Beauty & Essex inside The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas has always had a vegan menu. But, it wasn’t until  spring 2018 that a refresh in the offerings earned it a place as one of the best in town for both vegans and omnivores to break bread together.

Chef Chris Santos, who is behind not only Beauty & Essex but also New York’s The Stanton Social and VANDAL (coming soon to Las Vegas), challenged his team of chefs in Los Angeles, New York City and Los Angeles to “take proactive approach at being trend setters,” according to Kyle Kingrey, the west coast corporate chef.

And so the team rose to the occasion, creating one of The Strip’s most exciting vegan menus and delivering what the restaurant’s clientele — a growing number of which are health conscious and requesting vegan and gluten-free options — wanted.

Offering everything from a divine, creamy avocado toast to a herb-dusted tempeh and even a Szechuan-style Beyond Beef veggie stir fry, Kingrey’s goal was to deliver a special experience for guests, whether they are vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free.

“I believe most chef-driven restaurants and Strip eateries offer vegan options, but don’t put forth the effort,” he explains. “We found ourselves guilty of that and made the change.”

The goal of Beauty & Essex’s new vegan menu is to offer the same experience for vegan clientele as those who are not vegan.

“We want them to feel included and able to order off the menu just like their non-vegan friends,” he says. “We try to make everyone feel welcome and part of our dining experience.”

According to Kingrey, the top selling vegan eats are the avocado toast, tofu tataki, soyrizo tacos and the Beyond Beef stir-fry. Plus, Beauty & Essex taps into a largely underserved market of vegan desserts, making sorbets fresh in-house daily, as well as a Neopolitan sundae and a chocolate ganache topped with berries and strawberry sorbet.

As for the future of vegan-friendly dining and menus on The Strip, Kingrey adds “I think it should be a bit more mainstream as opposed to having to seek out specific restaurants.”

Expect the vegan menu to grow as demand for creative and inspired vegan dishes continues to grow in Las Vegas.

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