Today, you can hardly spit on the Strip without hitting a bistro helmed by a celebrity chef or a restaurant worth its flakey Maldon sea salt. But that wasn't always the case. When Austrian uber-chef Wolfgang Puck debuted Spago at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace 25 years ago, Las Vegas eateries were less dining destinations than ways to keep the gamblers fueled so they could stay at the tables for hours on end.
Puck and Spago are widely credited with launching the current casino culinary movement, but the long-running restaurant will close next year and move just down the street to the Bellagio.
"Just as Spago is credited with beginning the Las Vegas culinary revolution, Bellagio transformed the casino-resort industry when it opened with the first collection of world-famous chefs and restaurants," said Wolfgang Puck via statement.
Indeed, when Steve Wynn opened the Bellagio in 1998, it featured a collection of chef-driven restaurants that instantly boosted the city's gastronomic profile and paved the way for casino culinary programs to come. Many of the resort's original restaurants are still operating today.
Spago's new incarnation will take the place of Todd English's Olives, scheduled to close this winter, and will feature an outdoor patio overlooking the resort's famed fountains. The menu will include a la carte Spago staples like pizza topped with salmon and caviar as well as a multi-course California tasting menu served inside a dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows and a centerpiece bar and wine room with a custom neon lighting installation designed specifically for the space.
"Wolfgang Puck is known worldwide for delivering exceptional restaurant hospitality. From cuisine to service and, of course, style, he is intricately involved in all aspects of the business, providing first-class culinary experiences for his guests," said Bellagio President and COO Randy Morton. "Puck's high standards are the same as those to which we hold our resort culinary program, making this an ideal partnership to continue elevating our dining scene."