Chris Santos knows how to translate a hip New York City dining concept for a varied Las Vegas audience. The Tao Group managing partner and executive chef—and familiar face from Chopped and other Food Network programs—has already done it with his Lower East Side hot spot Beauty & Essex, which he expanded to the Cosmopolitan in 2016.
When Tao acquired the Hakkasan Group and its megaclub Omnia at Caesars Palace, and the adjacent restaurant space (formerly Searsucker) became available after its pandemic closure, Santos was invited to bring back his game-changing Stanton Social concept on the Strip, with a fresh steakhouse twist.
“We wanted to grab it, because we knew it would be a great partner with the club,” Santos says. “I opened Stanton Social 15 years ago and only closed it because the lease ran out. We were going to move it to another location in New York before the pandemic brought everything to a halt.
“It was important to me to resurrect the brand but also to bring a steakhouse into the Tao Group portfolio … so it was the chance to kill two birds with one stone. I’d spent a long time wondering if I’d have this chance to bring it back, and now I’m just really excited. It hasn’t sunk in yet, to bring something back that had so much to do with my early success.”
The fun shareable plates that distinguished the original Stanton Social (and continue to play a big role in Beauty & Essex’s popularity) are on full display in Las Vegas, including crab cake corn dogs ($26), black truffle Wagyu ribeye cheesesteak sliders ($15 each) and the beloved French onion soup dumplings ($23). Santos is particularly proud of his latest take on steak tartare ($38), prime Wagyu filet served atop a Comté cheese “quesadilla” that blends hot and cold for an indulgent new classic.
A crucial part of any Vegas steakhouse experience, the sides are grouped into “hot potatoes” and “not potatoes,” including herb-crusted shoestring fries ($15) or “dirty tots” ($36) for those obsessed with spuds, and blue cheese creamed spinach ($17) or miso-glazed crispy eggplant ($18) for other veggie lovers.
Every Strip chophouse needs a showcase, and Stanton Social Prime has been blowing up social media with the 64-ounce “super tomahawk” ($395) served with sake-braised short ribs and bone marrow, which is flambéed tableside with cognac. But you can’t ball out every night, so there are also steak frites ($55) and other favorite cuts, including Beef Wellington for two ($85).
Santos says he’s seen the style of dining in Las Vegas and New York change a lot in recent years, noting “the showbiz aspect of dining has never been stronger. When I was first coming up, there was no such thing as food needing to be Instagrammable. I was a little stubborn about it for a while, but I’ve come to accept it.”
He still loves it when diners put away the phones and enjoy the meal and the conversation, but he’s happy to oblige those who want to capture the majesty of the experience. Operating in Las Vegas, Santos says, has helped him make that adjustment.
“This menu lends itself both to my culinary philosophy and realizing, this is Vegas, let’s embrace that,” he says. “Let’s give dinner and a show with some fun, interactive dishes brought out to the table, and we’re going to have more tableside presentations rolling out slowly. The first thing is still quality, but I’m letting the show influence me more.”
STANTON SOCIAL PRIME Caesars Palace, 702-650-5985, taogroup.com. Sunday, Monday & Wednesday, 5-10:30 p.m.; Tuesday & Thursday-Saturday, 5-11:30 p.m.
Click HERE to subscribe for free to the Weekly Fix, the digital edition of Las Vegas Weekly! Stay up to date with the latest on Las Vegas concerts, shows, restaurants, bars and more, sent directly to your inbox!
