A Beachy Tulum-Influenced Restaurant Heads Into the Cosmopolitan

Grilled octopus at Amaya. | Jose Salinas It will be one of next year’s first big openings The Cosmopolitan casino on the Las Vegas Strip is adding a vibey Mexican restaurant to its dining roster. With sprawling fajita boards, two-pound whole lobsters, and late-night DJs, Amaya Modern Mexican introduces a high-energy restaurant to the former Holstein’s space. The restaurant will be one of next year’s first big openings when it debuts in January 2025. Chef Jason McLeod, who previously oversaw the opening of the Proper Eats food hall at the Aria, is shaping Amaya’s menu. Two-pound whole lobsters will pair with chili cream sauce and a lime drizzle. Birria short rib will be slow-cooked and served over a rich corn puree. A fajita board will come with sizzling platters of spiced meat and all the fixings. Joining the company of the resort’s other high-energy restaurants like STK, LPM, and Beauty & Essex, Amaya will be soundtracked by the pulsing beats of live DJs and performances that encourage diners to move in their seats. For added motivation, a cocktail menu will include drinks like the Birds of Paradise with mezcal, blackberry syrup, and passion fruit. A mezcal Old Fashioned will be served beneath a smoky rosemary cloud. It’s the latest restaurant from the Clique Hospitality restaurant group, which is also behind the new Mijo Modern Mexican restaurant at the Durango casino and the off-Strip Borracha restaurant. Jose Salinas Amaya Modern Mexican The 7,180-square-foot Amaya space is getting a refresh, losing the life-sized Holstein’s cow and instead getting sectioned-off alcoves and a tree-canopied design inspired by the Yucatán Peninsula. Amaya aims to do what Sol Mexican Cocina wasn’t able to in launching a sceney Tulum-influenced Mexican restaurant on the Strip. Sol at the Forum Shops, which didn’t fully resonate with hungry Vegas travelers, closes at the end of September.