GO UNDER THE SEA WITH JOSé ANDRéS’S NEWEST LAS VEGAS RESTAURANT
José Andrés will celebrate all things briny, beachy, and seafaring at his newest restaurant, Bazaar Mar, which opens next week with a stunning dining room, whimsical dishes, and even a brand new coffee shop concept.
The new restaurant opens on Wednesday, August 7, inside the Shops at Crystals on the Las Vegas Strip, down the street from Bazaar Meat — Andrés’s ode to all things carnivorous — at the Sahara. Manuel Echeverri, the concept chef and partner for José Andrés Group, leads the sprawling menu with dishes that are rooted in Spanish flavors with playful elements. Take, for instance, the Sea Anemone, a cluster of oyster mushrooms meticulously arranged with pickled mushroom cups and citrus leaves in an anchovy aioli. “It looks like a sea anemone with life coming out of each layer,” says Echeverri. Fans of Bazaar Meat will recognize the salmon roe cone. Here, a crunchy two-bite cone is filled with both smoked and fresh trout, plus preserved Meyer lemon and crème fraîche.
Visitors will have the option of selecting a whole fish from a market section, with seasonal choices like branzino, snapper, or sea bream, that can then be grilled in a wood-burning oven, baked in salt, fried, or prepared as sashimi, and then served tableside. The menu has more than 50 items — including small bites like a take on crispy rice sushi but with a filling of ricotta spicy tuna, and fresh sashimi in a puffy hollow bread. Another dish is a play on popcorn shrimp but with baby squid. A plate of delicately sliced ora king salmon carpaccio comes with crackers in the shape of salmon. “We wanted to represent that salmon’s travel and jumping out of the water by having the fish crackers almost jumping out of the fish,” says Echeverri.
For desserts, a key lime pie gets a beachy spin with ice cream molded into the shape of seashells and sea stars, a lime foam and cream to emulate sea foam, and a graham cracker sand castle. The wine list has a heavy Spanish influence and the cocktails will similarly lean into playful takes on the beachy theme.
The 7,428-square-foot restaurant will have an open kitchen, private dining room, and a tapas bar. With shades of emerald green and orange, Bazaar Mar also has a centerpiece bar, velvety seating, a mural, and sculptures of centaurs.
Like Bazaar Meat, Bazaar Mar will have a Bar Centro. Located one story down from Bazaar Mar, the bar will offer lounge service in the evenings with caviar and cocktails. But, in a first for the restaurant group, it will open as a sophisticated coffeehouse in the morning and afternoon. “There’s no syrups, no Frappuccinos, no blenders, none of that,” says Echeverri. The drink menu will have coffee and espresso drinks for mall-goers to dine in, order to-go, or even linger over a mug with their laptop out. The bakery will sell laminated spiral ensaïmada pastries with fillings like berries and cream or chocolate and hazelnut. Other bites include sugary Spanish xuixo pastries, Basque cheesecake, and pressed sandwiches. ”I’m so excited that we’re doing this,” says Echevarri. “I’m having a really hard time finding good coffee around here.”
Bazaar Mar opens on August 7 and reservations are available online.