Fontainebleau Las Vegas was originally supposed to open in 2009. Its initial restaurant lineup would have included Hakkasan, which ended up at MGM Grand, and Scott Conant’s Scarpetta, which landed at the Cosmopolitan, as well as offerings from luminary chefs Alfred Portale and Jose Garces.

A new megaresort opening on the Strip is always an exciting time for the Las Vegas culinary scene, but as incredible as that first version of Fontainebleau may have been, the one that’s set to open on December 13 is even more exhilarating. Restaurant trends have changed quite a bit in the last 15 years and the team behind this project is ahead of the curve, by the looks of its lineup of 36 restaurants and bars.

“The Fontainebleau ... boasts an incredible selection of industry veterans who are working tirelessly to bring together experiences Las Vegas has never seen before,” Bryan O’Shields, executive vice president of food and beverage, said in a statement. “We have been able to unite many of Fontainebleau Miami Beach’s famed partners with some of the most culture-defining restaurants from across the globe, bringing Fontainebleau Las Vegas’ vision for a best-in-class food and beverage program to life.”

Among the lineup’s flashiest headliners are Chyna Club, a Cantonese spot from the founders of Hakkasan; a third location of Southeast Asian destination Komodo; Mother Wolf, the Italian favorite from Los Angeles chef and pasta master Evan Funke; and Masa Ito and Kevin Kim’s top-floor, 12-seat omakase dynamo Ito.

But we’re most excited (so far) about Cantina Contramar, an unprecedented collaboration between Chihuahua, Mexico-born chef Gabriela Cámara, Mexico City architect Frida Escobedo (who’s creating a new wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art), and Casa Dragones Tequila founder Bertha González Nieves. This landmark will serve Contramar’s signature dishes and showcase the vast spectrum of Mexican cuisine, and will include a luxurious Casa Dragones tasting room, an experience that hasn’t been created in the U.S. until now.

Fontainebleau will have steakhouses, from the Rat Pack-themed original Don’s Prime to David Grutman and David Einhorn’s Miami hot spot Papi Steak. It will have a food hall, of course, with New York chef Josh Capon’s burger joint and more Miami transplants in El Bagel and Miami Slice. And there will be dim sum from Alan Yau’s Washing Potato, Japanese-style grilling at Kyu, and elegant French and Mediterranean fare at La Côte and La Fontaine.

Don’t expect everything to be open in December when you take your first steps into this 3,644-room resort; restaurants and bars will be unfolding throughout at least the first half of 2024. Sampling the goods and evaluating Fontainebleau’s impact on the Vegas culinary landscape will take much longer, but we’re ready to go to work if you are.

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