Despite U.S. restaurants facing unprecedented financial struggles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a celebrity chef is betting big in opening a new upscale seafood-focused restaurant.
Bobby Flay, restaurant operator and star of several Food Network shows such as “Beat Bobby Flay,” will introduce Amalfi by Bobby Flay at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, in mid-November. The restaurant is slated to open in late spring 2021.
Inspired by Flay's extensive travels to Italy and the Amalfi Coast, the new eatery "will transport guests to the Mediterranean with its enchanting blend of coastal ease and fresh, bright flavors,” according to a press release.
"We have all learned during this unfortunate pandemic, and one of the things I've held closely to, is to focus on the things you're most passionate about – for me, right now, that passion is Italian cuisine, especially from the Amalfi coast," Flay said. "Food in Amalfi is known for two things: the fish that comes out of the water and pasta.”
Amalfi's menu will range from light antipasti to several fish entrees. Guests can also order a whole fish, prepared grilled over charcoal or roasted al forno, served with lemon, capers, and salsa verde.
Antipasti selections will include crispy soft-shell crab salad with blood oranges and green olives; lobster pasta with yellow tomatoes, basil, and Calabrian chiles; spaghetti with sea urchin and tomato; and paccheri with scorpionfish, cherry tomatoes, and green garlic.
“A focal point of Amalfi will be a fish and seafood display, inspired by authentic Italian markets and staffed by a knowledgeable fishmonger, who will be available to answer any guests' questions – [such as] where the fish is from, when it arrived in Las Vegas, and more,” Caesars Palace said.
Seating in the market room area “will offer the best views of the seafood display, creating an atmosphere of being tucked away in a seaside café alongside the marketplace,” according to Caesars Palace.
In another marquee opening for a seafood-themed restaurant, Art Smith, a television personality, restaurant owner, and chef for former U.S. President Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey, is planning to open a new restaurant called Reunion by Art Smith at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois, when it reopens in spring 2021.
The eatery, which will occupy the former Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. space, will feature a “robust menu of healthy and classic comfort foods, while reflecting the look and feel of Smith's Chicago home kitchen, where his culinary career took flight,” Navy Pier said in a press release.
Photo courtesy of Caesars Palace
