Casino.org Interviews Rising Las Vegas Chef James Trees
Posted on: September 23, 2025, 10:32h.
Last updated on: September 23, 2025, 11:17h.
- Acclaimed Las Vegas Chef James Trees is opening his first casino-based restaurant next month.
- High Steaks Vegas will be found at the Rio starting on October 14
- Trees is the mastermind behind other Vegas dining hotspots, including Esther’s Kitchen, Al Solito, and Ada’s Food + Wine
Chef James Trees is raising the stakes — and steaks — with the launch of his first venture inside a casino property. High Steaks Vegas, a 240-seat space going atop the Rio’s Masquerade Tower in the former Voodoo Steak digs, is now accepting reservations for its opening day, October 14.
This marks a major pivot for Trees, the Las Vegas native who has embodied the spirit of independent dining in town since opening Esther’s Kitchen in the Arts District in January 2018. Since then, he’s introduced Bar Boheme adjacent to Esther’s, Al Solito Posto in Summerlin, and Ada’s Food + Wine, which he’s relocating to his original Esther’s downtown location from Tivoli Village in December.
Trees checked in with Casino.org from London, where he and lead Ada’s sommelier Kat Thomas just won “The World of Fine Wine” quarterly’s Most Original Wine List in the World award — the restaurant’s second consecutive win.
Q: Congratulations! To what do you attribute two consecutive wins?
A: Thanks! It’s all about supporting Kat in her dream of creating something truly special. I’m just another fan of hers! It’s so important to me to be able to support our teams and have them feel that support. This is an amazing team win for Ada’s.
Q: Can you spill some tea, as the kids say, about something diners will be pleasantly surprised to encounter at High Steaks?
A: I think the game menu is going to surprise people. We have so many things we have researched and developed that this menu, will unlike a lot of steakhouse menus, continue to evolve. Also, I think our take on all the classic steakhouse options is going to be cool for people to enjoy. I’m excited about the creamed spinach with basil and nutmeg.
Q: Did you have any concerns about transitioning into the world of fine casino dining? Some chefs don’t love corporate input into their creativity, and the whole Vegas culinary industry sees you as a beacon of independence.
A: We are in a great position because the Rio came to us first to do an Italian spot. But after we ran the numbers, we realized it wouldn’t work for the space, so we put the project off. I really wanted to do the steakhouse, so we kept talking, and I think my sister taking me up there was the thing that really made me want to do this project. That view is amazing and we really want to develop the whole space. I hope this is just the first step.
Q: High Steaks will be your fifth Las Vegas restaurant. What’s the biggest challenge when scaling your vision across multiple venues that you can’t possibly cook in simultaneously?
A: The secret is that all my chefs are better than me. Joe Swan is an amazing chef who will lead this team, and Adam Rios, who is heading up high steak development and runs Al Solito, is amazing. Our corporate chef, Sean, is amazingly talented and has such innovative ideas when it comes to Midwestern cooking. Pair that with Keith Bracewell designing the cocktail menu with Jonah and Tucker. Our biggest strengths are each other.
Q: How do you balance nostalgia with innovation? Most diners seem to want both, which seems contradictory.
A: I think there are plenty of places to play on the classic steakhouse menu. Most of what a really good steakhouse does is just procure the best products and treat them simply. The overall goal is to find uses for the trim and using culinary insight to create great bites to use that product. One I’m happy we’ve put work into is our smoked prime rib sandos. It’s kind of a play on Houston’s French dip, which is my favorite sandwich.
Q: What’s your process for developing new dishes, and how do you decide what makes it onto the menu?
A: We start with a menu frame. Inside of that, we add all the categories that we wanna start filling out, and then we add the things that are automatic in those categories. We have to have a Caesar’s salad, we have to have a crabcake, we have to have a filet, we have to have a ribeye. Once you get past the top-10 items, that’s when the fun starts because then you look at those items, see what trim you will have, and then you get to start creating as a chef I think [that’] the most important thing. I think one of the biggest mistakes chefs make is they start by thinking of how cool the food they can create is rather than what are the core items that people are going to come to the restaurant for.
Q: What’s the most valuable lesson you learned early in your career, from working under culinary giants Michael Mina and Bradley Ogden, that you still apply today?
A: Be good to people, and they will take care of you. It’s something I learned from Bradley, and I think Michael taught me to hire people that are better than me so that way they can make me better. But the most valuable lesson I ever learned was from my first chef, Luke Palladino. He taught me don’t do things for money, do things for passion. Because no amount of money will make up for the lack of passion.
Q: If you could cook a meal for any historical figure from Las Vegas, who would it be, and what dish would you make to represent your culinary philosophy?
A: Steve Wynn. He gave me the opportunity to start early, when I knew I didn’t want to go to college and wanted to come work at the Mirage when I was 15. Nowadays, a lot of kids don’t get that opportunity, and it probably set me off to become the person I am today. The dish I would cook for him is probably a very simple fish dish. When he used to come Ada’s, he loved the mussels with fennel and nduja. Simple, spicy, and heartwarming.
High Steaks will be open from 5 pm to 11 pm nightly starting October 14. Reservations: OpenTable. For parties of 12 or more, contact events@highsteaks.vegas. Visit highsteaks.vegas or riolasvegas.com.
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