Delilah — Restaurant Review | Condé Nast Traveler
"What were your first impressions when you arrived? If you missed the wildly glamorous golden years of Las Vegas, Delilah has revived them—and then some. You'll leave the hallway by Wing Lei , enter Delilah through a set of Art Deco-inspired marquetry doors, and walk into an anteroom lined floor to ceiling with burled walnut. Each successive room is more interesting, more fabulous: You'll walk from an intimate lounge lit by "Champagne bubble" chandeliers and upholstered in Cubist-inspired textiles designed by Hermes to the top of twin staircases that cascade into a scene straight out of Cocoanut Grove in LA's Ambassador or Havana's Tropicana Club in the 1940s. Wear something floaty, because you'll descend into a room whose decadence is now unparalleled in Las Vegas. A timeless sunken bar faces a small stage and in the center, solid brass palms rise to the top of a soaring ceiling. This room virtually demands beautiful people, and so far they've crowded into Delilah. What’s the crowd like? Delilah in Los Angeles is a celebrity hotspot that's almost unmatched (think of a bright young Hollywood thing and they've been here). Delilah Las Vegas turbocharges the fabulosity, and the crowd has followed. Since it opened in early July, Delilah has been the see-and-be-seen scene in Las Vegas. If you have a question about what to wear, dress up. This is a well-heeled crowd intent on enjoying themselves—and they don't flinch at the prices. They just order another bottle of Champagne Papi—a single cocktail presented on a vintage mirrored tray of Woodinville bourbon, Velvet Falernum, and mango with a crystal bucket of your own mini-Moet bottle. These diners are here for the room, the access, the famous people sightings. It's convenient that the food is also delicious. What should we be drinking? The cocktail game at Delilah isn't just strong—it's already legendary. Former Cosmopolitan mixologist Mariena Mercer Boarini, Wynn's new property mixologist, has created a menu of cocktails that nod at the classics but thoroughly reinvents them. These are involved cocktails; for instance, the Stepford Wife is a wink at a French 75 made with Grey Goose strawberry lemongrass vodka, rose Champagne, and spiced lychee pink peppercorn shrub that's spritzed with a vintage atomizer of edible perfume ("Eau-de-Delilah") Mercer Boarini created that hit your olfactory receptors long before your taste buds. You can certainly order a bottle of nearly anything (a lot of Champagne flows in this room), but you owe it to yourself to try at least one of the cocktails. Main event: the food. Give us the lowdown—especially what not to miss. Chef Joshua Smith, who joined Delilah from Michael Mina's Bardot Brasserie, hasn't just updated classic supper club dishes, he's kept the favorites from Delilah in L.A. (carrot soufflé, improbably famous chicken tenders) and elevated them, too. Think surf and turf of seared day-boat scallops, short ribs, and a strawberry shortcake Baked Alaska. If you want to complete the picture of mid-century decadence, order a Wagyu beef Wellington for two. And how did the front-of-house folks treat you? The very basis of Delilah is a story: A former showgirl inherits a Las Vegas supper club and turns into its elegant proprietress, filling it with art she collects over the decades and treating her guests like the superstars they are. The Delilah staff is so well-versed in this story, they act it out themselves every night. Hostesses in velvet ensembles usher you to your table; bartenders in velvet waistcoats thoughtfully make every drink; servers wheel custom carts around the floor. There's not a moment that you can't find someone to attend to your every need. What’s the real-real on why we’re coming here? If you want to look like the ultimate insider, you'll come to Delilah for a late dinner and stay for the late-night entertainment (you never know who will hop on stage as dinner turns into supper club turns into club/lounge). This is the ultimate date night, and perfect for entertaining a group (reserve well in advance—especially the chef's table). You'll need to throw all your qualms about Gatsby-style spending out the window and go for it here." - Andrea Bennett
