Julian Serrano Tapas to Close at Aria
A longtime Strip restaurant, Julian Serrano Tapas, which we never visited because we are an uncultured bumpkin, will close at Aria on Feb. 1, 2025.
“Tapas,” of course, is a Spanish word meaning “small portions, big prices.”
A new concept will open in the Julian Serrano Tapas space in late 2025, following an appropriate period of mourning.
Julian Serrano Tapas opened when Aria did, in December 2009.
The restaurant won a number of awards over the years, which we would copy and paste here, but we’ll leave that to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, reliable purveyors of suck.
We will include a quote from the news release about the closure, mostly because it will avoid us having to do “research” or “come up with something clever or useful.”
“The culinary excellence and influence Chef Serrano brought to Aria for the past 15 years is a testament to his talent and unwavering work ethic,” said Ayesha Molino, President & COO of Aria. “He consistently led the restaurant and chef teams with professionalism, offering mentorship to all who worked alongside him, pushing each individual to deliver world-class hospitality to our guests. His contributions are sincerely appreciated, and we wish him and his family joy and good fortune in the future and beyond.”
First, the quote originally included Aria in all caps, giving the impression Ayesha Molino may suffer from Tourette Syndrome or another tic disorder. Unconfirmed.
Second, “the future and beyond”? Beyond the future? Is the president of Aria wishing a noted chef and his family the heat death of the universe, a point where everything that exists reaches maximum entropy and no meaningful physical processes occur? Is anyone else disturbed by that? And don’t even get us started on singularity, the point where artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence and becomes self-improving at an exponential rate and humanity is rendered moot. Isn’t all this a little heavy for a statement about a restaurant closure?
Following the announcement Julian Serrano Tapas will close, there was an outpouring of emotion from longtime fans of the restaurant. Well, maybe not an outpouring, but there was definite seepage. Somewhere between a trickle and a torrent. Slightly less than a cascade, but more than a gush. There was a definite emission and we’re going to have to take those pants to the cleaners.
Spanish chef Julian Serrano was last in the news when his acclaimed Picasso restaurant closed at Bellagio after nearly three decades.
Serrano is 74, and while we don’t have his phone number, we can safely assume his answer to the question, “Why are you retiring?” would be something along the lines of, “I’m just sort of over the bullshit.”
Restauranting is hard.
You are never going to believe the name of our band in high school.
So, why are Serrano’s restaurants closing?
Well, these are MGM Resorts resorts. Successful restaurant don’t close in Las Vegas unless there’s a sex scandal. This isn’t that.
This saga has the vibe of MGM Resorts feeling like it’s not getting enough bang for its buck with its Julian Serrano partnership anymore.
Serrano is getting up there in years, but most celebrity chefs don’t actually work in their restaurants. If these restaurants were delivering on revenue, Serrano could just sit back and collect licensing fees like other chefs. No need to close anything.
The reality is these restaurants have run their course and MGM Resorts is looking to fresh concepts and more revenue.
If this were really about Serrano retiring, his Lago at Bellagio would close as well. That place is making bank. (Rumors are circulating Lago could close, too, incidentally.)
Anyway, a toast to Chef Serrano and his team for the undeniable success of Julian Serrano Tapas during its impressive run at Aria.
On the bright side, the suckling pig and octopus communities are celebrating this news like you wouldn’t believe.
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