Vegas Restaurant Roundup: Killing Fleur, New Mexican, Salt & Straw

Posted on: June 8, 2023, 08:35h. 

Last updated on: June 21, 2023, 06:58h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Las Vegas Myths.

Fleur, the beloved steakhouse brand opened by Chef Hubert Keller at Mandalay Bay 18 years ago, will close permanently on June 30. A new project will fill the space this winter.

The Fleur steakhouse is closing on June 30 after 18 years at Mandalay Bay. (Image: MGM Mirage)

Keller gained national fame for his Fleur de Lys in San Francisco, opening a version in Vegas in 2005 that earned a Michelin star. In 2010, Keller changed its name to Fleur by Hubert Keller and its dining to casual. He closed his San Francisco eatery in 2014. In 2021, Keller transferred control of his Vegas outpost to MGM Resorts, which runs the resort. During the pandemic, it reopened The restaurant without Keller’s name.

This is the second Mandalay Bay restaurant to close this year, following Charlie Palmer’s Aureole, which was replaced — at least for a year — by Retro by Votaggio in May.

La Popular CDMX describes its cuisine as ‘elevated Mexican.’ (Image: Instagram)

Comings & Goings

Two new Mexican (not New Mexican) eateries will make their Vegas debuts shortly. La Popular CDMX will open at the Palms Casino Resort on June 26, with Chef Cesar de la Parra on the flames. It will be the third stateside location for the Mexico City eatery, whose owner, Grupo Carolo, is partnering with California-based Eureka! on the project. The second Mexican joint, Rosa Mexicano, opens its first Vegas location in late 2023, with a Strip-front patio at the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood.  

Salt & Straw, the Portland, Ore. ice-creamery known for its kooky flavors, is bound for the Uncommons shopping complex in southwest Las Vegas. When it opens on June 16, it will offer choices that incorporate ingredients normally considered food waste, such as day-old bread pudding and whole cacao pods. Its salted-caramel-and-okara cupcake flavor, for example, will incorporate pulp left over from making soy milk.

Nacho Daddy, a Mexican eatery once 25% owned by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, is moving a block east in downtown Las Vegas. (Image: Nacho Daddy)

Though the Vegas Test Kitchen on East Fremont Street is closing, two alums are taking brick-and-mortar form. The plant-based Down 2 Earth and Solamente Pizza by Chef Ethan Spiezer plan to open in a shared space at 6599 Las Vegas Blvd. South, by West Sunset Road. That’s according to whatnowvegas.com,which also reports that Rock N’ Roll Sushi’s first Las Vegas location will open at 6435 D. Durango Drive before year’s end,.

PowerSoul Café, a gluten-free fast-food concept, is slated to open its first four locations in Las Vegas next year: at 8181 W. Warm Springs Road, 1469 E. Lake Mead Parkway in Henderson, 3501 S. Valley View Blvd. in Chinatown, and in Summerlin at an as-yet-undisclosed location.

Nacho Daddy’s downtown Las Vegas location, at 113 N. 4th St., is moving a block east, to 121 N. 4th St., where it will have more space (7,000 feet of it).

China Mama, shuttered since late March due to a fire, will reportedly reopen soon in the former IX Skewer & Bar, also in Chinatown at 4266 Spring Mountain Road.

The Las Vegas Pizza Festival returns to the Industrial Events Space behind the Strip on Nov. 4.