Voyeurism is strongly encouraged,” I’m told at the outset of the Weekly’s exclusive sneak peak of the new CatHouse “Loungerie,” which blends dining, drinking, dancing and, as you might have guessed, lingerie models in a hard-to-define, cleverly designed Euro-cabaret/brothel-style 10,000-square-foot space in Luxor, expected to open just before New Year’s Eve.
At the entrance, 18-foot red, tufted-panel doors are flanked by plasma screens discreetly placed in mock-windows show silhouettes of models in various stages of undress. The immediate interior and the stairs leading up to the restaurant and lounge are designed to look like a 19th-century bordello hallway, lined with faux doors where vintage French burlesque films play through the key-holes. The decor includes such red-light accoutrements as hand mirrors, metal bed-warmers and concealable prostitute daggers (tiny blades ladies of the night would carry on their garters or in their purses).
Hundreds of other artifacts, small personal effects and vintage photographs from turn-of-the-century European bordellos are layered and hidden throughout the venue, meaning guests find something new on every visit, and the sense of discovery and exploration that dissipates after the first two or three visits at many modern minimalist mega-clubs lingers longer at CatHouse.
The dramatic cobalt-blue dining room opens at 5 p.m., seats 135 and features a menu of “international shared plates” (don’t call them tapas) cooked up by Chef Kerry Simon. Curved banquette seating around oversized round ottoman tables is backed by tufted black patent-leather wall panels with tasseled pasties replacing the traditional leather buttons. Keeping with the theme’s time period, a vast collection of chandeliers has been amassed and is lit by concealed spot lights rather than fake candle-bulbs, casting a mosaic of glowing color around the room.
The Loungerie opens at 10:30 p.m., as the dining room is quickly converted into an additional nightlife venue by an ingenious mechanism that lowers and rotates the central sofa seating to the same level as the ottoman tables, creating additional space for people to socialize.
A hallway between the two rooms houses a curtained vintage photo booth. So much for “what happens in Vegas won’t end up on MySpace and TMZ.” It just may be Vegas’ hottest new make-out spot (a claim sure to be researched further by the Weekly’s nightlife reporters).
The Loungerie lives up to its name. Painted in red and featuring a framed two-way mirror looking in on a real model (or CatHouse “Kitten”) sitting at her vanity preparing for the show (more on that later), a raised owner’s table and DJ booth overlooks two bars and more of the rounded, vintage, banquette-style sofas and tables. Positioned around the room are raised platforms where gorgeous women model CatHouse’s lingerie catalogue.
Whether you’re fixated on the models or in deep discussion at your table, the show is designed to be an element of the ambiance rather than the center of attention. Still, cast and choreographed by LA-based Tracy Phillips and Dominic Carbone (credits include Prince, Marilyn Manson and Victoria’s Secret), the hand-picked dancers will make the lingerie hard to ignore.
(Incidentally, if you’re a dancing beauty Tracy and Dominic will hold auditions for “strong, sexy female dancers who can captivate an audience in solo, European-style performances in revealing lingerie” on Friday, November 16; call 458-7575.)
Music-lovers needn’t worry about not getting their fix; CatHouse’s six teams of investors have strong ties with international DJs and promoters. Expect big names and their loyal fans to show up for Euro-house in the dining room/lounge and more commercial house-based remixes in the Loungerie.
Co-owner and operator Nick Landazuri is carefully staffing CatHouse with cherry-picked colleagues. Along with partner Genghis Cohen, Landazuri joins owners Seth Yudof and Douglas Leferovich (Masquerade Productions), Kerry Simon and Elizabeth Blau, Adam Steck (SPI Entertainment), five-time MotoGP champion Mick Doohan and Australian club king Billy Cross. Cover charges will be “extremely competitive,” and bottle service, though encouraged, is not required if you just want to have a casual cocktail.
It all adds up to a saucy showcase for classy mischief. You can’t really call it a nightclub, and it’s certainly more than a theme-restaurant and bar; it’s an ultralounge where sex sells and almost anything goes (especially in that photo booth).