well as two floors overlooking a central stage for concerts daily. The 4,500-square-foot rooftop also plans to offer music, food, and beverage with views of the city.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23012864/Chicken_and_waffles_at_Nellie_s_Southern_Kitchen.jpg)
The Jonas Family
Nellie’s Southern Kitchen — and its Southern cooking — head to Las Vegas, opening as soon as spring in the former Hecho en Vegas space at the MGM Grand. Kevin Jonas Sr., the father of the Jonas Brothers, opens an ode to his grandmother Nellie and her biscuits. The 11,000-square-foot restaurant features a menu of chicken and dumplings, pulled pork smoked over pecan wood and stuffed on sandwiches, chicken and gravy, and a Southern meatloaf, and plans to have live entertainment as well.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23023779/Dominique_Ansel_Bakery_1.jpg)
Dominique Ansel
Las Vegas gets its chance to order Cronuts rolled in sugar, stuffed with cream, or topped with glaze when pastry chef Dominique Ansel opens the first outpost of his eponymous bakery at Caesars Palace next to Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill in summer 2022. Dominique Ansel Las Vegas plans to serve the DKA (Dominique’s kouign amann), a caramelized croissant with flaky layers inside and a caramelized crunchy crust outside; the Cookie Shot with a warm chocolate chip cookie shaped like a shot glass and filled with Madagascan vanilla milk for a riff on milk and cookies; and Frozen S’mores with a center of Madagascan vanilla bean ice cream covered in crispy chocolate feuilletine, and then wrapped in honey marshmallow and torched to order.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23081009/VICTA_EATER_BUDDY_V_1_2.jpg)
Buddy Valastro
Cake Boss Buddy Valastro opens a new restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip in 2022. The star of the TLC series Cake Boss gets ready to open the Boss Café by Buddy Valastro at the Linq in early 2022. Valastro, who already has Buddy V’s Ristorante and Carlo’s Bakery at the Venetian and PizzaCake at Harrah’s, goes casual with Boss Cafe, serving fare reminiscent of neighborhood delis and markets he frequented in New Jersey and New York. Baked breads, Italian sandwiches, pizzas, a house-made fresh mozzarella bar, and a variety of sweets and pastries make up a bulk of the menu. At the restaurant’s Mozz Bar, customers can grab fresh mozzarella served with warm rustic bread and a choice of toppings such as basil pesto, roasted peppers, tomato-olive relish, or tomato, fresh basil, and aged balsamic. Valastro tapped his father in-law to head up the Mutz Masters, who will pull the mozzarella in an open kitchen.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23081140/1199730017.jpg)
Emmitt Smith
Former Dallas Cowboys running back and Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith plans to open his own restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip in 2022. The 30,000-square-foot Emmitt’s Las Vegas takes over space at the front of Fashion Show mall, filling the former Sugar Factory American Brasserie space. The restaurant plans to offer space for large private and corporate events and will showcase Smith’s Pro Football Hall of Fame career throughout the venue.