Tao Group’s latest restaurant concept has arrived in Las Vegas! Cathédrale is now open inside ARIA Resort & Casino alongside CATCH and Julian Serrano by the resort’s opulent lobby. The restaurant joins Tao Group’s stunning collection of immersive dining spaces with artful culinary creations. We were invited in for a special media preview of the menu prior to the restaurant’s grand opening.
Inside Tao Group’s Latest Vegas Venture- Cathédrale
“Cathédrale, we opened in New York City about three years ago. The whole point was to do really elemental coastal cuisine,” Executive Chef Jason Hall explained. “Lots of fresh fish, great steaks, fresh vegetables, handmade pasta and really bring a sense of lightness and freshness into the restaurant. There are little nods to Italy, Greece, Spain and a little bit of French. We’re really trying to have a selection and a little bit of each region in the combination. We’re really excited about this and our partnership with ARIA.” Hall is the VP of Culinary for Tao Group and brings an impressive culinary history to the table—prior to his seven years at Tao Group, he was with Gotham Grill and Portale in New York City and was also part of the opening team for Tom Colicchio.
If you’ve ever dined at the location in New York City, Las Vegas provides a different experience, with only about 75-80% of the menu consisting of items found in NYC. Items like the Zucchini Ragoût, Creste di Gallo Pasta and the restaurant’s beautiful desserts are all Vegas exclusives. The menu features seasonal flavors and is subject to change with fresh items that are in season, like the flavor profile of the crudo. “We always have a hamachi crudo, and the set changes seasonally. Right now, it’s fennel, blood orange and olive. Really southern Italian flavors,” Hall told us during our tasting. “The crudo has been really popular. We have a lot of vegetables like artichokes, grilled mushrooms and burrata with peppers.”
You’ll also find a variety of fun flavors on the menu, like The Omelette. “Our potato chip and caviar omelet is a real showstopper and highly debated amongst Tao Group, but it’s here!” Hall said of the unique dish. “I think what makes it a good dish for Cathédrale is that it’s a very simple dish but elevated. I don’t know if you guys know, but there’s a very famous hotel in Paris called the Hotel Bristol, and they have this really elegant room service. I was traveling there before we opened the original Cathédrale in the summer of 2018. They have this potato omelet, and it has these roasted potatoes in this soft-cooked omelet. I took the idea, turned it into potato chips and added caviar to elevate it. It had a really familiar flavor that I couldn’t figure out. It had this fancy French onion flavor, and it’s this grocery store cheese called Boursin. It’s in that foil disc with that white and green label, and they sell it everywhere.”
Even the cocktail menu is thoughtfully created with flavors and aesthetics at the forefront of the menu. “What we have here is a menu that we’ve curated that is not only accessible but elevated, elegant and with a unique visual appeal,” Jan Padiernos, Tao Group’s Director of Food and Beverage for Las Vegas, told us. “You’ll find a number of the cocktails on the menu are unique takes on classics with a fun spin. For instance, the Bella la – we took a standard margarita that we’ve accentuated with hibiscus. We’ve topped it with a hibiscus rose ice cube, so as the ice melts and you drink the cocktail, it infuses the cocktail itself, and the flavor evolves over time.”
Make sure to save room for dessert—there are numerous delightful flavors that are sure to make the perfect ending to your meal. “We have the Paris Brest, a very authentic French dessert,” Romain Cornu, Global Corporate Pastry Chef, explained. “Hazelnut with a cream puff. We made it long; I feel it’s sexier than the round one. We put chocolate sauce on top. We have the Sorrento lemon. Inside, it has four citrus flavors—yuzu, calamansi, Sorrento lemon and lime. On the bottom is a yuzu granita.”
