Diners pick up their white napkins to spin in the air, a sea of linen snapping to the music. Hosts Dean and Judy hitting those sexy high notes. Lithe, skillful dancers twist their limbs to the beats. The three-piece band bangs out the next melody. The lake’s fountains begin their watery dance. The time is 9:30 p.m. The place is The Mayfair Supper Club at Bellagio. The scene is a new one, an ebb and flow of dining and entertainment unlike any other on the Strip.
“We wanted to give a different twist on something old, turn it into something new,” says Sean Christie, president of events and nightlife at MGM Resorts International. Opened over New Year’s Eve weekend, The Mayfair Supper Club seamlessly blends modern touches with a classic supper club entertainment experience. Old Hollywood glamour shines through in the design—the venue made up of a lounge and bar with a stunning green Murano glass canopy and a spacious dining room outfitted with a stage in the center, a second bar and windows that look out onto the famous Bellagio fountains. The entire space is awash in rich colors of the sea—greens, pinks, blues and glowing whites.
The dinner menu celebrates classic, decadent dishes like a seafood tower, caviar service, wedge salad, lobster thermidor and beef Wellington for two (as well as less traditional delights like ora king salmon). Desserts don’t sway from tradition either, with selections like baked Alaska and cherries Jubilee, and each dessert is a performance. Cocktails follow suit—a symphony of classic recipes but with a flair for the dramatic when being constructed—see the Lemon Drop or the Champagne Cocktail.
Baked Alaska
Everything inside The Mayfair is entertainment, an evening of surprises in the best way. The talent—led by the sultry, saccharine voices of hosts Dean and Judy, played by Steve Judkins and LaShonda Reese—is a combination of choreographed live band, singers and dancers popping up onstage and throughout the dining room at various times in the evening. “We try and match the natural energy that takes place in a restaurant, and then put it on steroids and bring it over the top,” says Christie.
Over the top, indeed. Dinner, drinks and entertainment are an immersive, fresh, frisky experience. Take a forkful of steak as two dancers sweat it out on stage. Sip that classic Manhattan as acrobats swing from the ceiling. “You walk through those doors and you realize this is special, this is different,” says Jake Leslie, general manager. Depending on the time, during the week hit the supper club earlier in the evening for a more mellow experience. On the weekends, stay later for Mayfair After Dark, where dinner kisses upon daring, delightful nightlife, and winding it all down is the mellow serenade of Jazz Sundays. Whatever night you choose to visit The Mayfair Supper Club, one thing is certain—it will undoubtedly be an affair to remember.
Bellagio, 5 p.m.-midnight Sun.-Thurs., 5 p.m.-3 a.m. Fri.-Sat. 702.693.8876
