Chubby Skewers, Maroon, Horror Vibes among new Las Vegas restaurants

In the latest dispatch from the Las Vegas food and drink front:

■ Chubby Skewers, the most recent Vegas concept from the Chubby Group, is set to open in June at 4525 Spring Mountain Road, Suite 105, according to the company. That’s right next door to Chubby Cattle BBQ, an all-you-can-eat yakiniku (grilled meat) spot. Chubby Skewers offers dishes inspired by Dongbei-style cooking from northeast China.

Diners select grilled-to-order skewers made from ingredients at the skewer bar. The menu also features street food favorites such as spicy cold noodles, sizzling tofu and duck tongue. The restaurant is designed to recall a back-alley barbecue joint with neon lighting, reds and yellows and late-night hours (open daily from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m.).

The other Vegas restaurants in the Chubby Group portfolio are the original Chubby Cattle BBQ on South Jones Boulevard, Mikiya Wagyu Shabu House on Spring Mountain and The X Pot in The Venetian. Visit chubbyskewers.com.

■ Chef Kwame Onwuachi of New York City, a James Beard Award winner and one of the country’s most lauded young chefs, is opening a restaurant at Sahara Las Vegas that will replace Bazaar Meat, as the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The property recently announced it will be called Maroon.

This Caribbean steakhouse, set to open in late 2025, takes its name from the Maroons: formerly enslaved Africans who took to the mountains of Jamaica in the 17th century, surviving mainly through subsistence farming. Maroons are thought to have invented jerk cooking. Onwuachi said Maroon honors this history and his own Jamaican heritage.

■ Fabio Viviani, the chef, restaurateur and “Top Chef” star, is joining with JW Marriott Las Vegas-Rampart Casino to open Ai Pazzi, an Italian restaurant, in summer 2025. Viviani is debuting the restaurant as part of his remake of the property’s food and beverage offerings. (That remake also includes a new oyster bar.) Since he came to national attention in 2008 on “Top Chef,” Viviani has launched more than 40 restaurants, bars and hospitality concepts.

■ Basil Vegan Thai &Sushi is now open at 500 E. Windmill Lane, Suite 145, near Bermuda Road. The restaurant is the latest project from Chef Mindy Lim of Daikon Vegan Sushi on West Lake Mead Boulevard. The menu at Basil Vegan features nigiri and sushi rolls, starters (including tofu larb), fried rice, curries, pad thai and chef’s specials. Visit basilveganthai.com.

■ Horror Vibes Coffee just launched at 4480 Paradise Road, Suite 300, in the same center as Ferraro’s Ristorante. The original of the horror-themed coffee shop is in Los Angeles; Vegas is its second location. The menu features coffee drinks (including a host of lattes), chai, tea, lemonade and fun drinks like cotton candy milk. Horror Vibes is where the ghouls gather, as a tagline puts it. Visit horrorvibes.com.

■ Grey Witch, a new spot from the creators of Red Dwarf (great Detroit-style pizza) and Fat Cat bars, just launched at 722 W. Sunset Road, Henderson. Grey Witch possesses a split personality, with all-ages dining in the front room, a moodier bar area and a speakeasy — Dark Arts — hidden behind the fireplace in the front room. A separate space (capacity up to about 400) hosts live music performances. Follow @greywitch_lv.

■ Prowl, a bar from the team behind Stray Pirate (the dog-themed tiki spot), is set to open in June at 1323 S. Commerce St., in downtown Vegas. Christ Gutierrez, a top Vegas mixologist who is the general manager of Prowl and Stray Pirate, is creating the cocktail menu. Visit prowllv.com.

■ Construction is well underway at the new location of Shàng Artisan Noodle at 6491 N. Durango Drive, Suite 140, in Centennial Hills. The location is set to open in early 2026, according to the restaurant. Shàng Artisan Noodle is famed for its hand-pulled and knife-shaved noodles in rich soups and other dishes. The restaurant currently has three shops in Vegas.

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The annual Las Vegas Restaurant Week, benefiting Three Square Food Bank, runs Monday through June 13, with more than 250 restaurants across the valley variously serving prix fixe menus for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner at prices ranging from $20 to $120, with $4 to $6 from each meal donated to Three Square. About 20 establishments will also offer special promotions, with a portion of proceeds donated to Three Square.

Las Vegas Restaurant Week 2024 brought together 260 restaurants and food service businesses, raising more than $380,000 — enough to provide 1.14 million meals to residents in the valley facing food insecurity. Since 2007, more than 10 million meals have been provided for those in need through the event. Visit restaurantweeklv.org for details.

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Beginning at 6:30 p.m. June 10, Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steaks & Stone Crab in the Forum Shops at Caesars is presenting a multicourse dinner with wine pairings from Frank Family Vineyards of the Napa Valley. Wines will also be sold to take home. Reception 6:30 p.m., with dinner starting at 7 p.m. Cost: $195 plus tax and gratuity. Tickets/details: joes.net/las-vegas.

Email tips, questions or feedback to ontheside@reviewjournal.com.