The Most Anticipated Restaurants Opening in Las Vegas This Spring

Restaurant openings in Las Vegas show no signs of slowing; if anything, they’re ramping up. As pool season approaches and tourism increases after Nevada’s mask mandate was lifted in February, diners can expect to see a sharp increase in new restaurants, from local spots across the city to a host of celebrity restaurants that will open over the course of the year.

Italian restaurants continue to dominate the scene, with seasonal menus focusing on shareable small plates, wood-fired meats and fish, and, of course, house-made pastas and pizzas. Meanwhile, the Japanese restaurant proliferation appears to be moving away from sushi and into other layers of the country’s multifaceted cuisine, exemplified by a first U.S. restaurant from Tetsuya Wakuda, who’s opening low-key omakase spot Wakuda in the Palazzo. There’s no escaping the celebrity-driven nature of restaurants in Vegas, with spots on the horizon from domestic goddess Martha Stewart and the queen of Bravo, Lisa Vanderpump. Read on for eight of the most anticipated spring openings in Las Vegas.

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RPM Italian

The players: Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants and Bill & Giuliana Rancic
Location: Forum Shops at Caesars
Projected opening: Mid-May

RPM Italian was announced last summer, but the restaurant is finally closing in on its opening date, which representatives say is looking like mid-May. The restaurant, which will be located diagonally from another Lettuce Entertain You property, Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, has undergone a major remodel to become a spacious Italian restaurant with two private dining spaces and a sommelier bar. An early look at the menu shows comfort classics done fancy, like truffle garlic bread, prime beef meatballs, spicy king crab, and a silken bucatini pomodoro.

Rosa Ristorante

The players: Rob Moore
Location: 3145 St Rose Parkway
Projected opening: April

Rob Moore has been cooking in Vegas since 2004, most recently at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s steakhouse at the Bellagio. He left last year, and has finally announced why: sometime this spring, he’ll be opening Rosa Ristorante, an Italian restaurant and steakhouse with something for everyone: an early look at the menu reveals house-made pastas, seasonal, vegetable-driven appetizers, pizzas, and non-steak entrees including roasted branzino, osso bucco, and more. The location is just between Henderson and Las Vegas, aiming for a crowd of in-the-know visitors and neighborhood regulars.

Balla Italian Soul

The players: Shawn McClain, Sarah and Richard Camarota
Location: the Sahara
Projected opening: late spring or early summer

Shawn McClain’s fourth Vegas restaurant, coming to the Sahara in late spring or early summer, has been renamed from Ballo to Balla, a different conjugation of the Italian verb to dance. Early intel says that Balla is inspired by the Amalfi Coast, with a focus on handmade pasta and fire-grilled meat and fish; the kitchen will have a wood-fired rotisserie. The drink program will feature Negroni and spritz variations, a broadly European wine list, and a dessert program with flavors pulled from Italian liqueurs (think Amari and limoncello).

The Bedford by Martha Stewart

The players: Martha Stewart
Location: Paris Las Vegas
Projected opening: “spring”

Stewart’s first foray into Vegas restaurants has been hotly anticipated since it was announced last fall, but the details are few and far between even as the spring 2022 arrival date inches closer. What we do know: Stewart is doing the design herself, aiming to make the restaurant (which will be inside Paris Las Vegas) as similar as possible to her actual home in Bedford, New York (hence the name). Press releases have called the concept “immersive” and highlighted her intention to use the same purveyors she regularly uses at home, listing some of the country’s most well-known luxury food suppliers, including D’artagnan and Vermont Creamery.

Flight Club

The players: State of Play Hospitality
Location: Grand Canal Shoppes
Projected opening: Spring

If there was any doubt that the trend toward experiential bar and restaurants (looking at you, axe-throwing) continues to dominate, Flight Club will dispel it. Picture this: a high-end dart-throwing bar with classic pub food (soft pretzels, tacos, loaded fries, the works), plus plenty of beer, wine, and cocktails. The Vegas location will be the third in the states, following locations in Boston and Chicago. Details have yet to emerge, but the other two locations lead with details like dart boards with digital scoreboards, leather seating, seasonal cocktail menus.

Flight Club Darts USA

Wakuda

The players: 50 Eggs Hospitality and Tetsuya Wakuda
Location: the Palazzo
Projected opening: Spring

Chef Tetsuya Wakuda is famous for his Japanese cooking, well-known in places like Singapore and Sydney, Australia. For his first stateside appearance, he’s partnering with 50 Eggs Hospitality (you know them from Vegas concepts like Chica, Yardbird South Table & Bar, and others) to bring high-end Japanese cooking to Wakuda, which will open sometime this spring in the space that used to house Morels French Steakhouse & Bistro inside the Palazzo. The restaurant is taking inspiration from Shinjuku Golden Gai area of Tokyo, which is known for its collection of more than 200 tiny bars, each with unique, specific themes. Details on Wakuda’s menu are being kept under-wraps, but a low-key omakase experience is in the works, sure to feature signature dishes like the chef’s ocean trout confit.

Vanderpump à Paris

The players: Lisa Vanderpump
Location: Paris Las Vegas
Projected opening: Spring

After the runaway success of Vanderpump Cocktail Garden, it’s no surprise that the announcement of Lisa Vanderpump’s next Vegas spot, Vanderpump à Paris, has been met with anticipation. The restaurant was originally aimed at a winter opening, so we suspect we’ll hear more soon, but for now know there will be a cocktail menu inspired by Paris, a wine list leaning heavily on the Vanderpump family’s signature brand, and a space designed with inspiration from the time Lisa and her husband Ken Todd spent living in France.