When HaSalon held its soft opening in August, guests enjoyed a wonderful party, with dinner at the Mediterranean-inspired restaurant morphing into a lively party atmosphere later. And that’s the way it’s gone every night since then, with every action upping the energy.
Step into HaSalon, “powered by Eyal Shani and Shahar Segal,” and you’ll be struck by the eclectic, comfortable beauty of the space, with a bespoke collection of chairs and chandeliers and a curving bar anointed with fresh produce that sweeps around an open kitchen area, where founding chef Shani pitched in at the official grand opening in late September, a party for which all the glitterati in Vegas stepped out. The next night, Shani could once again be found behind the sleek chef’s counter, creating some of the restaurant’s inventive dishes for a slate of grateful guests. As the “Tomato Chef” worked, he talked about the ingredients, the dishes, the methods used and the philosophy behind Las Vegas’ HaSalon.
“Las Vegas is all about the will to live on instincts, to put your life in the hands of luck,” Shani said in a release this summer. “Nobody understands that more than HaSalon—the energy, and the food, all are mesmerizing and elevate your feelings.”
Avocado bruschetta
At the chef’s counter (and do request these seats if you can), start with traditional focaccia, pillowy squares of crust covered in paper-thin slices of onion, tomato and pepper, perfect to dip into the “6 spicy instruments,” a variety of condiments that Shani said would “swirl your mind,” and which are perfect with the focaccia. At the grand opening, his audience joyfully enjoyed that while the chef applied himself to other items while chatting—carefully deseeding and cutting heirloom tomatoes into colorful wedges for the aptly named “A pile of beautifully arranged tomatoes.”
The menu itself is named “HaSalon Las Vegas sketch book page 19 powered by Eyal Shani and Shahar Segal” and, as you can tell by the aforementioned dish, describes each dish literally or poetically—or both. The tai snapper carpaccio is pounded thin by the chef with a large, handheld tool. That scene plays out throughout the restaurant, with black-clad staff putting their backs (and concentration) into pounding out other carpaccio orders—the Terrifying hammer delivers herbs and flowers atop thin slices of beef, while charred beetroot carpaccio is served with crème fraîche and horseradish “snow.”
Serving methods vary, from traditional plates to a presentation right atop the counter. A mountain of Parmesan falls across the desert tomato pasta, while next, a whole turbot “covered in a mountain of salt” is unveiled. The mountain is moved, and the fish deboned and dispatched. And “the best hummus plate you will ever eat” brings an enormous platter of hummus and lamb ragu.
Throughout the night, scenes like that played out, and as evening waned, energy waxed, growing more partylike by the minute, helped by DJs and servers and staff dancing atop tables. “You are getting the best feeling that life can give, the magic from a night you are praying will never end, experiencing a loss of control and the freedom that feeling has,” Shani said. “Our mission, the whole reason for our existence and the whole reason that millions of people around the globe are dreaming of us, is to give happiness and make people that visit us much happier than they were before.”
Before departing, dessert, please, with a coffee, and the crispy golden apple crumble, and pistachio olive oil and raspberry cake. It’s not goodbye, because we’ll be back.
The Venetian, venetianlasvegas.com
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