Caesars Palace Food Court Ups Its Game Again With Mokbar

By Scott Roeben, on August 29 2024
3 min read 2 comments
Las Vegas Las Vegas Restaurants

Caesars Palace has snagged another great concept for its food court (sorry, Forum Food Hall). Mokbar (technically, Mŏkbar) by Esther Choi will open in fall of 2024.

We haven’t heard of Esther Choi, either, but apparently she’s a pretty big deal.

Mainly, we’re just surprised anyone under the age of 60 is named Esther.

This isn’t how it will look. 1) They didn’t provide a rendering, 2) we enjoy A.I. and 3) we have far too much free time.

Mokbar will move into the former Tiger Wok & Ramen space.

This new offering at Caesars will be Chef Choi’s fifth restaurant, “combining traditional and modern takes on Korean cuisine,” including “ramen, dumplings and buns galore.”

Note: We counted five restaurants on the Mokbar site (Chelsea Market, Gahm by Mokbar, Midtown, Ms. Yoo and Newark Gateway) so this would be the sixth, but we try to never question news releases. In another section of the site, it says there are three Mokbar locations, which would make the one at Caesars the fourth. Somebody who cares more than we do needs to get to the bottom of this controversy.

From the official announcement: “Mokbar will offer a diverse menu for both seasoned Korean food enthusiasts and newcomers alike. The fast-casual experience will feature classics like Pan-fried Dumplings, Buns, Fried Chicken, Bibimbap and Dumplings in Broth. Guests can choose from an array of rich ramen flavors and multiple rice bowl options. The Bulgogi Bowl will feature thinly sliced ribeye marinated in K-BBQ sauce with sauteed carrots, onions, duo seasonal kimchi, poached egg, scallions and sesame seeds. The Salmon Avocado Bowl will include seared marinated salmon, avocado, crispy tofu, mixed greens, cucumber, pickled daikon and furikake, served with a ginger scallion dressing. Mokbar will also offer non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, including Mokbar’s signature iced teas, sparkling soju cocktails and beer.”

A.I. is thinking of opening its own Bibimbap restaurant.

Esther Choi’s backstory is fascinating, and since it’s easier to just provide a link than paraphrasing, here you go.

The chef is known to foodies from her TV appearances, including “Bobby’s Triple Threat,” “Throwdown with Michael Symon,” “Chopped,” “Battle of the Brothers” and “Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend” and “Heat Eaters.” She is also the co-host of Food Network’s “Last Chef Standing.”

Related: She’s adorable. Which in no way takes away from her professional accomplishments. We know how you are.


Choi’s stall at the Forum Food Hall joins several other concepts from chefs and other high-profile personalities.

Already in the food court are Bobby’s Burgers by Bobby Flay (terrible) and Guy Fieri’s Chicken Guy (surprisingly great).

Also in the works are Tortazo by Rick Bayless and Buddy V’s Pizzeria by Buddy Valastro, set to open later this year.

Food courts and halls and collectives, of course, are the new Las Vegas buffet. Caesars Palace has both a food hall and the Bacchanal Buffet, while most buffets at Caesars Entertainment resorts shuttered during or following the pandemic.

That’s because buffets at Caesars Entertainment casinos were losing an average of $3 million a year. The price tag at Bacchanal is hefty, and presumably it’s not a loss leader as were buffets of the past, but we suspect its days could be numbered.

It seems like the Caesars Palace food court has most of the requisite cuisines covered at this point. They are American, Asian, Italian, Mexican (Tortazo) and Gyros (which is not a cuisine so much, but they have those at The Halal Guys).

Missing: Cuban, Greek, Indian. Give it a minute.

Caesars Entertainment gets a lot of international travelers, so that has to be taken into account when considering concepts for this busy venue.

While we grew up in Hawaii, we are not all that familiar with Korean food, but we’re up for trying it when Mokbar opens. We are addicted to the dumplings at Circa’s 8 East, so we’ll order those first at Mokbar.

We are nervous about the “Bulgogi Bowl,” mainly because it sounds like something that might happen on Pornhub. Ditto “furikake.” Just saying. Choi’s menus also have an item called “Ho’Cake.” We are not making this up.

Approved.

We don’t really understand ramen, either. It’s soup, right? We understand soup, we just don’t understand why anyone would order it in Las Vegas, where temperatures can exceed those of a smelting furnace.

Until Mokbar opens at the Forum Food Hall (not to be confused with the Caesars Forum, a conference center nowhere near Caesars Palace), we’re all about Guy Fieri’s Chicken Guy.

Keep tabs on all things Forum Food Hall on the official site. Also, if you’re keeping tabs on food courts, you really need to get out of the house more and find a significant other or hobby. Do as we say, not as we do.