VEGAS RESTAURANT ROUNDUP: Garth Honky-Tonk Takeover of Margaritaville Likely, Venetian Getting Michelin-Starred Korean BBQ

Posted on: June 4, 2024, 11:04h. 

Last updated on: June 4, 2024, 12:26h.

Corey Levitan Read More

Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas.

COTE Las Vegas, the first West Coast spinoff of Manhattan’s COTE Korean Steakhouse, will open next year in the Waterfall Atrium at The Venetian. COTE is America’s first and only Michelin-starred Korean steakhouse.

“I went to UNLV and my first formative job in the world of hospitality was in Las Vegas, so opening a COTE in this entertainment epicenter is more than just any traditional opening — it’s a triumphant homecoming,” owner Simon Kim said in a statement.

The eatery will be designed by David Rockwell and Rockwell Group with a tiered dining area inspired by a theater, skybox private dining rooms, a central bar, immersive lighting, and a DJ booth.

While COTE Korean Steakhouse is a concept I created in NYC, the pulsating energy, music, and entertainment of Las Vegas has always been intertwined in our brand’s DNA, and we’re taking that to the next level with this opening,” Kim stated.

COTE Las Vegas will also carry the culinary brand’s James Beard-nominated wine list.

Dining Ins & Outs

Margaritaville, the late Jimmy Buffett’s joint at the Flamingo since 2011, has closed and is likely to reopen as a new restaurant for which Caesars Entertainment will partner with country superstar Garth Brooks.

This comes from Vital Vegas since Caesars has said nothing so far.

The bar and eatery will almost certainly be a Vegas outpost of the Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk, which Brooks and his wife, Trisha Yearwood, debuted in Nashville in March.

This latest celebrity culinary endorsement deal with Caesars was no doubt (pun intended) fast-tracked following the runaway success of Blake Shelton‘s Ole Red in front of Caesars’ Horseshoe Las Vegas.

Margaritaville wasted away because Caesars declined to renew its lease/partnership, not due to Buffett’s death last September, though the timing is unfortunate.

ShangHai Taste, the popular but cramped Chinatown spot for xialongbao dumplings, will open its second Vegas location this Saturday. It will boast 2,400 square feet of dining space — twice the space as its Chinatown restaurant– at 8060 S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 130.

Bramàre (Italian for to crave) will debut in late June from Batch Hospitality at 3900 Paradise Road. One of Batch’s principals, Evan Glusman, belongs to the family that owns Piero’s Italian Cuisine.

Kitchen Table has closed its front doors. The breakfast and lunch option was a Henderson, Nev. mainstay for nearly 10 years. Chef-owner Javier Chavez, in a note posted to his Facebook friends, explained only that his lease “has come to an end” and that he hopes to reopen again. A spinoff spot, Kitchen Table Squared, launched in December 2017, in Southwest Las Vegas, but closed three years later.

Proper Eats, the food hall at Aria, will get a salad joint when Happy Leaf opens on June 10.

La Cave at the Wynn has temporarily closed for a $2 million renovation, as per Vital Vegas, and will reopen late this summer.

El Pollo Loco #6019, at 2375 E. Sahara Ave., was closed by the Southern Nevada Health District on May 20 for scoring nine demerits. Sushi Neko, at 5115 Spring Mountain Road, was closed on May 23 for 14 demerits. Carlito’s Burritos, at 4300 E. Sunset Road, was closed for 25 demerits on May 30. Also closed on May 30 was Live Fire Q Bar, at 4300 E. Sunset Road, for 14 demerits.