Las Vegas Weekly

June 12, 2012 · 7:09 PM

Bagatelle and Hakkasan to face off at Tropicana and the LVB

By Robin Leach

A rendering of Bagatelle Bistro Supper Club at Tropicana Las Vegas.

Photo: Courtesy

Nightclubs, dayclubs and supper clubs are getting a big boost on the Las Vegas landscape at facing corners of a busy Strip intersection. Bagatelle at the Tropicana and Hakkasan at MGM Grand will shoot it out at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana. Here’s what we know from details revealed today:

New York’s Bagatelle -- also in L.A. and St. Bart’s -- will have a five-month jump on its London competition. Hakkasan will offer Chinese food and Bagatelle French Riviera cuisine. Bagatelle is a single-level, sprawling complex of pools, cabanas, stages and a sandy beach, and Hakkasan will have five levels in 75,000 square feet of space that is the former Studio 54.

With their new and unique attractions, the two competitors could swing the dynamic from the power-party venues center and north Strip to the south end. Bagatelle owner Jonathan Segal of The One Group gave me a walking tour as the entire eastern side of the Tropicana is rebranded as Bagatelle with its seven-day-a-week supper club, beach and nightclub. Set to soft open next month with a gala August splash, Bagatelle has its own entrances and valet apart from the casino.

One Group owns STK at The Cosmopolitan and has plans for the sports-themed restaurant and lounge Heraea at the Palms and South American boutique nightclub Pink Elephant at MGM Grand. The hospitality company operates and is partnered with 20 venues and five hotel services contracts.

Bagatelle highlights include the first entirely outdoor nightclub and restaurant, along with alfresco dining for lunch, the notorious weekend Bagatelle champagne brunches and the nightclub itself. It is gorgeous luxury and totally different for the Las Vegas party scene.

In addition to the VIP cabanas with their own pools and daybeds, Bagatelle has a waterfall pool with a suspended DJ booth, and another pool has a 1,500-square-foot stage for performers and DJs. Jonathan says it can hold as many as 3,000 people for shows or movie dinners.

Directly across the street will be Hakkasan Las Vegas. Angel Management Group partnered in the gigantic venture revealed this morning that construction is underway. The 75,000-square-foot space (The White House is 55,000 square feet with 132 rooms ) will take up five levels, with a Chinese restaurant and lounge and a new nightclub component capturing the design philosophy and foundations of the luxurious interior at its flagship London location.

The work at Hakkasan that began today is massive. The right-turn lane is closed at the Strip and Tropicana. A crew with a crane is at work and has punched through the exterior facade, allowing pedestrians to see into the property.

AMG’s CEO Neil Moffitt said, “We are delighted to work with Hakkasan to introduce one of the world’s finest and most well-respected dining brands, as well as a new nightlife concept to MGM Grand. This will be the first of its kind in the market, delivering an unparalleled environment for guests to indulge in and experience.”

Today marked the launch of its website HakkasanLV.com. Featuring a lifestyle video with an overview about the brand and a live construction camera, visitors can get a preview of the hotspot. In addition to its two London venues, Hakkasan has outposts in Mumbai, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. In the U.S., it has opened restaurants in Miami and last month in New York City, with expansion expected in San Francisco and LA. in the next 12 months.

Updated at 10:06 p.m.: Bagatelle has enhanced its plans to include the first true supper club in Las Vegas with a restructuring to optimize the interior space in creating Bagatelle Bistro, the seven-day-a-week supper club. With the additional work required on the supper club, including building a full service kitchen, the project has moved its opening date to Aug. 1.

What was planned as a nightclub three days a week will now serve as Bagatelle Bistro and supper club and transform into a nightclub at night. Kitchens adjacent to the club are being constructed to accommodate what will be a several hundred-seat restaurant with two private dining areas overlooking the supper club, as well as incorporating the 240-seat outdoor terrace restaurant overlooking the pool deck.

“We had originally planned to provide our partners with a vacant piece of real estate on the ground floor of our casino level in order to build a new Bagatelle Bistro, but due to the overwhelming success we are having at the new Tropicana Las Vegas, that location will be served better for a future casino expansion to be announced at a later date,” said Tom Recine, vice president of food, beverage, entertainment and retail for Tropicana Las Vegas.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

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Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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