Barbara Lazaroff Restaurant Design
The design of Chinois Las Vegas
Completed in January of 1998, Chinois Las Vegas is a veritable museum of Asian antiquities that Barbara Lazaroff has collected throughout her extensive travels in Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, Vietnam, and Singapore.
Lazaroff’s great admiration and fascination with these distinct cultures has enabled her to create Chinois as a space of seductive and intriguing beauty and she hopes it will allow others to gain an appreciation for the cultural richness of areas of the world such as these.
Chinois is a bi-level 16,000 square foot space that incorporates a stunning sushi bar, exhibition kitchen, one-of-a-kind granite water feature created by Japanese sculptor Yoshikawa, all surrounded by bromeliads and orchid exotica.
The grand staircase, which leads to the second level, incorporates a magnificent stone and brick wall, showcasing a 200 year old ceramic dragon of Chinese origin, antique Thai temple bells, and a seven–by-six foot Thai stone carving from Chiang Mai for viewing as you ascend.
The second level dramatically and expansively reveals itself, highlighting a second exhibition kitchen, with rows of sizzling woks, emanating extraordinary aromas wafting across the dining room to the delight of all the guests. This main dining room offers seating for 150 guests, with a handsome adjacent bar area and further addition of two truly elegant private dining rooms, which can accommodate another 150 guests.
The walls seemingly vibrate with vivid antique Chinese and Thai marionettes artfully encased in silk-laden shadow boxes, fine Thai hand-painted textiles illuminate the walls, fine Japanese and Chinese instruments, charming mooncake molds used as sculpture, and Japanese obis, all inhabit a space that glows with history, charm, and passion.