Former chef of Harvest in Bellagio sets up in Downtown Summerlin

As the Review-Journal briefly first reported, chef Roy Ellamar, who once led Harvest by Roy Ellamar in Bellagio to acclaim, is opening Fine Company this spring in Downtown Summerlin.

Chef Ellamar exclusively provided the Review-Journal with details of the new restaurant, which he has been working on since leaving Bellagio in August 2021.

“The local restaurant and food scene has been exploding with talented chefs, a lot of them coming off the Strip and putting down roots in the community. I’m really excited to be a part of that and look forward to cooking in Summerlin,” said Ellamar, who is launching Fine Company in partnership with Lev Restaurant Group of Las Vegas.

Seasonal salads, custom grinds

The menu draws on seasonal ingredients, the chef’s upbringing in Hawaii, his years in Vegas and his travels, with dishes for lunch, dinner and brunch.

Salads change in season, with produce from Kerry Clasby, the highly regarded farmer and founder of Intuitive Forager. Shared plates run to salt and pepper fried shrimp jabbed with Sichuan chilis, Calabrian chilis and jalapeños, or Baked Cheese and Bread featuring manouri feta wrapped in kataifi pastry, then cooked until golden.

The chef grinds brisket, chuck and short ribs to fashion a Le Roy Burger topped with aged cheddar. Crisp tender pork stars in a porchetta sandwich accented with arugula pesto and hot giardiniera. Lunch sets like steak frites, fried chicken cutlet and grilled steelhead trout include soup or salad and dessert.

Guilty pleasure

Ellamar taps his network of fish suppliers for a raw bar with crudos, poké, oysters and prawns. Whole fish, Jidori chicken and grass-fed steaks highlight the dinner menu.

At brunch, Mom’s Banana Bread upgrades the original from the chef’s childhood with cultured butter, local desert sage honey and Jacobsen sea salt. Brown Butter Pancakes are graced with Harry’s Berries compôte.

The Muffin Man celebrates a McDonald’s Sausage McMuffin, the chef’s guilty pleasure, and elevates it, too, with house sausage inspired by Spam and nem nuong (Vietnamese grilled pork sausage).

Like father, like son

The 80-seat dining room designed by AK Design Network incorporates warm blond walls and banquettes punctuated with desert colors and textures. The 50-seat terrace (with olive tree) provides a prime perch for people watching and Fine Time Aperol spritzes with small plates.

Ellamar arrived in Vegas in 2007 to work at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in the MGM Grand, the restaurant where his son, Tayden Poha-Ellamar, is now executive chef. Ellamar then joined Sensi restaurant in Bellagio, later reopening it as Harvest by Roy Ellamar.

Fine Company is at 10970 Rosemary Park Drive.

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ItsJLW on Twitter.