Replacement for landmark Las Vegas Strip cocktail lounge sets opening date

Caspian’s Cocktails & Caviar will open in Caesars Palace the last week of December.

Caspian’s replaces Cleopatra’s Barge, a magnificent specimen of high Vegas kitsch that featured a replica Egyptian barge surrounded by water and gently rocked by hydraulics — in the middle of a cocktail lounge. Cleopatra’s Barge closed during the pandemic after a sail of almost 50 years.

Vegas takes itself much more seriously these days.

Design details

Caspian’s comes courtesy of Clique Hospitality, which has created several bars and restaurants on and off the Strip. Caspian’s incorporates an 1,100-square-foot caviar bar and lounge and a 2,300-square-foot live music speakeasy lying behind a hidden entrance off the bar.

(Speakeasies click for Clique: The company has also deployed them in Proper Eats Food Hall at Aria, at Mijo Modern Mexican Restaurant in Durango and at The Barbershop Cuts & Cocktails in The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.)

The design of Caspian’s, according to a statement from Clique, draws together pearl and onyx accents in the caviar bar and art deco, vibrant colors, gold accents, oversize couches and a 16-foot ceiling encrusted with an elaborate chandelier in the speakeasy.

Sips and roe

At the caviar bar, chilled premium vodkas await pairing partners such as latkes with caviar and crème fraîche; waffles topped by caviar, crème fraîche and chives; and Chips & Dips (Kaluga caviar with house French onion dip, chives and Pringles). The pairings also include The Royal Flight of six vodka shots with six caviar bumps and The Whale offering 2 ounces of Imperial Golden Osetra caviar with a bottle of Dom Perignon.

Caspian’s cocktail menu, served at the caviar bar and the speakeasy, features The Ruby Riff (vanilla vodka, passion fruit syrup, cream, bitters, lime) served in a Champagne flute, a Forbidden Fruit (blanco tequila, apricot preserve, cilantro, lemon juice), a classic vodka martini served with three green olives, and a Negroni built with Monkey 47 gin, Campari and sweet vermouth.

Gild any cocktail with caviar-stuffed olives. Of course.

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.