With one of the desert city’s marquee views, the MGM resort’s new dining concept will feature a contemporary spin on dinner-and-a-show: “People are looking for new experiences.”
Las Vegas is known for its million-dollar views, but there’s one that could be considered the crown jewel of them all: the space formerly occupied by transplanted L.A. ultra-lounge Hyde, with its front and center look at The Fountains of Bellagio.
Now MGM Resorts International executives Ari Kastrati, senior vp food and beverage strategy, and Sean Christie, president of events and nightlife, have revealed to The Hollywood Reporter the new concept, an old-school supper club-style eatery called The Mayfair that will occupy that space starting New Year’s Eve weekend.
“We believe that the supper club is the way of the future in the entertainment space. The dinner-and-a-show concept started in Europe, was perfected in New York in the 1930s to 1950s, and then, of course, Las Vegas took it and ran with it in the 1960s. Then it faded away,” Kastrati says. “We believe that it’s found its way back now. We are committed to doing this in a meaningful way at Bellagio.”
Inspired by supper clubs around the world such as London’s Annabel’s and 5 Hertford Street, The Mayfair is dinner-and-a-show done Vegas style, with contemporary American cuisine by a yet-to-be named executive chef, plus live performance by the bicoastal No Ceilings Entertainment.
“You’re going to come in, have a cocktail at the bar and then move into the dining room. Throughout the night, the acts will evolve. Then as it becomes more of a late-night experience, the entertainment becomes a focal point,” Kastrati says. “[This is not a] nightclub. We’re not imagining this [as a] red velvet rope kind of experience, but quite the contrary. This is come one, come all.”
According to Christie, in response to shifting tastes and a desire to broaden the appeal of nightlife to other demographics, Las Vegas visitors want more than just mega-clubs — the supper club environment is an inclusive and glamorous space for patrons of all ages.
“People are looking for new experiences,” he says, adding that, at 45, he is an example of the sort of patron The Mayfair will be courting.
“Nightclubs are still appealing to me because they are in my DNA, but I want a more sophisticated way of entertaining family and friends,” he says. “And the supper club is a great way of doing that because I enjoy a great meal, I enjoy great live music and it is the intersection of all those things. People who maybe do not want to go to that red velvet rope nightclub can stay and have their Las Vegas experience with us.”
The entertainment will follow the path of the night, meaning that at 7 p.m. you might have the classics like Marvin Gaye or Frank Sinatra and then at 10:30 p.m. something completely different — and a bit more raucous.
“The only spaces servicing customers after midnight at the moment are nightclubs and ultra-lounges,” Christie says. “For the well-heeled crowd, like the Bellagio customer, we want to make sure that we have enough offerings and energy that you would stay until 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. on the weekends.”
True to its body of work, London-based Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, which most recently did Primrose, Bavette’s and the public spaces at Park MGM and is also the designer behind Annabel’s, is creating the interiors, which will reportedly spark a sense of discovery with many layered elements, textures and visuals.
The Mayfair will not be a ticketed experience and guests will be able to make open dinner reservations just as at any other restaurant. For those who may want to come in and have a cocktail and check out the entertainment, that will also be an option on the patio, in the lounge or the bar inside the dining room.
“A different crowd comes in for the late-night experience,” says Kastrati, “blurring the line between restaurant and club.”
