The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas has already had a big 2016. It debuted a new sports book in a prime corner of the casino floor, opened a Strip-front Starbucks (complete with an installation by artist Georges Rousse) and announced the impending arrival of the first West Coast-ish Momofuku and Milk Bar.
But that’s not all that CEO Bill McBeath and company have planned. Next up on the lineup of Cosmo changes: an expansive new restaurant filling the footprint left vacant by Comme Ca.
Scheduled to start serving this May, Beauty & Essex is the latest Vegas offering from Tao Group, which already runs Marquee Nightclub and Dayclub at Cosmopolitan, Tao restaurant, nightclub and beach at the Venetian and Lavo and Lavo Casino Club at Palazzo. The restaurant will be the second outpost of the brand helmed by Food Network chef Chris Santos, and like its New York predecessor, Beauty & Essex in Vegas will focus on “multi-ethnic” shared plates like tuna poke tacos, chicken meatballs and French onion soup dumplings, along with dry-aged meats and a handful of pastas for anyone who doesn't fancy discovering what tomato tartare is.
Bone Marrow a la Beauty & Essex, coming to Cosmo this May.
Designed by the Rockwell Group, the 10,000-square-foot space follows a loose narrative as it takes diners through a pawn shop-inspired entry and into an opulent jewel-themed interior that includes elements like a dramatic pearl chandelier, a gold DJ booth and a 40-foot wall of framed lockets. And that’s all before you hit the dining room.
All told, the restaurant will have more than 230 seats for dinner with an additional 90 in the various bar and lounge areas.
And the Cosmopolitan outpost won’t be the freshest Beauty & Essex location for long. Tao Group and Santos are already working on their third B&E restaurant—and Tao’s official West Coast debut—in Los Angeles.
Beauty & Essex will be open Monday through Sunday, 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. For more information, visit beautyandessexlv.com.