Las Vegas’ most anticipated restaurant openings for 2026
A slow season for Las Vegas restaurant openings no longer exists. Debuts now occur continually. Here are 10 noteworthy launches to look for in 2026. Restaurants on the list had not opened by Dec. 15.
Braseria
EDO Hospitality, famed for its Anima by EDO and its now-closed EDO Tapas & Wine, is opening this Spanish-French brasserie in The Collective, the center filled with restaurants at 3900 Paradise Road. Braseria will occupy Suite Z on the second floor, the space that once housed Yolie’s Brazilian Steakhouse. The owners hope to combine volume and group dining with a lively bar scene. The menu will draw on the cooking of Barcelona and nearby areas of France.
Cantina Contramar
Gabriela Cámara, chef-owner of the influential Contramar restaurant in Mexico City, is opening stateside with Cantina Contramar in the Fontainebleau. The James Beard Award semifinalist will offer some of her signature seafood dishes, as well as new dishes celebrating the breadth of Mexican cooking. Cocktails made with Tequila Casa Dragones await pairing. Frida Escobedo, the acclaimed Mexican architect, is designing the restaurant.
The Coffee Class
The latest Coffee Class from entrepreneur Kyle Cunningham will be the flagship store for the brand, marking the next stage of growth for the company and spanning more than 6,000 square feet across three stories at 37 S. Water St. in Henderson. The coffee house, bakery and café will open first on the ground floor, followed by a cocktail and whiskey bar on the second floor and a rooftop for weekend brunch, seasonal gatherings and private events
EDO Gastropub
Not long after DW Bistro closed in April at The Gramercy, EDO Hospitality signed a lease for the space. But what to do with it? Fine dining was out — Anima by EDO was already at The Gramercy. A steakhouse was considered, but did Vegas need more chops? Eventually, the EDO Hospitality owners settled on a return to a never-realized plan for a gastropub from 2017. The menu will be American comfort food with a twist, including global accents.
The Hat
This Southern California restaurant renowned for its pastrami dip sandwiches is finally making its way to Vegas. Construction is underway on the shop at 6215 S. Rainbow Blvd. in Spring Valley. Six years ago, word emerged that The Hat was going to open on the same site, but that project was never completed. The restaurant began in 1951 as a roadside stand in Alhambra, California. Spring Valley will be The Hat’s first restaurant outside of California.
Lotus of Siam
Lotus, once named the best Thai place in North America by Gourmet, is returning to the Commercial Center space on East Sahara Avenue where it debuted in 1999, before closing in 2017, reopening on East Flamingo Road and expanding to Red Rock Resort. Lotus redux (and the crisp papaya salad and crunchy garlic prawns) will occupy about 19,000 square feet, up from about 12,000 square feet, after taking over space on either side of the old digs.
Maroon
Chef Kwame Onwuachi of New York City — whose cooking has drawn luxuriant praise for its deft mingling of Nigerian, Creole and Afro-Caribbean influences, plus more than a dash of his Bronx childhood — is launching Maroon at the Sahara. The restaurant replaces Bazaar Meat by chef José Andrés, which moved to The Venetian in September. Maroon will be a Caribbean steakhouse incorporating jerk and Jamaican cooking traditions.
Museum of Ice Cream
Scoops must always be bigger in Vegas. The Museum of Ice Cream coming to Area15 encompasses almost 30,00 square feet, about three times the size of the other ice cream museums in New York, Chicago, Miami, Boston and Singapore. The museum is getting its licks in with an ice cream buffet, a dessert play space, an ice cream wedding cake chapel, a pool filled with sprinkles, a pink party bus, ice cream-themed hotel suites and more.
Sartiano’s Italian Steakhouse
The restaurant, a sibling of Sartiano’s in New York City, is set to debut in a space overlooking the greens of Wynn Golf Club. Chef Alfred Portale, the James Beard Award winner and pioneer of New American cooking, is the culinary director. Sartiano’s encompasses a bar, lounge, main restaurant, private dining room and dining terrace. The menu merges Italian standards with modern American steakhouse dishes.
Stix Asia
This highly regarded Asian food hall from Honolulu is going into the former Sundry food hall at UnCommons in southwest Vegas. About a dozen concepts will populate the 18,000-square-foot space. When Neon last spoke with Stix Asia representatives, potential concepts ranged from ramen and udon in a neon-lighted noodle alley to Asian cocktails served at the big indoor bar to yakitori skewers and takoyaki balls issuing from the outdoor bar.
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.
