Boom Bang has been one of the most talked-about new restaurants in Henderson—really, across the entire Valley—since it first opened last fall at Paseo Verde Plaza, and owners/chef couple Elia Aboumrad and Christian Page couldn’t be happier with the positive early response.
“It’s been very rewarding. Normally it takes a minute, but we’ve been busy right off the bat, especially on the weekends,” says Aboumrad, who famously competed in the final four on Top Chef’s second season. “It’s allowed us to work on other types of problems, like rearranging this dish and [focusing] on service.”
She has maintained a home in Henderson for years and returned to full-time desert-dweller status in 2020, after collaborating with her husband in LA. “We’ve always liked Henderson, and I think there’s a lot of demand and not enough restaurants,” Aboumrad says. “I have two children and wanted to be close to home, and we really wanted to do something for Henderson.
“The Strip is so close, and there are so many amazing restaurants with the best chefs in the world,” she continues. “And even though this is a suburb, it is exposed to really good food and entertainment. So we knew if we did something, it has to be up there.”
It’s the cuisine that has elevated at Boom Bang, not the prices or any sort of pretentious formality. The first item on the appetizer menu is corn dogs ($9), billed with “the best batter ever.”
Even a fancy neighborhood like Green Valley wants simple, fun, tasty food, but Aboumrad says some of the top-selling dishes are a refined mushroom tart ($15) with goat cheese mousse and puff pastry; beef short rib ($39) with roasted tomatoes, Japanese yams and fried leeks; and sole Meuniere ($56), a classic dish you won’t find at many off-Strip restaurants.
“Even though it’s an expensive fish, it sells really well,” she says. “We definitely wanted to open a finer dining experience—really good food and everything made from scratch. I focused more on what I wanted to cook and the type of restaurant I wanted to open, not what Henderson needed.”
At Sunday brunch, her cinnamon bread ($5.50) and coffee rolls ($6.50) star alongside mimosas and Eggs Per Elia ($17), a shakshuka-esque cast-iron skillet dish with baked eggs and chipotle marinara.
In the evening, raw bar offerings like clams casino ($20) and torched king salmon ($17) with Granny Smith apples and wasabi-lime creme fraiche set the tone for a date-night dinner or a casual family meal. Striped bass fish and chips ($20), spaghetti puttanesca ($19) and the Boom Bang burger ($19) are secret-weapon crowd pleasers.
The young restaurant has already accomplished the milestone feat of drawing diners from Summerlin.
“They say, ‘We had to come, we made the drive,’” jokes Aboumrad. “I’m from Mexico City, where you drive everywhere and it takes two hours. Here, everything is 20 minutes. But I like to hear it, it’s wonderful. Thank you!”
BOOM BANG FINE FOODS & COCKTAILS 75 S. Valle Verde Drive #160, 702-478-6200, boombang.restaurant. Monday-Thursday, 4-9 p.m.; Friday, 4-10:30 p.m.; Saturday, 5-10:30 p.m.; Sunday, brunch: 10:30 a.m.- 3 p.m.; dinner: 5-9 p.m.
