When visiting Las Vegas, there are a few things you should never gamble with, for example, your dining experience. The “Entertainment Capital of the World” is known for its casinos, shopping, nightlife, and internationally renowned significant resorts. The beautiful city also offers unmissable opportunities and a wide range of options for fine dining.
However, a new restaurant is poised to become the ultimate destination for those seeking an all-encompassing dining experience boasting an upscale twist on authentic dishes and a buzzy aura in a chic setting. Located adjacent to the renowned Encore Beach Club at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, Casa Playa offers a coastal Mexican concept featuring authentic dishes, innovative cocktails, and a lively lounge.
The mastermind behind Casa Playa’s transitional menu is Executive Chef Sarah Thompson, a graduate of Culinary Institute of America and New York-born food connoisseur who grew up with a passion for food from an early age. Under Thompson, the resort’s newest coastal Mexican eatery offers authentic Mexican flavors with dishes ranging from fresh seafood and tacos to delicious large-format feasts.
The chef draws inspiration from the hidden playitas found along the shores of Mexico that serve up fresh grilled seafood. After visiting Mexico most of her adult life, Thompson began putting her own twist on authentic Mexican flavors with a menu of playful dishes and classics, including a squash blossom quesadilla, baja fried fish tacos, and queso fundido with house-made chorizo.
Shrimp & Green Rice, Clams Frito and Spanish Octopus
“My goal when crafting the menu for Casa Playa was to balance creativity with tradition to ensure that every item is a culinary adventure,” said Chef Thompson. “Casa Playa will offer a lively social atmosphere, so we wanted to complement that with food that is designed to be shared and enjoyed with great company and conversation.”
Casa Playa’s excellent staff also includes waiters and waitresses with top-of-the-notch communication skills, willing to help indecisive guests chose their next meal or drink. The restaurant also has a secret weapon, Wynn resort mixologist Mariena Mercer Boarini, and a curated mezcal and tequila collection from agave expert Noah Arenstein.
To learn more about Sarah Thompson and Casa Playa, we sat down with the chef and experienced the restaurant’s dynamic atmosphere and exquisite food and drinks firsthand.
Thompson previously served as the executive sous chef at Cosme, where she worked with founders Enrique Olvera, Santiago Perez, and chef Daniela Soto Innes.
From now on, nobody can’t talk about Casa Playa’s menu without talking about its Executive Chef. How does it makes you feel knowing that you are the first person to put a stamp in this restaurant?
It feels amazing, honestly. I have many amazing mentors who have helped me get to this space, like Daniela Soto-Innes. Throughout my career, I‘ve had many people help guide me and teach me, but being able to be here and have my name on the door and menu and be the creative force behind it feels incredible.
Can you walk us through the concept of Casa Playa?
It‘s a coastal Mexican restaurant. It’s very playful, and we wanted to have warm colors and a friendly atmosphere — very inviting. But when I put together the menu, I went to Cabo, Tulum, and the coast of Oaxaca and experienced everything. I‘ve traveled throughout Mexico a lot, but not in that capacity. I love seafood, and I’ve always worked for restaurants that have a strong seafood focus. So, when I put this menu together, it felt very natural to get a bunch of ingredients from Mexico and use them in the best way possible.
Why is Mexican food so attractive to you?
A few reasons. I have learned a lot about Mexican cooking from my time at COSME. I was there for about three years as an Executive Sous Chef, and I just fell in love with the culture and the food. I‘ve never tasted food so playful. You eat it, and you taste it through your entire mouth. Everywhere you go, there are different types of Mexican cuisine, and people are so proud, so inviting. Being immersed in that culture just made me fall in love.
How long it took you to curate the menu?
I literally just put a bunch of things on paper and just started testing and it. It took about four months of tasting and re-tasting. 80% of it is stuff that I came up with on my own, and then another 20% is from people telling me, ‘I want to have a rice dish or fried fish.’
Will you change Casa Playa’s menu constantly, or will you have staple dishes?
There are definitely going to be some signature dishes and others that will change. Our carne asada tacos have been our biggest seller right off the bat, and I can‘t imagine taking those off the menu. I will always have tacos in some capacity, but I want to play around with other variations of them. But there’s a lot of seasonal things that are going to change, like our crudos which have fresh ingredients we get from the Santa Monica farmer‘s market. So we need to rotate, but there’s going to be like our carnitas, queso fundido, house mole that will be our signature things.
Mexican people are very picky when it comes to their food. Aren‘t you afraid that would reject your menu for not being traditional?
This is a restaurant inspired by lots of different types of Mexican cuisine. If you go to Monterrey, you‘ll see something very different from Mexico City. So you can’t just take all of those and put them into a restaurant, so we want to focus on coastal Mexican and bright flavors from the sea and have our interpretation of the food. We always make sure that we keep the backbone the same. We‘ll always use corn from Mexico, chiles from Mexico, beans, and exquisite seasonal ingredients.
Besides the ingredients, what else do you think will make the difference in this restaurant compared to others in Las Vegas?
Our corn tortillas, chips, tostadas, tamales, and enchiladas, are made in-house with corn. We go through around 200 kilos of masa a week — which is insane. I have four people dedicated to just making the products, and we‘re the first restaurant on the strip to do this in this capacity. Other smaller restaurants have small mills, but we have a mill with a seven-horsepower engine in the back that sets us apart.
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