With the opening of Central Michel Richard at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas’ already vibrant social scene just became a whole lot brighter. With a wraparound, double-sided white onyx bar open onto the resort’s bustling hotel lobby, Central’s bar offers an incomparable people-watching vantage point. Most importantly, guests will delight in its extraordinary menu of lively libations—from a selection of specialty beers never before offered in the United States to creative cocktails, an expansive wine list and extensive roster of bourbons and whiskeys.
Patrons will discover Innis & Gunn Original, a rum cask beer from Edinburgh, Scotland, offered for the very first time on draught in the United States. This brew is golden honey in color, punctuated by mouth-watering vanilla and toffee notes with hints of fruit. Other acclaimed beers offered on tap at Central including Chimay Cinq-Cents, Delirium Tremens, Old Speckled Hen, Newcastle, Kronenbourg, Stella Artois, Guinness, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Fat Tire and Miller Lite.
Central’s outstanding collection of bottled beers includes many Belgian (Hoegaarden, Piraat, Westmalle) and Dutch (Duvel, Gulden Draak, La Trappe) brews not commonly found in the United States. Other notable bottles include the Australian Coopers Ale and the American PranQster, as well as several other European, Mexican and American brews. Prices for beer at Central range from $7 to $14.
On Central’s imaginative cocktail menu, fresh fruit takes center stage:
Muddled blueberries in the Bluberry Blitz, which blends Stoli Bluberry Vodka with lemon juice, Champagne and simple syrup
Drunken cranberries in the Halcyon Cosmo, a concoction of Grey Goose Le Citron, Cointreau, lime juice and white cranberry juice
Fresh grapefruit juice and a grapefruit twist in the Gladiator Potion, a mix of Aperol, Boodles Gin, sweet vermouth and peach bitters
Brandy-soaked cherries in Sweet Magic, a blend of Hendrick’s Gin, orange juice, Pernod and grenadine.
Strawberries in the Strawberry Basil Mojito, a fusion of Bacardi Rum, basil club soda, lime juice and simple syrup
Other cocktail selections include the Cucumber Mint Gimlet (Plymouth Gin, Yellow Chartreuse, lime juice, simple syrup, muddled cucumber and mint), Pear Sangria (pear nectar, dry Riesling, Cruzan Single Barrel Rum, Cointreau) and the Brittany Bulleit (Bulleit Bourbon, Champagne, orange juice, lemon juice, simple syrup). Cocktail prices range from $12 to $15.
It takes a vast wine list to encompass the hundreds of vintages housed in Central’s two, spectacular glass wine rooms, which flank the bar. Twenty-four wines by the glass are offered, including sparkling, red, white and rosé varieties, as well as the Domaine Bzikot “Michel Richard Selection” Bourgogne Blanc Chardonnay. Wines by the glass are priced from $9 to $29.
Whiskey aficionados will revel in Central’s substantial offerings, including 19 whiskeys, 21 Kentucky-straight bourbons, 23 single-malt scotches and six blended scotch varieties. Prices for a single range from $9 (Jim Beam, Johnnie Walker Red) to $162 (Macallan 30-year single-malt).
Central Michel Richard at Caesars Palace debuted this September. The menu reflects Richard’s signature American cuisine crafted with a French accent. Just like the menu and décor inside and out, the experience is unpretentious yet imaginative.
The total 300-capacity restaurant is located in the area previously occupied by the Augustus Café, adjacent to Caesars Palace’s bustling registration lobby. This prime location at the Strip-facing main entrance of the hotel allows for guests to park in the hotel's main valet and go directly into the restaurant.
Central is Caesars Palace's only location to be open 24 hours a day, seven days per week.
