At chef Tyler Vorce’s new restaurant, scallops travel farther to reach their destination than most Las Vegas tourists. Flown live from Maine’s Penobscot Bay, they get shucked to order and served with avocado mousse, white sturgeon caviar, and a bracing
horseradish–sour apple granita. “These scallops come from about an hour from where I grew up, so there’s a personal connection for me,” says Vorce, a southern Maine native. “They’re so sweet and tender that we want to preserve that quality.”
This respect for ingredients is what defines Lilli, which opened its doors on Thursday, October 8. Located in the former Le Café Central French bakery on Spring Mountain Road, the restaurant adds another ambitious fine dining destination to Las Vegas’s growing Chinatown restaurant scene. The dining room’s immaculate exhibition kitchen, dramatic white curtains, and arched floral-patterned panels set an elegant tone — a sharp contrast to the bustling Taco Stand next door. Named for Vorce’s three-year-old daughter, Lilli is the chef’s first permanent restaurant. It follows nearly a year of pop-ups, collaborative dinners, and a residency at Durango Social Club that introduced his cooking to the community and positioned him alongside the city’s most popular local chefs.
Prior to moving to Las Vegas in 2024, the 37-year-old chef began his culinary journey far from the desert, working in some of the world’s busiest kitchens. At 14, he began his career in the kitchen washing dishes at Pier 77, a tourist favorite in Cape Porpoise, before eventually training at New York’s Dovetail. In 2012, he joined Thomas Keller’s legendary three-Michelin-starred restaurant the French Laundry in Yountville, California, where he spent five years rising from commis to sous chef. “I learned a lot about respecting ingredients, pushing beyond what I thought was possible, and what it means to truly commit oneself to this profession,” Vorce says.
Subsequent experiences at some of France’s most acclaimed restaurants, Troisgros and Le Bristol Paris, further ingrained his dedication to obtaining the fresh, hyperseasonal produce. During his time at Troisgros, he accompanied chef César Troisgros to morning markets to select ingredients for that day’s service. That obsession with sourcing continues in Las Vegas, where Vorce drives to the airport “two to three times a week” to collect seafood shipments. Other nearby sources for the current menu includeFlannery Beef for dry-aged flat iron steaks andChina Ranch Date Farm for dates to finish the chestnut and kale tortellini. Both are less than a two-hour drive away.Green Life Produce in nearby Pahrump delivers fruits, vegetables, and herbs harvested that morning.
Vorce classifies the restaurant’s food as “our version of French cuisine.” For example, his nod to the French classic sole Véronique has been reimagined with Concord grapes, tender lettuces, and a velvety sesame-brown butter emulsion instead of the traditional creamy white wine sauce. The delicate sole appears on both the four-course and eight-course tasting menus, priced at $98 per person and $188 per person respectively. Both prix fixe options loosely follow a traditional French course progression, starting with an amuse bouche, salad, and fish before moving on to white meat, red meat, and dessert. Statement dishes from his residency at Durango Social Club such as pristine Hawaiian kanpachi and black cod appear on the opening menu. For a less formal experience, a separate lounge offers à la carte dishes, cocktails, and wines.
Lilli’s wine list is refreshingly compact, leaning heavily into acclaimed French and California producers, with an emphasis on wines that go well with the food. One of Vorce’s favorite pairings is a 2023 “Cep” Pinot Noir from Sonoma’s Peay Vineyards, which he describes as “a New World wine made in the Old World style,” served with Liberty duck breast aged for two weeks, silky jujube purée, roasted radicchio, and a rich foie gras–Port sauce. The list also features a few pricier gems, including a $500 bottle of white burgundy from Domaine Pierre Morey and a $175 bottle of Littorai’s 2024 Savoy Vineyard pinot noir from Anderson Valley.
Vorce has spent much of his career in some of the world’s most celebrated kitchens, but at Lilli, he’s looking to build a legacy of his own. It’s one measured less by accolades than by the experiences of his guests and the lasting impact of his team. “I define success by each guest leaving after a meal feeling restored and having had a memorable experience,” he says. “Both matter to me: how we take care of our guests today and how we help the people we work with grow over time.”
Lilli (3616 Spring Mountain Road, Suite 101, Las Vegas) is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Reservations are available through Resy. More information atlilli.vegas.
