Chef Kwame Onwuachi, known for his acclaimed restaurants Tatiana in New York City and Dōgon in Washington D.C., opened his first Las Vegas restaurant, Maroon, at the Sahara Las Vegas on April 24. This marks his first venture outside the East Coast and introduces an Afro-Caribbean steakhouse concept to the classic Las Vegas Strip dining scene. Onwuachi designed Maroon to give Las Vegas "what it needs, not what it wants," offering a new and original experience that contrasts with the city's abundance of traditional steakhouses and celebrity chef concepts.
Maroon is deeply personal for Onwuachi, honoring his Jamaican heritage and the story of the Maroons, escaped slaves who settled in Jamaica's mountains and developed jerk cooking techniques. The menu merges American steakhouse traditions with Afro-Caribbean flavors and techniques, featuring dishes like oxtail and mushroom patties, curried goat agnolotti, jerk clam flatbread, and wood-fired lobster. Steaks, sourced from Rosewood Ranch in Texas, include wagyu tenderloin and 30-day dry-aged New York strips, while a custom jerk pit prepares signature items such as jerk chicken and pork tomahawk chop cooked over pimento wood.
The restaurant itself is designed by Modellus Novus, an architecture firm Onwuachi previously worked with for Tatiana and Dōgon, and features island-influenced décor. Its opening was a significant event, with a grand-opening party that included a Busta Rhymes performance and a drone show. Onwuachi aims for Maroon to be inclusive, serving a diverse clientele including the growing Black visitor and retiree population in Las Vegas, and is also focused on supporting the local community and vendors.
