VEGAS DINING NEWS: Cantina Contramar Sets Opening Date, More Restaurant Awards Served, Health Closure

Posted on: February 11, 2026, 04:14h. 

Last updated on: February 12, 2026, 03:53h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Vegas Myths Busted.
  • Contramar by Gabriela Camara will come to Las Vegas in March
  • Four Las Vegas restaurants received the Forbes Travel Guide five-star award
  • Bollillos El Cesar was temporarily closed due to health concerns

Chef Gabriela Cámara, founder of the iconic Mexico City restaurant Contramar, announced the date for one of the year’s most anticipated Strip restaurant openings on Wednesday. Cantina Contramar will open at the Fontainebleau on Saturday, March 28.

Chef Gabriela Cámara has set the opening date for Cantina Contramar, one of the most anticipated Strip restaurant debuts of 2026. (Image: Fontainebleau; inset: JP Yim/Getty)

The culinary destination will introduce Cámara’s 27-year Contramar brand, specializing in freshly caught seafood, to the U.S. for the first time via an open-plan layout designed to replicate the airy, social vibe of her original restaurant. Its menu will include ceviches and aguachiles, seasonal tostadas, and specialty whole-fish preparations.

“As longtime admirers of Contramar, a Mexico City institution, we are proud to serve as the home of its next chapter,” said Brett Mufson, President and Partner of Fontainebleau Development, in a statement.

Located on Level 2 near the Promenade Food Hall, the restaurant was announced in September 2023, three months before the Fontainebleau opened, so there were no previous tenants in the space. Its delay was due largely to the meticulous design of architect Frida Escobedo, whose résumé includes the new Modern and Contemporary Art Wing for The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. (This is her first U.S. restaurant project.)

Cantina Contramar will be the Cámara’s first U.S. eatery since her San Francisco restaurant, Cala, closed due to the pandemic in 2020.

Those Awards Keep Coming

Four of the 82 restaurants to receive prestigious Forbes Travel Guide Five‑Star Awards this year are in Las Vegas. They are:

2026 Forbes Five-Star Restaurants (Las Vegas)

Restaurant Resort Specialty 2026 Milestone
Joël Robuchon MGM Grand Modern French; Signature dish: Le Caviar Impérial Celebrating a historic 20th consecutive year with a Five-Star rating.
Restaurant Guy Savoy Caesars Palace Classic French; Signature dish: Artichoke and Black Truffle Soup Earns its 14th consecutive year while marking its 20th anniversary in May 2026.
Le Cirque Bellagio Contemporary French; Signature dish: Potato-Crusted Sea Bass Reaches a major decade milestone with its 10th consecutive Five-Star award.
Wing Lei Wynn Las Vegas Cantonese/Szechuan; Signature dish: Imperial Peking Duck Remains the only Five-Star Chinese restaurant in North America for 2026.

To view all the 2026 Star Award winners, visit ForbesTravelGuide.com.

Esther’s Kitchen in Las Vegas’ Arts District was the only Las Vegas restaurant named to USA Today‘s annual best restaurant list. (Image: Jose Salinas/Esther’s Kitchen)

In other awards news, Esther’s Kitchen in downtown’s Arts District was the only Las Vegas eatery named to USA Today’s Restaurants of the Year list. Every year, the national newspaper’s food journalists choose a set of restaurants that represent innovation, cultural relevance, craftsmanship, and regional influence. This year’s list totaled 39.

“Coming to Esther’s is not transactional,” owner/chef James Trees told USA Today. “You’re coming to see friends. We want everyone’s experience to be special for them.”

In addition to Esther’s Kitchen, Trees is also the chef/partner at High Steaks Vegas at the Rio and the chef/owner of Ada’s Food + Wine and Bar Boheme (both downtown) and Al Solito Posto (in Summerlin).

Dining Ins & Outs

Fiorella Pasta Bar, at Durango Station‘s Eat Your Heart Out food hall, will close on March 27, 2026. The decision comes as “part of the larger food and beverage strategy for the property and evaluating the offerings within the food hall,” Station Casinos announced in a statement on Wednesday. (That’s publicity speak for it wasn’t patronized enough.)

Fiorello was opened by James Beard-awarded chef Marc Vetri in December 2023. Best known for his Vetri Cucina in Philadelphia, Vetri still operates Osteria Fiorella, which opened at Red Rock Station in 2020, though an outpost of Vetri Cucino at the Palms only survived from March 2020 to fall 2025.

Health to Pay

Bollillos El Cesar at 3850 E. Desert Inn Road was temporarily closed by the Southern Nevada Health District on Feb 5 due to 10 demerits. It’s violations were:

  • Compliance with time as a public health control (5 demerits)
  • Commercially manufactured food from an unapproved source or without required labels; parasite destruction; time temperature controls for safety; and food received at improper temperature (5)