Ricardo Zarate Expands His Peruvian Portfolio With New Vegas Restaurant

Just like that, Ricardo Zarate is on the warpath again. The popular Peruvian chef has been working steadily at his West Hollywood restaurant Rosaliné, but has now announced plans to Eater Vegas to jump a second restaurant to Las Vegas.

The upcoming restaurant is to be named Once Las Vegas (pronounced “on-seh”), and will play at the Japanese-Peruvian culture-crossing so common in Peru proper. The fusion cuisine is commonly known as Nikkei, and is in some ways exactly what Zarate has been doing for years across his previous restaurants. Now he’ll add to his workload with this new Vegas outlet, pushing out a menu full of produce-forward a la carte dishes, with a heavy lean on seafood as well. There will also be hearty mains like pork ribs and an oxtail bibimbap.

As for timing, look for an opening as soon as March. This will be Zarate’s first big expansion since the demise of his greater restaurant empire, which for a time spanned up through Santa Barbara and across Los Angeles. Each place closed in quick succession after Zarate had a falling out with his partners, leading the Peruvian wunderkind to work consulting gigs and private catering for a time. Now he’s out to show Las Vegas what he’s made of.

Once Las Vegas lands right on the strip inside the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Palazzo, within striking distance of Roy Choi’s new venture and lots of other recent openings, from Alvin Cailan’s Eggslut to David Chang’s Momofuku, both situated at the Cosmopolitan.

• Rosaliné Marks a Sunny Peruvian Return for Ricardo Zarate [ELA]