Safta 1964 By James Beard Award Wining Chef Alon Shaya recently opened in the Encore part of the Wynn in the Jardin on the strip in Las Vegas Nevada. This restaurant offers Mediterranean Style Cusine. Some of the dishes offered are new versions of the Michelin – Denver Safta Restaurant. A few of the Las Vegas offerings are – small plates like falafels, sablefish paprikash, duck matzah ball soup. They also offer a chef’s tasting salatim platter (dips, spreads, vegetables, pita). A few of the entries are harissa roasted chicken, Dover sole schnitzel, and a New York Steak with hazelnut muhammara and za’atar chimichurri.
You enter here….For breakfast and lunch this restaurant is Jardin, For dinner it becomes Safta 1964 By Alon Shaya.
As you enter you pass wall of flowers.
You pass the outdoor garden patio.
There is an interesting small bar area with bottles that stay on top of the ceiling.
And of course the main dining area with comfortable chairs that is bright, airy, and accented with foliage.
We started out by sharing the Salatim Platter (a bunch of detailed dips, spreads, vegetables, and fluffy pitas).
WOW! There’s a lot here and it’s all DELICIOUS!!!! In the middle is a variety of pickled vegetables……Around 1:00 is Labneh (sort of like yogurt dip), next are Moroccan carrots, babaganous (eggplant), harissa olives, trout roe with cream cheese, za’atar oil, and our favorite the lutenitsa (eggplant, pepper, tomatoes) Everything was delicious!
We had to try the classic hummus.
It has a creaminess that is very rare to come by……….I’ve only had this kind of hummus once before at Zahav in Philadelphia. The flavors do differ some but both are amazing hummus. My husband normally hates hummus but only will eat this hummus and the one from Zahav. We were blown away with this hummus.
We also had to try falafels.
The falafels are also amazing. These come surrounded with mango sauce, herby zhoung sauce and tahini. The falafels have shattering crisp exteriors and fluffy herby interiors.
We do pack up some pitas and dip to bring home so we can try some more.
For dinner we shared the Dover Sole Schnitzel.
It sits on top of creamy tzatziki and is garnished with a few dots of tzatziki with fresh dill and pickled onion petals. The fish is mild and seems fresh and was fried to perfection….It is good but not exciting with exotic flavors like everything else……
I was full but tried a dessert anyway….and I’m glad I did because it was EXTRAORDINARY. It was called Safta’s Delights.
We got three each of FIVE teeny tiny mini desserts. We got pistachio baklava, marble halavah, something with a little coffee coated in chocolate, a blueberry rugula, and our favorite the mini lemon tart.
Service was amazing. Even the chef thanked us for coming and even asked for our feedback.
Safta 1964 By Alon Shaya is Worth a Fork!
Wynn Encore Las Vegas 3131 Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas NV
702-770-5310
www.WynnLasVegas.com
Every THING is subject to change.
