A hot L.A. steakhouse is returning to the Las Vegas Strip
Boa is back.
More than a dozen years after it closed at the Forum Shops, this steakhouse with a distinctive name is returning to the Las Vegas Strip. This time, Boa (stylized as BOA) will occupy the second-floor space in the Palazzo Tower of The Venetian that once housed Villa Azur, which shut in December after a tumultuous two-year tenure.
The steakhouse is opening Oct. 17, once again brought to town by Innovative Dining Group, which owns three Boa Steakhouses in the Los Angeles area — including its hot boîte flagship on another Strip, the Sunset Strip — plus a location in Texas. (Sushi Roku in the Forum Shops at Caesars also belongs to the IDG portfolio.)
Why a Vegas redux for Boa?
“My father was one of the owners of the Silver Slipper and the Frontier, so I’ve always had a love for Vegas because of my dad,” said Lee Maen, founder and CEO of IDG with his business partner, Philip Cummins. “What I love about Vegas is the professionalism of the people who want to work in restaurants. Vegas is whatever you want it to be, and I love that diversity, and we always wanted to come back.”
We need a new name
When it opened in 2001, Boa Steakhouse was named Balboa Steakhouse for the first six months or so of its existence. Then the owners learned a young man named Gavin Newsom owned Balboa Café in San Francisco.
Years before he was the city’s mayor or California’s lieutenant governor or its governor, Newsom’s PlumpJack Group had taken over the historic Balboa Café. Trademark infringement loomed for Balboa Steakhouse, so the “Bal” was lopped from Balboa and the restaurant became Boa Steakhouse.
“It’s a good story but painful at the time,” Maen said, laughing, as he recalled the forced name change.
Only-in-Vegas dishes
Brendan Collins, corporate executive chef for IDG, will send out a menu helmed by 21-day dry-aged tomahawk steaks, 40-day dry-aged New York strip steaks, A5 Japanese wagyu, Westholme wagyu out of Australia (a favorite of chefs), and cuts from Creekstone Farms of Kansas.
Fish and seafood run to a raw bar, Ora King salmon and Nova Scotia lobster tails. Starters showcase goat cheese baklava, caviar cones and wagyu “cigars” with black garlic yuzu aïoli. Lobster mac and cheese and a “boujee” twice-baked potato provisioned with crème fraîche, chives and Royal Select caviar take to the side.
Signature Caesar salad is fashioned tableside, the dish a blend of family Caesar recipes from Maen and Cummins. Only-in-Vegas dishes are in the works, too, including caviar-laden chicken nuggets (à la the U.S. Open), panko-crusted lobster with caviar and Creekstone Farms steak tartare prepared at table.
“Vegas is a place where you’re going big,” Maen said. “We’ll let the chefs be creative and create things over time.”
Taking care of people
The new Boa encompasses a bar, a main dining room, three private dining rooms and a semi-enclosed terrace in front of the restaurant. A ceiling composed of custom forms made from felt blends architecture, design and sound absorption. Booths and rift-sawn oak tables populate the dining areas. Figured walnut, a type of black walnut with vibrant patterns in its grain, offers an eye-catching finish.
Boa Steakhouses are known for a buzzy social sexiness that feels very Vegas. At the same time, more steakhouses than ever have opened here since Boa left the city in 2012; when Cote and Boa debut, there will be six steakhouses at The Venetian alone. How will Boa make its (grill) mark this time around?
“Competition is good; it brings people to the neighborhood,” Maen said. “We’re pretty well known in L.A., the biggest feeder market to Vegas. People go to different places for different reasons. We’re about locals and repeat customers. We want to take care of people year after year and have them tell their friends. We want to make their night.
“I think that will stand apart — hospitality from the heart.”
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.