Bardot Brasserie

Bardot Brasserie is a French restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada, located at the Aria Resort and Casino. The restaurant was created by chef and restaurateur Michael Mina and opened in January 2015. It replaced Mina's earlier restaurant concept, American Fish, on the same site after Mina's contract for that operation ended. Aria presented Mina with the opportunity to develop a new concept, and he used it to pursue a long-standing interest in a restaurant centered on modern interpretations of classic French food. Mina and members of the Aria team traveled to Paris during the development process to research brasserie traditions, dining-room design, service, food, and beverage programs. The name Bardot Brasserie refers to French actress Brigitte Bardot and supports the restaurant's deliberately French identity. Its concept combines recognizable dishes associated with Parisian brasseries with the scale, theatricality, and polished hospitality expected of a major Las Vegas resort restaurant. Josh Smith serves as executive chef. The menu is built around traditional French preparations and includes dinner service throughout the week, with brunch offered on weekends. Representative dishes include frisée salad with lardons, onion soup gratinée with truffles and cave-aged Gruyère, steak tartare, escargot in puff pastry, Lobster Thermidor, croque madame, sautéed skate wing, mushroom-and-goat-cheese gnocchi, salade niçoise with yellowfin tuna, steak frites, and a roasted chicken preparation inspired by Peking duck. Steak frites can be ordered with several cuts and sauces, while duck-fat fries and substantial composed sides reinforce the restaurant's classic French orientation. Brunch extends the concept with buckwheat crepes, French toast, seasonal fruit, beignets, and multiple versions of eggs Benedict. Desserts include pavlova with lavender gelato, large-format macarons, and lemon meringue tarts. Bardot's beverage program is a major part of its positioning. The bar serves classic and historically significant cocktails such as the French 75, Manhattan, and Corpse Reviver No. 2, alongside reinterpretations such as an Old Fashioned made with mezcal. The restaurant is known for a broad French wine selection, a Champagne cart, cognacs dating from the nineteenth century, a substantial Chartreuse offering, and a house French beer. Its wine list has received a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award every year since the restaurant opened, according to the referenced description. The interior was designed by YWS Design & Architecture as a stylized traditional brasserie. Features include a circular entrance, stairs leading into the dining room, cane chairs, burgundy leather banquettes, bistro tables, white marble flooring, dark lighting, table roses, Laguiole cutlery, a faux sidewalk patio, and an open kitchen. A zinc-and-brass bar near the entrance is supported by a suspended brass spirits shelf. The design and menu together position Bardot as an upscale, destination French restaurant within the Las Vegas Strip resort environment rather than as a casual neighborhood café.

Bardot Brasserie opened in January 2015 at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. It was developed by chef and restaurateur Michael Mina as his twenty-sixth restaurant and occupied the location previously used by American Fish, a Mina restaurant that had opened in December 2009. After Mina's American Fish contract ended, Aria proposed that he create a replacement concept. Mina chose to build a French restaurant reflecting his interest in contemporary versions of classic brasserie cooking. During development, Mina and members of the Aria team traveled to Paris to study restaurant concepts and the traditions that informed the new operation. The restaurant was named after Brigitte Bardot, reinforcing its French cultural reference point. Josh Smith became executive chef, and the food program was organized around familiar French dishes interpreted for an upscale Las Vegas audience. Dinner is served throughout the week, while weekend brunch adds a separate set of dishes and service rituals. The physical restaurant was designed by YWS Design & Architecture as an interpretation of a traditional brasserie. Its visual language includes cane seating, burgundy leather booths, marble floors, bistro tables, subdued lighting, fresh roses, Laguiole cutlery, and a faux sidewalk at the entrance. The bar uses zinc and brass and includes a suspended shelf for spirits, while the open kitchen makes preparation visible to guests. These elements create a deliberately staged Parisian environment suited to the resort setting. Food and beverage became central to the restaurant's identity. The menu includes classic French salads, soups, seafood, poultry, steak, brunch dishes, and pastry-based desserts. Steak frites is a notable offering, with different cuts and sauces, and the restaurant also serves dishes such as Lobster Thermidor, escargot in puff pastry, croque madame, and onion soup gratinée. The bar emphasizes both canonical cocktails and creative variations. Bardot also developed a particularly French drinks profile through its wine list, Champagne service, Chartreuse selection, older cognacs, and French beer. The restaurant received favorable attention in guide and media references cited in its Wikipedia article. It was described as a leading French restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip and in Las Vegas more broadly, and it received a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award for its wine list each year from its opening through the period covered by the source material. The available references do not provide a documented closure date, ownership transfer, or successor concept, so the restaurant's current operating status should be verified independently.

1. 2015Bardot Brasserie opens

   Bardot Brasserie opened in January 2015 as Michael Mina's French brasserie concept at Aria.

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2. 2015Wine-list recognition begins

   The restaurant began receiving a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award for its wine list, with the referenced material stating that the recognition continued annually from 2015.

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3. 2009American Fish opens at the future Bardot site

   Michael Mina's American Fish opened at the Aria Resort and Casino location later occupied by Bardot Brasserie.

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An upscale Las Vegas brasserie offering modern interpretations of classic French food, supported by a theatrical Paris-inspired dining room and an extensive French-focused beverage program.

• Dinner menuFrench cuisine2015

  The dinner menu focuses on classic French brasserie food presented in an upscale resort setting. It includes frisée salad with lardons, Caesar salad with endive and king crab, truffle onion soup gratinée, steak tartare, escargot in puff pastry, Lobster Thermidor, croque madame, skate wing, gnocchi, salade niçoise, steak frites, roasted chicken, and substantial side dishes.

• Weekend brunchBrunch2015

  Saturday and Sunday brunch adapts French café and pastry traditions to a broad resort dining format. Offerings include buckwheat crepes, seasonal fruit with yogurt, buckwheat beignets, brioche French toast, and several eggs Benedict variations served with croissants and sautéed kale.

• Cocktail programBeverages2015

  The bar combines historic cocktails such as the French 75, Manhattan, and Corpse Reviver No. 2 with updated preparations using distinctive ingredients. The program also includes brunch drinks such as a Bloody Mary made with Roma tomato juice, along with an extensive selection of spirits.

• French wine and Champagne programBeverages2015

  Bardot's beverage identity is anchored by a large wine list with a strong French emphasis, Champagne served from a cart, and rosé service at brunch. The referenced material also notes a broad selection of Chartreuse and nineteenth-century cognacs.

• 2015Replace American Fish with a French brasserie conceptStrategy

  After Michael Mina's contract for American Fish ended, Aria offered an opportunity to develop a new restaurant concept at the same location. Mina had wanted to create a restaurant focused on modern interpretations of classic French food.

  What changed. Mina and Aria developed Bardot Brasserie, researched Parisian restaurant models, and launched the new concept in January 2015.

  Aftermath. The resulting restaurant established a French brasserie identity within the Aria resort and received favorable guide and media attention, including continuing wine-list recognition cited in the source material.

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1. Bardot Brasserie