Dining

SHe abides: Eva Longoria’s new CityCenter venue sexes up the Vegas steakhouse

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Juicy subject: Eva Longoria’s SHe at Crystals takes the steakhouse concept up a notch.
Brian Brown
Sam Glaser @sammyglaser

The Details

SHe
At Crystals, 254-2376.
Restaurant: Sun-Thu, 5:30-11 p.m.; Fri-Sat, 5:30-midnight. Nightclub: Fri-Sun, doors at 10:30 p.m.

“SHe’s going to be the sexiest steakhouse in Vegas,” Eva Longoria says of her new restaurant and nightclub at Crystals at CityCenter. It’s “not your typical boys’ club. ... From the decor to the menu, from the moment you walk in to the moment you leave after having a cocktail upstairs, the experience is around high fashion, elegant and just sexy.”

“There’s no shortage of babes,” a friend remarks, regarding the dozens of all-female groups packing SHe’s well-lit banquets. The restaurant’s prominent, winding catwalk holds a ballet contortionist and a sultry pirate belly dancer gracefully balancing a curved sword, and in the future, the catwalk will be used for Fabric Fridays fashion shows by national and local designers.

On this night, the restaurant and lounge, which is a partnership with Morton’s, is debuting Alter Ego—a Sunday industry party in which a local socialite picks the evening’s theme. Tonight’s host is Sancho Van Ryan, and he’s dressed as Spartacus, with everything from the décor to his guests looking the part.

“Every time I go to a steakhouse, it’s loud, it’s dark, the portions are humongous—you usually get a Flintstone type of steak,” Longoria explains. “We have SHe cuts, He cuts and We cuts, which is a really fun take on portion sizes.”

The menu includes tempura shrimp with spicy aioli, shishito peppers and lime, a 16-ounce prime strip and for dessert: peanut butter & jelly—crispy whipped chocolate, peanut-butter mousse and a Concord grape cloud.

SHe's catwalk will be used for Fabric Fridays fashion shows.

SHe's catwalk will be used for Fabric Fridays fashion shows.

Music in the restaurant has a ’90s vibe that includes hits from The Gap Band and Prince, before evolving into house favorites. But dinner is just the beginning. Longoria stresses the one-stop shop aspect of SHe: “Have a great meal, walk upstairs and have a nice drink with some great music in a really fun ambiance.

“I wanted to create an environment and an ambiance that was a little more feminine. Sexier decor, streamlined, not as dark, something more chic and intimate.”

SHe accomplishes that through oversized chandeliers, dark burgundy hues, purple velvet with sparkly inlays, hanging artwork and shimmering tile accents. Behind the stage, a “rain curtain” looks like a flat waterfall. Local favorite Eric D-Lux is spinning hip-hop and house hits in front of a huge vertical LED wall pulsating 3D geometric shapes.

It’s not all DJ and dancefloor, though. “We’re gonna have Cirque-esque performers and entertainment. So it’s visually beautiful and fun to just go up there, sit back and have a great drink.”

Tonight, a James Bond scene unfolds with women in trench coats stripping down to shiny black body suits and performing a sultry acrobatic routine, complete with a breakdancing fight scene to a Skyfall house remix. Longoria’s not here, but I’m fairly sure she would approve.

Tags: Nightlife, Dining
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