Before it is too late… | Picasso Restaurant, Bellagio, Las Vegas, NV

Picasso restaurant Chef de Cuisine Brian Kolp, Sophie Gayot, Executive sous-chef Stephen Johnson, Chef Julian Serrano | Photos © GAYOT.com — Chef de Cuisine Brian Kolp, Sophie Gayot, Executive sous-chef Stephen Johnson, Chef Julian Serrano | Photos © GAYOT.com

By Sophie Gayot

Sad news about Picasso restaurant

Las Vegas, NV, June 2024

• GAYOT’s Rating: 18/20
• Cuisine: French
• Open: Dinner Wed.-Sun., from 5:30 p.m.

Picasso is on GAYOT’s:
• Best French Restaurants in the U.S.A.
• Best Romantic Restaurants in the U.S.A.
• Best Outdoor Dining Restaurants in the U.S.A.
• Las Vegas Top Rated Restaurants
• Best Las Vegas French Restaurants
• Best Las Vegas Romantic Restaurants
• Best Las Vegas Outdoor Dining Restaurants
• Best Las Vegas Special Occasion Restaurants
• Best Las Vegas View Restaurants
• Best Las Vegas Wine List Restaurants

Picasso | 702-693-8865 | View Website | Bellagio Las Vegas
View map: 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S. (Flamingo Rd.), Las Vegas, NV 89109

Chef Julian Serrano proved that food can be an art form.

There have been many reasons to push open the doors of Picasso, one of the most beautiful restaurants in the world. You can admire the décor, the original Picasso paintings and the terrace overlooking the Fountains of Bellagio and its dancing musical water show. However, your foremost purpose should be to enjoy the cuisine of Spanish (of course) chef Julian Serrano.

Precise and elegant, Serrano’s art has been consistent, making an evening at Picasso restaurant one to remember forever, since it opened in 1998. But sadly, at the end of August 2024, it is coming to an end. You have three more months to experience the work of the two artistic Spanish masters.

Serrano steadfastly masterminds this marriage of art and food

Chef Julian Serrano’s crafty culinary flair and Spanish accent felt just right in a room filled with the Malaga-born artist’s priceless paintings. Colorful cubist carpeting designed by Picasso’s son swirls underfoot, and mountainous bouquets of fresh flowers are delivered daily.

Serrano’s roots may be Spanish, but his style is French and his inspiration has been ceaseless, until he decided to retire at the age of 72. For the past few years, he kept saying “one more year.” At the end of the summer, there will be no one more year behind the stoves…

The view

Even for seasoned high rollers, the experience of dining while surrounded by original Picasso oil paintings remained a thrill. Add to these treasures the view and the show of the Fountains of Bellagio with the flashing Eiffel Tower as a backdrop. What else could you have asked for? One or more of 1,500 bottles from the wine cellar, for an excuse to spend more time?

Watch a full Fountains of Bellagio water show, I filmed from Picasso’s terrace.

RELATED: Picasso Restaurant GAYOT’s Awards (full list)

A personal and emotional note…

Even if we are smiling in the photo displayed at the beginning of the article, after I sabered a bottle of Champagne with chef Serrano, it was an emotional evening for me. My son was 5 years old the first time he dined at Picasso; he is now 29. I was introduced to Serrano by my brother in 1999; Alain passed away in 2016. We, all the Gayots, celebrated my mother’s 70th birthday at Picasso; my mother passed away in 2021, and my father, the founder of the company, in 2019.

I felt like a page had turned. But, what made me happy was to see chef Serrano looking forward to his new life with his family and friends. I will miss chef Serrano. I will cherish the memories he created for the Gayot family, on top of the gastronomical moments.