The Vibe
Maroon, the new restaurant from James Beard Award-winning chef Kwame Onwuachi at SAHARA Las Vegas, is not the kind of steakhouse the Strip typically gets. Rather than replicating the formula of classic Vegas beef temples, Onwuachi has built a Caribbean steakhouse centered around live-fire jerk cooking, Afro-Caribbean flavors, and a distinctly warm style of hospitality that immediately sets the tone.
Even the entrance feels transportive. Guests move through a mirrored curvilinear hallway that slowly reveals a glowing bar and dining room beyond, replacing the former lounge space with something moodier and more cinematic. At the center of the room, a custom-built jerk pit fills the dining room with subtle aromas of smoke and spice without overwhelming the experience. The room itself feels cool without stiffness: stylish, energetic, and genuinely lived in rather than performative.
Who’s Here
During a recent EDC weekend visit—a time when many locals typically avoid the Strip entirely—the restaurant remained packed well past 10 p.m. Onwuachi estimated that roughly 80 percent of diners that evening were local, and the crowd reflected a side of Las Vegas dining that increasingly feels ascendant: fashion-forward, diverse, and genuinely excited to be there.
The chef himself remains deeply present in the room. Onwuachi recently purchased a home in Las Vegas and has spent weeks task-forcing the opening, personally working the floor nightly. Throughout dinner, he moved constantly through the restaurant, chatting with guests, running dishes, checking on tables, and helping direct service. Servers greet diners with “welcome home,” reinforcing the restaurant’s communal, celebratory energy.
Don’t Miss This
Dinner begins strongly with the excellent coco bread served alongside whipped malted sorghum butter, followed by toro bujol, a Caribbean-inspired raw dish of tuna belly, octopus, avocado, Scotch bonnet, and fried saltines that somehow manages to feel both playful and luxurious.
The crispy Chilean sea bass, layered with escovitch vegetables and rich brown stew sauce, may already be one of the strongest seafood dishes currently on the Strip. But the restaurant’s defining dish is arguably its jerk chicken, which undergoes a meticulous multi-day preparation involving brining, marinating, smoking, drying, and repeated cooking over pimento and guava wood before arriving deeply aromatic, tender, and intensely flavorful.
The sides deserve equal attention. Creamed coconut collards are deeply savory and comforting, while the truffle mac pie — dramatically finished tableside with shaved black truffle —feels both indulgent and nostalgic. Crawfish mashed potatoes may quietly become one of the restaurant’s sleeper hits.
Worth Noting
The beverage program elevates Maroon beyond the typical celebrity-chef opening. Acclaimed mixologist Luis “Lu” Lopez, previously recognized by the James Beard Foundation for Nocturno, builds cocktails around ingredients like soursop, tamarind, allspice, and Caribbean rum traditions without falling into tiki cliché.
Meanwhile, master sommelier Chris Gaither—one of only four Black master sommeliers in the world—oversees a wine program designed to challenge expectations. During dinner, Gaither assembled a thoughtful six-glass pairing that leaned heavily white, including a striking German Riesling paired alongside oxtail.
Most importantly, Maroon feels like it was built specifically for Las Vegas rather than imported into it. The restaurant is luxurious without sterility, high-energy without becoming chaotic, and ambitious without losing warmth. In a city overflowing with celebrity restaurants and steakhouse concepts, Maroon arrives with something increasingly rare on the Strip: a genuine personality.