Red Square (restaurant)

Red Square
Entrance to Red Square
Location within Las Vegas Strip Show map of Las Vegas Strip Red Square (restaurant) (Nevada) Show map of Nevada Red Square (restaurant) (the United States) Show map of the United States
Restaurant information
Established	1999 (1999)
Closed	November 17, 2019 (2019-11-17)
Previous owner(s)	SBE and Disruptive Restaurant Group
Head chef	Chris Conlon
Food type	American cuisine Eastern European cuisine
Dress code	Casual
Street address	3950 S Las Vegas Blvd
City	Las Vegas
County	Clark County
State	Nevada
Postal/ZIP Code	89119
Country	United States
Coordinates	36°05′31.9″N115°10′36″W / 36.092194°N 115.17667°W / 36.092194; -115.17667
Reservations	Suggested

Red Square was a Russian-themed restaurant and bar located in the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada and at the Tropicana Atlantic City in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Atlantic City location closed in 2012, followed by the Las Vegas restaurant closing in November 2019, after twenty years of service.

History

Las Vegas location

Red Square opened at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1999. ^[1] The restaurant was operated by The Light Group and Brian Massie served as executive chef. ^[2] In February 2019, Disruptive Restaurant Group took over management. ^[3] The Las Vegas location closed in November 2019. ^[1] This restaurant was not opened by The Light Group it was sold to them by China Grill Management but opened by China Grill Management Executive Chef Frank Copestick

Atlantic City location

Red Square opened in Atlantic City at the Tropicana in 2007. The Atlantic City location closed in 2012.

Design

The Red Square restaurants were two of the only depictions of Soviet culture in the United States. Both locations included statues of Lenin out front of the entrance, both covered with fake pigeon feces. ^[1] After numerous complaints at the Las Vegas location of the statue's depiction of Lenin, resort management cut the head off the statue and displayed it inside the bar. ^[4] As the Las Vegas location, the statue head of Lenin is displayed in the middle of the bar's vodka vault, cut off from the statue out front of the restaurant. ^[5]

The bars were dark with stark architecture and wooden walkways connecting fine dining rooms. The main dining room design was inspired by Czarist palaces. The bar chandeliers were copies of those at the Embassy of Poland in Moscow. ^[2] The interior was painted red and gold and propaganda-style art decorated the walls. ^{[5] [6]}

Cuisine and beverages

Cuisine

Red Square served American-Eastern European fusion cuisine. Signature menu items included flights of caviar and Siberian Nachos (smoked salmon, wasabi cream, chives, and tobiko topped wonton chips). The restaurant menu also included steak tartare, pierogi, chicken Kiev, pelmeni and short rib Stroganoff. They also offered caviar tastings. ^{[2] [4]}

Beverages

The bar served over 200 brands of vodka from over 20 countries. ^[1] The bar offered vodkas infused in house. ^[1] The bar featured a vodka vault, housing hundreds of vodka in a refrigerated environment. Guests could pay premium prices to drink inside the vault, wearing fur coats and hats provided by the restaurant. ^{[1] [2]}

A signature drink at Red Square was a Moscow Mule made with Jean-Marc XO Vodka. ^[6]

Reception

10best.com described Red Square Las Vegas as having "one of the city's coolest bars." ^[7] Vegas Legal called the bar an "incredible time piece." ^[6]

Gallery

• 
  Bar
• 
  Vodka Vault with Lenin's frozen statue head
• 
  Moscow mule

See also

• List of restaurants in the Las Vegas Valley
• List of Russian restaurants
• List of statues of Vladimir Lenin

References

1. Mancini, Al (7 November 2019). "Russia-themed Red Square restaurant on Las Vegas Strip to close". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
2. "Red Square Restaurant Las Vegas NV Reviews | Gayot". Gayot. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
3. Roeben, Scott (19 November 2019). "Red Square Restaurant and Vodka Bar Closes at Mandalay Bay". Vital Vegas. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
4. Stapleton, Susan (7 November 2019). "Mandalay Bay Says Goodbye to Red Square Restaurant and Its Ice Sculpture of Lenin's Head". Eater Vegas. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
5. "This Bar In Nevada Is So Cold That You're Given A Fur Coat As Soon As You Walk In". OnlyInYourState. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
6. "Bar Review: Red Square". Vegas Legal Magazine. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
7. "Red Square Restaurant & Lounge". 10Best. Retrieved 22 November 2019.

External links

• Media related to Red Square (restaurant) at Wikimedia Commons