30 LAS VEGAS RESTAURANT AND BAR CLOSURES TO KNOW ABOUT — DECEMBER 2023

The first restaurant closures of 2023 have hit restaurants and bars in Summerlin, downtown Las Vegas, and Henderson. While the Las Vegas Valley continues to see frequent openings, other businesses have closed or scheduled their final days of service. Check back as this list is updated regularly.

See something missing? Hit up the tipline.

December 2023

Half-Bird Chicken & Bird

Last summer, Brian Howard, chef and owner of celebrated neighborhood restaurant Sparrow + Wolf, debuted a more casual restaurant called Half Bird Chicken & Beer down the street on Spring Mountain Road. In November, he took the Half Bird Chicken & Beer concept to Henderson and closed the Chinatown location. The Henderson location has all fixings that had been found at the Chinatown eatery — including side dishes like smashed rotisserie potatoes, macaroni with crispy spam and furikake, and Japanese milk bread with togarashi honey butter and sea salt. Its last day of service was December 30.

November 2023

Bourbon St. Parade

A high-energy bar inspired by the French Quarter in New Orleans opened on the Las Vegas Strip in October. One month later, the doors are closed, the band is sent home, and even the website has disappeared from the internet. Bourbon St. Parade opened at the Grand Bazaar Shops in front of the Horseshoe Las Vegas on October 19. It closed on November 23.

138

Chef Matthew Meyer has closed his Henderson steakhouse, 138°. Located in the same space as his previous breakfast and lunch spot, Served Global Dining, the steakhouse stood out for the glass-fronted dry-aging coolers that contained cuts of meat, fish, and duck, flanking the restaurant’s entrance. Meyer said that, ultimately, he had to close the restaurant for personal reasons. “I loved the brand I built here and a lot of time and energy and years of building a reputation went into building this place,” he said.

October 2023

L2 Texas BBQ

The barbecue restaurant known for its ribs and briskets suddenly closed, posting on its social media pages: “It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of L2 Texas BBQ closing. Our doors will be locked after 8 pm tonight. To our amazing customers, thank you for your unwavering support and love. We are truly grateful for each one of you.” It closed on October 1.

One Bite Sandwiches

The casual Vietnamese restaurant in Henderson served some of the Las Vegas Valley’s best bahn mi sandwiches. All of the sandwiches, like the BBQ pork and the tofu lemongrass and mushroom were served with a cup of broth for dipping, chips, and an iced tea — a bargain at around $10.

Square Bar

The retro-themed bar, Square Bar, closed following weeks of working to resolve plumbing issues. The 1970s-themed bar and performance space opened at New Orleans Square, 900 Karen Avenue, in April 2022. The bar has a cool, groovy style with broad swirling stripes of orange, tan, and red decorating the walls. It hosted trivia nights, open mic shows, and lots of live entertainment, with a menu spanning breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It closed on October 1.

September 2023

Hop Nuts Brewing

After four years of pouring and brewing in Summerlin, Hop Nuts Brewery has closed its Tivoli Village taproom. You can still visit its original location downtown at 1120 South Main Street #150. The Tivoli Village location closed on September 1.

JMT Korean Street Food

The Korean street food restaurant inside the Shanghai Plaza in Chinatown abruptly shuttered. The restaurant was reliable for its lunch combos that came with servings of Tteokbokki, soondae, fries, and kimbap for $15.

Lupo by Wolfgang Puck

Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant inside the Mandalay Bay Resort Casino has closed as part of an overhaul by both the Mandalay Bay and the Wolfgang Puck Group. The Las Vegas Strip casino is refreshing many of its venues ahead of the Super Bowl, which will take place in February 2024 at the nearby Allegiant Stadium. Additionally, the Wolfgang Puck group is retheming some of its properties, rebranding the Player’s Locker in Summerlin to the new Lupo and transforming the 24-year-old Lupo at Mandalay Bay into Caramá, a new restaurant set to open in January.

Tacos & Tequila

When Tacos & Tequila opened inside the Palace Station last summer, it was the Mexican restaurant’s second debut inside a Las Vegas casino. It had operated for more than a decade at the Luxor, before being taken over by Diablo’s Cantina. And for a little over a year, Tacos & Tequila served tacos, nachos, enchiladas, and brunch offerings inside a 4,000-square-foot space at the off-Strip Palace Station. Its last day was September 10.

August 2023

Wolfgang Puck Players Lounge

The Wolfgang Puck restaurant in Downtown Summerlin abruptly closed on Sunday, July 30 after brunch. The Players Lounge opened in Downtown Summerlin in February 2020, replacing the former Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill. It was a sports bar intended for watching Vegas Golden Knights games, but fancied up for the Summerlin crowd with leather seating, a nice cocktail program, and glass lockers which regulars could pay to store their spirit of choice. It will reopen as Lupo.

M.Y. Asia

James Beard Award winner and public television star, Martin Yan, opened his first Las Vegas restaurant, M.Y. Asia, on the Las Vegas Strip on March 13, 2023. Just five months later, it permanently shuttered. The Pan-Asian restaurant was one of the first new entries into the recently rebranded Horseshoe Las Vegas, and the star of Yan Can Cook served dishes like kimchi, lettuce cups filled with shrimp, BBQ pork bao, yellow curry, mu shu pork tacos, and pan-seared Chilean sea bass in jasmine tea with a miso ginger honey glaze. It closed in mid-August.

July 2023

Firerock Steakhouse

The Centennial steakhouse based out of Casper, Wyoming has closed after eight years of serving 28-day aged certified Angus beef, seafood dishes, salads, burgers, pasta dishes, barbecue ribs, and more. It closed in July.

Fleur

The Mandalay Bay Restaurant initially opened by acclaimed chef Hubert Keller has permanently closed so that a new project may take over the space in winter 2023. The modern American restaurant served a tight menu of steak, roasted chicken, seared scallops, and lobster tail. The memorable interior featured a distinct wall of tan stone siding that crept all the way up to the ceiling. Fleur’s last day was June 30.

Ssoju Korean Pub

The Chinatown night spot was sleek and airy, a prime destination for kimchi fried rice, cheese potato jeon, and fruity flavored soju. It closed in June.

June 2023

Lily Bar & Lounge

Located right on the casino floor, the 3,393-square-foot Lily Bar & Lounge is closing this summer, to be replaced by a new venue this winter. The bar inside the Bellagio Resort & Casino has a vintage aesthetic with framed mirrors, Spanish stone tabletops, and rust-colored couches and offers live music four nights a week. It will close permanently on July 9.

May 2023

The Smashed Pig Gastropub

Located on Fremont Street, the Smashed Pig Gastropub has closed suddenly, posting on its Instagram page that “the unfortunate time has come,” but hinting that something else may be in the works. The downtown bar and restaurant opened in 2015, next to the Griffin and what is now Flippin’ Good Chicken, Burgers, Beer. The restaurant operator could not be reached for comment. The Smashed Pig is closed as of May 31.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs4O6YCPSoo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading

Sweets Raku

The dedicated dessert cafe, Sweets Raku, is closing its doors after nearly ten years of serving delightfully delicate dishes of vanilla cream puffs, mango sorbet, and chestnut cream cakes. The tiny Chinatown cafe, located in the same plaza as its sushi and charcoal grill sister restaurant, Aburiya Raku, will close its doors permanently on June 30.

Old Homestead Steakhouse

Celebrity chef Bobby Flay is opening a third Las Vegas restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip — inside the space that is currently Old Homestead Steakhouse at Caesars Palace. The steakhouse is widely regarded as one of Las Vegas’s best steakhouses, lauded for its tender, heaping cuts of meat, including New York Strip, porterhouse for two, the 24-ounce Gotham rib-eye steak on the bone, and a 10-ounce rare Japanese A5 wagyu. Its massive glass wine cellar holds 15,000 bottles. The restaurant will close and change over into Flay’s Brasserie B later this year.

The Dorsey

One of the best cocktail bars on the Las Vegas Strip, the Dorsey, is recognizable for its sultry library-inspired interior, tall metal birdcage-like structure, and inventive cocktail offerings. It’s closing to make way for a new bar, called Juliet Cocktail Room, to debut in the space. The 81/82 hospitality group partnered with the Venetian in March and is reinventing three bars, which the resort calls the cocktail collective — including the Dorsey, Rosina, and Electra Cocktail Club. The Dorsey closes on June 25.

April 2023

Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant

The Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant on Paradise Road is closing after 26 years. The restaurant opened in 1997 and serves bar fare like soft pretzels and deviled eggs, salad, pizza, burgers, and entrees like chicken schnitzel and fish and chips. A spokesperson confirmed the closure, calling it “a strategic decision based solely on business demands.” It will close permanently on Sunday, April 30.

Big Wong

The Chinatown restaurant known for affordable entrees and Chinese comfort food is closing permanently so its owners can retire. Located in the same shopping center as Kabuto, Raku, and Trattoria Nakamura-Ya, the small, casual restaurant has offered affordable and home-style Chinese cooking, noodle soups, and fried chicken for 12 years. Big Wong is expected to close in early May.

Guerrilla Pizza Co.

The Hard Hat Lounge has closed for renovations and when it reopens later this summer, Guerrilla Pizza Co.’s Detroit-style deep dish pies won’t be returning. Founder Robby Cunningham says he made the decision to move on and part ways with friend and Hard Hat business partner Frank Sidoris after “a lot of contemplating and conversation.” He’ll spend the next couple months working to develop a pizza concept back in his home state of Michigan, while searching for a new landing spot in Las Vegas to give Guerrilla and the square pies with crispy bottoms, chewy edges, and two stripes of sauce a bigger kitchen. Guerrilla Pizza Co. closed on April 24.

Vegas Test Kitchen

In the past two and a half years, nearly 70 chefs have cooked inside the Vegas Test Kitchen on Fremont Street. Its been home for both amateur and professional chefs who have popped in for one-time events or cooked in the kitchen regularly. The Test Kitchen came to fruition during the pandemic in collaboration with DTP and neighboring Fergusons Downtown. This summer, the incubator will close for good, going out with an outdoor food festival hosted by dozens of chefs in early June.

Genting Palace Lounge

Resorts World Las Vegas is permanently closing the lounge that leads into its high-end Chinese restaurant, Genting Palace, to turn the space into the only tiki bar on the Las Vegas Strip. Genting Palace and the Genting Palace Lounge debuted when Resorts World opened in June of 2021. The Genting Palace Lounge was bold and modern, with a white marble bar top behind a row of bold red velvet bar stools. Walls of jade shelves and windows led to the glossy black jewel-box entrance. On April 17, the bar will reopen as the Golden Monkey Tiki Lounge.

Stripburger & Chicken

For 16 years, Stripburger & Chicken occupied the highly visible space on the first floor of Fashion Show Mall, facing out to Las Vegas Boulevard. Stripburger made some of the best burgers on the Strip, piled high with toppings like bacon, cheese, crispy onion strings, and mushrooms. Chef Rick Moonen once called Stripburger the best hangover cure he ever experienced. Stripburger is owned by the Lettuce Entertain You Hospitality Group, which also owns the adjacent El Segundo Sol Mexican restaurant. The group plans to debut a new restaurant in the space in fall 2023. Stripburger closed on Sunday, April 2.

March 2023

Aureole

Aureole and the gravity-defying Wine Angels who floated to the top of the restaurant’s 10,000-bottle tower are leaving the Mandalay Bay Las Vegas for good to make room for a new restaurant by Michael and Bryan Voltaggio. After more than 20 years of serving artful cuisine inside one of Las Vegas’s most recognizable restaurants, chef Charlie Palmer is closing Aureole and the two celebrity chefs are moving into the 9,000-square-foot space with a one-year residency. The restaurant will close on April 13.

Hearthstone Kitchen & Cellar

As Red Rock Casino continues to roll out changes to the Summerlin resort, its next big move is to permanently close the Hearthstone Kitchen & Cellar. Hearthstone opened in 2014 with a robust wine collection, wood-burning ovens, and a popular brunch. Red Rock says that it is closing to make room for a new restaurant to enter the space. The last day to visit Hearthstone before it closes will be April 30.

Banger Brewing

The downtown brewery opened at Neonopolis on Fremont Street in 2013 with a custom-built brushed stainless steel brewhouse with three barrels and five seven-barrel fermenters that brew the beer. The 3,000-square-foot brewpub offered pints and growlers, plus fun drinks for holidays. “As life moves on, Banger Brewing will too. We are closing our chapter in the brewing scene,” Banger Brewing announced in a post on Facebook. The brewery will keep its taps flowing through March 31.

Bodega Bagel

Just six months after opening her New York-style bagel spot, chef Sonia El-Nawal has shuttered the Henderson restaurant. During the pandemic, Bodega Bagel started as a recurring stall inside the Vegas Test Kitchen pop-up in downtown Las Vegas. “Bringing New York to Las Vegas has been a dream of mine for a long time,” El-Nawal had said at the time of opening the brick-and-mortar at 10075 S. Eastern Avenue. El-Nawal, who described Bodega as a love letter to New York, served bagels, spreads, and fish toppings like house-cured gravlax, sturgeon, housemade whitefish salad, and smoked salmon. Bodega Bagel closed its doors on March 7.

2023-04-25T16:29:59Z dg43tfdfdgfd