I need to refresh myself and go for a new thing.
Chef Oscar Amador, Amador Cocina Fina
Oscar Amador is gearing up for his latest and most personal project yet. The James Beard Award-nominiated chef is targeting a November 1 launch of Amador Cocina Fina, which takes over the spot where his first Las Vegas restaurant, EDO, operated for eight years in Chinatown near Jones and Spring Mountain.
“This is my baby, right?” Amador says about the intimate dining room. “The opportunity came to take it as my solo project, cook whatever I want, and express myself.”
🧑🍳 Two Concepts in One
The chef reveals the new restaurant will combine Latin and Mediterranean cuisine. No dishes will carry over from EDO, although Spanish touches will be felt in a new croquetas recipe, occasional use of Iberico ham, and the wine list. The bravas (crispy potatoes) will be reimagined in bite-sized form, topped with a garlicky ajada sauce and steak tartare.
Lunches are casual, inspired by taquerías and cevicherías south of the border. Dinner is more of a fine dining experience — a la carte with no tasting menus — with an energy built on music and atmosphere.
Everything will be made from scratch, including masa corn tortillas, warmed up on a Comol clay flattop. Amador wants to explore the possibilities of ingredients not seen often in Vegas like one-pound chocolate clams from Mexico, sliced for sashimi and ceviche.
The Mediterranean influence is felt in the marinades and sherry used to braise meats. Some dishes — like a calamari bao bun sandwich or eggplant parmesan reimagined as chile relleno — defy easy categorization.
💰 Business Breakout
Amador Cocina Fina won’t operate under the umbrella of EDO Hospitality, but the chef remains an active partner in the company, which currently runs Anima by EDO in the Gramercy and is preparing to open the neighboring EDO Gastropub in the old DW Bistro location next year. The team is also unveiling Braseria by EDO on Paradise by December with Chef Tayden Ellamar, formerly of L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, running the kitchen day to day. Meanwhile, Amador will continue his consulting work, which began with La Loba, a Seattle hotel restaurant.
“I love partnering with them and we will keep doing stuff together,” Amador says of EDO Hospitality. “But I think it's time to focus on myself and what I love,” stressing that he prefers cooking and working the line to the business part of his job.
🍽️ One Door Closes, Another Opens
EDO is actually still open — for a few more days. Amador quietly extended the closing date to this Sunday, Oct. 19, after originally announcing services would end in late September. It was a way to keep staff members working before some of them transfer to Braseria and others continue at Amador.
A few things will change. The mural is staying. The beaded drapery will be replaced by shelves and cabinets to dry age fish — most of it sustainably sourced from California and Baja. The restaurant will also dry age beef (something we love these days) using koji, a Japanese form of fermentation.
“ Amador is going to be an evolving kitchen,” according to the chef, who even bought new printers to revamp menus on the fly. “We are flipping more to the Latin Mexican side, but who knows in three months? I don’t want to stick to ‘this is a Mexican restaurant’ or Spanish or Japanese or whatever. It’s always a dialogue between cultures.”
- This restaurant sounds like a shoo-in to make our next best new restaurants update. [Hey Las Vegas ✍️]
