One of the trendiest openings in Vegas this year has to be Maroon by Kwame Onwuachi. The buzz around the new SAHARA Las Vegas restaurant opening has been pretty loud, with media and fans of the chef’s East Coast endeavors posting mouthwatering videos and photos.
Onwuachi, a James Beard Award-winning chef and a competitor for two seasons of Top Chef, has restaurants in Washington, D.C., and in New York, as well as Vegas. For each of his restaurants, Onwuachi drew upon cuisines and flavors that reflected the experience of African people over the centuries. For Maroon, Onwuachi drew inspiration from Afro-Caribbean cuisine, saying in a recent release, “Maroon is a reflection of my heritage and the stories that have shaped my cooking. We are taking the foundation of a classic steakhouse and reimagining it through the lens of Afro-Caribbean cuisine.”
Maroon’s decor, envisioned by New York-based architectural firm Modellus Novus, which designed his two East Coast restaurants, channels Jamaican material choices, color palettes and lighting designs and combines that with desert elements for a unique look.
Tropical flavors shine in the cocktail menu here, with options like a Blue Mountain sour with Appleton Estate rum, allspice and thyme; the Allspice Spritz, a mixture of a house-made Caribbean Pimm’s, lemon, agave, strawberry, mint and sparkling wine; and Demerara River, with bourbon, rum crème de cacao and peach, all excellent ways to welcome the coming meal. Wines are sourced from all over, from California to Spain, making a pairing easy.
”The menu is a bold and precise story of my journey, designed to leave a lasting impression on guests,” said Onwuachi.
The showcase of vibrant flavors Onwuachi has imbued Maroon with begins with the appetizers, where a simple scan of the menu leaves you wowed. They include curried mussel toast with Bluebay mussels and shito crunch on hardo bread (hardo is firm and chewy); jerk clam flatbread; curried goat agnolotti, finished with a blended velouté, confit pearl onion and chicken jus (a favorite of foodies); and braised oxtail Wellington for two. This Wellington has deep flavor, with braised oxtail, jerk beef bacon and black truffles.
The rum-aged steaks aren’t something you’ll find in many other steakhouses—the Rosewood Ranch cuts include a wagyu tenderloin, 30-day dry-aged New York Strip, and 40-day dry-aged porterhouses and ribeyes. The jerk pit, a centerpiece of the kitchen, produces smoky, spicy entrées like whole or half chickens, a pork tomahawk and rack of lamb.
Like most steakhouses, seafood is a big component of the menu, and that seems particularly important here given the Jamaican influence. The reference to Hellshire Beach draws up images of seaside stands serving the freshest catch while white sands and blue skies provide the backdrop. Here, your choices include banana leaf snapper with tamarind chutney and curried squash and okra; curry shrimp, which comes out with head-on shrimp in coconut curry; wood-fired lobster with garlic-herb butter; and crispy Chilean sea bass with brown stew and buttered escabeche.
Do yourself a favor and take a little of Onwuachi’s journey via Maroon.
SAHARA Las Vegas. 702.761.8888 or saharalasvegas.com
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