Unique, natural feel saturates Virgin Hotels Las Vegas restaurants

When it comes to its restaurants, Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is looking outward. When it opens March 25, five of the resort’s eight major restaurants will border the event lawn and pool area and will be accessible from its winding outdoor promenade.

“We’ve built this ecosystem, and it all works together,” said Richard “Boz” Bosworth, president and CEO of hotel owner JC Hospitality, during a media preview on March 15.

The focus on the outdoors fits with the overarching theme of the hotel, which is a stylized reflection of its desert environment. It’s perhaps most evident in the Mexican restaurant Casa Calavera, which has an expansive outdoor section. Some of the seating, at tables and in lounge areas, actually is on a beachlike feature to reflect the “toes in the sand” environs of operator Hakkasan Group’s original location in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico.

“Now, more than ever — with COVID — people want to eat outdoors,” said Derek Silberstein, Hakkasan’s executive vice president of food and beverage.

Vibrant talavera tiles and massive, hand-painted murals add color and energy to the restaurant, which has numerous historical accents, including a monumental bar. The Dia de los Muertos theme is carried out with decorative altars in the entry and a huge floral depiction of a sugar skull. Just outside is an oversize throne for those Instagram moments.

Silberstein promises authentic ingredients and a menu geared to American tastes. There will be a secret menu for locals, features such as Taco Tuesdays and — also attractive to locals — “not-Strip prices,” Silberstein said.

Todd English brings his Olives brand to the resort in a return to Las Vegas for the celebrity chef, who opened an Olives with the Bellagio in 1998. The restaurant spotlights the cuisines of the Mediterranean basin, including the plant-based and fish dishes characteristic of the region.

“We’re really going to push the limits of what people think Mediterranean is,” English said. With a prominent wood-burning grill, “there will be a big show of fire and smoke.”

He promises to cater to locals at Virgin just as he did at the Bellagio, with features including a private Olives valet.

“The locals like that,” he said. “Now that I’m a local, I understand.”

Money, Baby! is the resort’s indoor-outdoor sportsbook and restaurant, on the second floor at one end of the pool/dayclub/event lawn area, with a stairway connecting it to the patio.

“I feel like we have the best space on the property,” said Justin Massei, co-founder and operating partner of operator Clive Collective. “You can be indoors and feel like you’re outdoors.”

“We really wanted to bring something different to Vegas,” co-founder and managing partner Mikas Troyan said. “It’s a hybrid concept — not just a nightclub, restaurant or bar.” They promise high energy during sports events, with a 360-degree viewing experience along with sports betting. There also will be participatory games such as zombie dodgeball and golf simulators.

Food Network personality Beau MacMillan has been named culinary director and promises food that will surprise guests, adding that he views it as “a party within a party.”

Kassi Beach House is expected to open with the resort’s pools, probably in May. Nick Mathers, owner of operator Wish You Were Here, said it will have an atmosphere that evokes European beach resorts and serve coastal Italian food and drink.

“Although we’re a restaurant, it’s really important to us to create an intimate party vibe,” he said. DJ lineups will liven things up, but “you will still be able to hear each other talk. It’s about the intimacy of the restaurant.” Kassi Beach House will have daybeds, cabanas and lounge seating poolside and will serve lunch, brunch and dinner.

Those who remember the heyday of the Hard Rock may be wondering about the role of Nobu in the new Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, but not to worry; it’s returning in a prominent spot. General manager Bryan Shinohara said the space “will look familiar, but different,” with a natural, fun atmosphere with desert decor. Shinohara said 99 percent of the previous staff returned.

He said Virgin’s Nobu will have more specialized service than its sister at Caesars Palace because of its smaller scale. Signature dishes such as miso-marinated black cod will return, and there will be some dishes that have not been seen in Las Vegas and a handful that aren’t available at Caesars.

One Steakhouse from Michael and David Morton, who had MB Steak at the Hard Rock, will continue to capitalize on the family’s long history serving prime cuts of beef. Patrick Munster returns as executive chef and said all of his cooks are back as well. Most of the restaurant’s signature dishes endure, such as the 16-pound tomahawk steak that serves 10 to 12, but there are some new touches.

“I kind of wanted to join the party at the bar, so I put in some tableside presentations,” such as surf and turf cooked over Japanese charcoal, Munster said. “I get to answer those crazy food questions.”

Co-owner Jenna Morton said the biggest change between MB and One is that the latter is more integrated with the resort.

“We have the same aesthetic, the same vibe,” she said. “We are one with the property.”

MB’s Japanese burnt-wood walls have been retained, but the dining room is a little lighter, and cloches enclosing miniature scenes depicting “departures from reality” dot the dining room. The bar has been enlarged, from 23 to 100 seats, and it’s graced with a lighting fixture, made with 3,000 pieces of glass, that gradually changes color as the evening progresses.

Night + Market will bring “boldly seasoned L.A.-style Thai food,” said owner Kris Yenbamroong, such as pad kee mao or “drunken noodles,” made with pastrami.

The Kitchen at Commons Club will be the resort’s 24/7 spot, and the only one to serve breakfast in the morning, said executive chef David Werly, with specialties such as a Dutch Baby for two and “very large, thick French toast.” At dinner, he said the restaurant will be a good choice “for people who don’t have plans.”

“We want to be the option,” he said. “You can make it as big of an experience as you want.”

Other food outlets at the resort are Afters Ice Cream, Dunkin’, the Funny Library Coffee Shop, the Juice Bar and Pizza Forte.

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Follow @HKRinella on Twitter.