‘New Wave’ Continues at Mandalay Bay With Famed Chef Michael Mina’s New Restaurant

The Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip is continuing to refresh its existing restaurants and open new ones with a debut by celebrated chef, restaurateur, and James Beard Award winner, Michael Mina. Mina, behind Stripsteak in Mandalay Bay, is opening Orla this winter. The restaurant will blend the flavors of Greece, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.

“This venue marks another exciting chapter in the new wave of Mandalay Bay and showcases an ongoing commitment to the evolution of our resort offerings,” says Mandalay Bay President and COO Chuck Bowling. Mina says that the food at Orla, which means “golden princess” in Greek, will draw on his Egyptian heritage as well as influences of European, North African, and western Asian cuisines. Orla is opening in the space previously occupied by Fleur, the restaurant initially opened by Hubert Keller. The modern American restaurant closed on June 30.

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Orla is expected to open in winter, alongside the reimagined Lupo. “[Mandalay Bay] asked us, as part of their repositioning ahead of the Super Bowl next year, if we would re-concept and re-model the Lupo space,” says Tom Kaplan, a senior managing partner in the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group. Kaplan says Lupo at Mandalay Bay will close on September 3 to begin its $7 million remodel into a new Italian restaurant. The Lupo brand will transfer to the just-closed Wolfgang Puck Players Locker in Summerlin. In opening this winter, Orla should be ready to welcome crowds for the 2024 Super Bowl, set to take place in Allegiant Stadium, across the street from the casino in February.

Orla’s neighbor Retro by Voltaggio, just took over the space that had been Charlie Palmer’s Aureole, up until earlier this year. And Mina’s award-winning StripSteak restaurant reopened this past winter. Across the casino floor, Flanker Kitchen + Sports Bar opened in June.

Additional details regarding Orla, including design, specific dishes, and cocktail menus will be announced in the coming months.