Mexico City magic
Best known for her buzzy Mexico City restaurants, chef Gabriela Cámara just opened her newest restaurant, Cantina Contramar, at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, blending iconic seafood creations with timeless Mexican cantina classics. From bright ceviches, aguachiles, and raw bar offerings that highlight the ocean’s bounty to bold entrées like Wagyu carne asada, the menu explores the vast landscapes of Mexican flavors. Naturally, Contramar’s legendary whole grilled fish with red adobo and parsley rub is on the menu, and all main courses are served with fresh housemade tortillas. The cocktail menu focuses on agave spirits, and carajillos and margaritas are presented on a roving beverage cart. Cantina Contramar is open nightly and located on the second level, adjacent to the resort’s retail district. 2777 Las Vegas Boulevard S, fontainebleaulasvegas.com/dining/restaurants/cantina-contramar
SIN CITY APRES-SKI
In the heart of Las Vegas’s Arts District, Viking Mike’s Alpine Yurt Bar delivers a slope-inspired escape that feels worlds away from the desert sun, channeling the spirit of a high-altitude après-ski lodge into a circular, canvas-wrapped hideaway in the middle of the Mojave. Guests pass through a brisk, cold-air entry before emerging into a warmly lit interior layered with wood, stone, and Nordic textures. The effect is deliberately disorienting, bringing a distinctly Alpine sensibility to one of the country’s most unlikely settings. Nibbles span bone-warming classics like house brats with curry ketchup, beer cheese soup, and a crispy chicken Schnitzel sandwich. Try a cocktail with the bar’s house Flora Syrup, a Viking-era sweetener made with fennel, meadowsweet, and lemon myrtle. 1500 S Main Street,
A VANDERPUMP LIFE
Fans of Lisa Vanderpump can now check into her first-ever hotel at the heart of the Strip in partnership with Caesars. The 188-room hotel was previously The Cromwell and Vanderpump transformed the space to reflect her industrial romantic aesthetic with soothing, soft textures in a mix of moss-green hues and dusty lilac, sexy mixed metals, and reflective furnishings that make rooms feel open, airy, and expansive. Custom furnishings and lighting fixtures were created for the hotel by Vanderpump and Nick Alain’s design line, Vanderpump Alain. The reality star already has several restaurants on the Strip, including Vanderpump à Paris and Vanderpump Cocktail Garden, so a hotel is a natural brand extension. 3595 S Las Vegas Boulevard,
caesars.com/thevanderpumphotel
TAIL AS OLD AS TIME
The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art’s latest exhibition, Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt, is dedicated to one of the most fascinating and mysterious aspects of ancient Egyptian culture – the mummification of animals. On display through September 13, and organized in partnership with the Brooklyn Museum, the exhibition brings together nearly 100 artifacts, including approximately 36 mummified animals and over 60 significant Egyptian masterworks that contextualize their role in ritual and religion. Far more than curiosities, these mummies reveal the profound ways animals shaped Egyptian worldview, underscoring the powerful role animals played in religion, daily life, and the journey beyond death. 3600 S Las Vegas Boulevard, bellagio.com/bgfa
BISTECCA BEAUTY
Italian-American dining is in full renaissance, and the new Sartiano’s Italian Steakhouse at Wynn Las Vegas in partnership with BOND Hospitality sits at the intersection of nostalgia and elevated tradition. It takes a page or two from Sartiano’s NYC flagship, but with Las Vegas native chef Michael Rubinstein leading the day-to-day kitchen operations. The robust bistecca program showcases an impressive selection of wet- and dry-aged prime cuts and American Wagyu, including a 40-ounce dry-aged bistecca fiorentina carved tableside with porcini, peppercorn, and salsa verde. The bar program includes a maximalist martini bar, with a Black Card martini with oscietra caviar-stuffed olives. 3131 Las Vegas Boulevard S, wynnlasvegas.com/dining/fine-dining/sartianos