The JW Marriott resort is now home to an upscale wine bar with a small-bites menu by one of the nation’s top chefs.
Celebrity chef Shawn McClain has been shaping the Las Vegas restaurant scene for more than 15 years — from the forward-thinking Sage at Aria to current Strip stalwarts Libertine Social in Mandalay Bay and Balla Italian Soul at The Sahara. Now, the James Beard Award winner brings his creative vision to Wineaux (pronounced WINE-oh), the newest addition to the JW Marriott’s expanding restaurant lineup.
The off-Strip resort has recently welcomed a string of high-profile eateries — from Fabio Viviani’s Ai Pazzi and Pearls to the Las Vegas debut of Nom Wah. But Wineaux is different: a casual-chic wine bar where McClain’s food shares top billing with an exceptional by-the-glass program.
“To me, this property was a perfect fit to extend the Wineaux brand,” McClain told the Food and Loathing podcast. “It’s such an intersection of convention guests, wedding travelers, locals — people from everywhere. The space is stunning, and we always want to grow in the right way with the right partnerships.”
An Open Playbook
The Summerlin location marks the second Wineaux for McClain and his partners, following the success of their UnCommons original — recently named one of the area’s best neighborhood restaurants by the F&B professionals at Neon Feast. Like its predecessor, the new Wineaux celebrates small plates designed for pairing, sharing, and exploration.
“A wine bar gives us an open playbook,” McClain explains. “Wine is global — old world, new world, everywhere. So we can pull flavors from anywhere, too. Mediterranean, French, Latin, Asian — it’s all fair game. The key is keeping things casual, clean, and not overcomplicated, so the food and wine stay in balance.”
The menu, roughly 85 percent similar to the UnCommons original, focuses on shareable small plates —fresh oysters, hamachi caviar, sausage rolls, and crab Louie —along with charcuterie, cheeses, and crisp salads.
“We added some flatbreads here,” McClain says. “We’re doing all the doughs and breads in-house, so it’s dining by collection — a collection of flavors and tastes. Whether you order a bottle or just a few pours, it’s meant to feel like a choose-your-own-adventure kind of night.”
When asked whether his beloved foie gras brûlée — the cult-favorite appetizer from his Sage days — might appear here, McClain laughs.
“Given a little advance notice, I think we’d be happy to prepare it,” he says.
“It’s something we still make [at Highlands restaurant] in Detroit, and it’s become a signature again. Maybe we’ll sneak it back in here one day.”
Take It To Go
In keeping with the original, Wineaux Summerlin also features a retail component so that you can grab a bottle from the venue’s expansive wine wall to go.
“That’s always been part of the vision,” he says. “A lot of our clientele is local, so if someone wants a bottle for their room or to take home, it’s easy. The wine wall is our conversation starter — every bottle up there has a story.”
Wineaux at JW Marriott Summerlin is open daily, inviting locals and travelers alike to settle in with a glass — or a few — and experience McClain’s latest expression of approachable sophistication.
