Bobby Flay's 4 Restaurants Explained

Though not always the case, many celebrity chefs have restaurants. Some, like Gordon Ramsay, own way more than you probably realize. Others, like Ina Garten, have stayed out of the industry entirely. Bobby Flay, perhaps best known for his spicy, Southwestern-inflected cuisine, sits somewhere in the middle.

Flay arguably became a household name through his decade as one of the Iron Chefs on the cooking competition show "Iron Chef America," alongside regular appearances on many other Food Network shows. Yet his first restaurant, New York City's Mesa Grill, predates that by a few years, having opened in 1991. After all, the Iron Chefs on that series tend to be established in the industry — for example, Cat Cora and Jose Garces — as compared to a show like "Top Chef," where contestants tend to open restaurants after their appearances.

However, Flay's TV stardom seems to have helped him build a restaurant empire, although with a firm focus on the United States; he's only opened one restaurant overseas, in the Bahamas. As of July 2024, he owns four restaurant brands: upscale standalone restaurants Amalfi and Brasserie B in Las Vegas, as well as two separate burger chains — Bobby's Burgers and the older Bobby's Burger Palace, which has been shrinking as the former grows. Here's the lowdown on all of them.

The older of Bobby Flay's two fine dining restaurants (both of which are housed in Las Vegas casinos), Amalfi focuses squarely on Italian cuisine. Located in Caesars Palace and opened in May 2021, replacing an outpost of Mesa Grill, it's Flay's first foray into a full-scale Italian restaurant. According to the chef and TV personality, the restaurant was partly inspired by the famous Amalfi Coast dining destination Lo Scoglio, with whom he's worked a little in the past on food festival-type events.

Open for dinner service only, Amalfi leans fairly firmly into the coastal vibe that its name implies. Seafood, from charred octopus to roasted whole fish, makes up a sizable portion of the menu. Squid fettuccine and lobster cavatelli are also there, alongside other pasta dishes that highlight Mediterranean produce like tomatoes and eggplant. While it's mostly faithful to classic Italian fare, Flay's affinity for spice finds its way into the menu with the addition of calabrian chiles into various dishes. The meaty end of the menu branches out a little more, with a nod to Italian-American food with a chicken parm, plus a selection of steaks. To drink, spritzes and classics like bellinis and negronis are a focus.

Over three years in business, Amalfi has received generally positive reviews for its Mediterranean vibe and quality seafood, although some have noted that it's definitely not a cheap night out, with most plates of pasta costing over $30 and cocktails hovering around $20.

Also in the Caesars Palace casino in Las Vegas is Bobby Flay's second of two fine dining restaurants, Brasserie B. Open in mid-2023, the chef aimed to encapsulate the feel of a classic Parisian brasserie with its booths, eclectic furniture, and art deco touches. It's a day and night affair, with both brunch and dinner served, and almost non-stop service from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

By day, there are brunch classics like eggs Benedict, pastries, and pain perdu (bread pudding). That said, much of the menu is lunch-friendly, with traditional brasserie-style options from filet mignon tartare to steak frites (which is different from steak fries), a croque monsieur, and even a seafood tower for those looking to splash. By night, the egg-based dishes and more casual sandwiches vanish from the menu, while options like the raw bar, tartare, and grilled meats stick around. Some other brasserie classics join the dinner menu like duck confit, skate with capers and tarragon (plus chile butter, in a Flay-style twist), and roasted salmon. French dessert staples including profiteroles and crème brûlée round out the options.

Brasserie B hasn't received any reviews from professional critics, but it seems to be generally well-received by the public. Many guests note the top-notch culinary skills on display, although some people feel that the prices can be a little high.

At the moment, Bobby Flay's other ventures skew much more casual than his two Caesars Palace restaurants. He owns two fast food chains, the larger of which is the self-titled Bobby's Burgers. The first locations opened in 2021, and much like his fine dining restaurants, he seems to be focused on putting them inside casinos. Of the eight restaurants in operation, three are in Vegas (in the Paris, Caesars Palace, and Harrah's casinos), with another two in Harrah's casinos in Atlantic City and New Orleans. Looking at the brand's website, there are clear expansion plans in the works, too: "multiple locations" are promised for both Colorado (with one likely in Denver) and greater Chicago. These are likely to be franchises (that is, with Flay licensing his name and recipes, and someone else actually running the restaurants). The celebrity chef has also indicated that he wants to beef up the franchise operation and move into numerous other states like Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Ohio.

Flay certainly has a way with burgers, so the chain arguably plays more to his culinary image and experience than Amalfi or Brasserie B. Bobby's Burgers' menu is pretty classic: cheeseburgers with extras like bacon or barbecue sauce, and a focus on quality with Angus beef and brioche buns; burgers go for around $12 to $15, depending on the location. There are also chicken sandwiches, shakes, and naturally, fries, plus vegetarian options. Some locations also serve breakfast sandwiches and burritos.

While Bobby Flay certainly isn't the only celebrity chef with a burger chain (see also: Gordon Ramsay), it's perhaps unusual that he has two of them — at least for now. In 2008, he established Bobby's Burger Palace (BBP), which grew from one Long Island restaurant to 19 locations over 10 states and Washington, D.C. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused many of those locations to close, whittling the chain down to just one location in Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, and another in a Connecticut casino.

Flay has described Bobby's Burgers as a sort of updated version of BBP, but the two restaurants have notable differences. BBP is more of a table service spot, while Bobby's Burgers is strictly counter service and take-out. BBP also has a more detailed menu, with different meat choices for patties (like chicken or turkey) and while there's clear overlap, BBP had extra burgers, like one with queso and another with avocado relish. The BBP business model is also distinct: Flay (or at least, his company) directly owned all BBP locations, while, as mentioned, Bobby's Burgers is set to be more of a franchise operation as it expands.

Beyond these four businesses, Bobby Flay has operated numerous long-running restaurants. Mesa Grill, where he made his name in New York starting in 1991 for his iconic Southwestern cuisine brimming with ample heat and color, closed in 2014 after landlord issues. The Vegas location opened in 2004, earning him his only Michelin star (which was later lost), and closed to make way for Amalfi. A shorter-lived Mesa Grill also existed in Nassau in the Bahamas.

In 1993, Flay opened Bolo in the Flatiron District, serving Spanish food until its closure in 2007. His third NYC restaurant was Bar Americain, a bistro serving upscale down-home fare like shrimp and grits; it also expanded to a second (now-closed) location in a Connecticut casino. He tried his hand at a Mediterranean brasserie named Gato, also in New York, in 2014; it closed during the COVID-19 crisis. Since then, he's focused more on Vegas, with a short-lived seafood restaurant, Shark, which also fell victim to the pandemic, before later opening Amalfi and Brasserie B.

Finally, there's Bobby Flay Steak, a classic steakhouse that was in Atlantic City's Borgata casino until mid-2021. The restaurant is fully closed, but lives on via Wonder, a delivery app that operates a New York City ghost kitchen serving food from various celebrity chefs and prominent restaurants. Bobby Flay Steak is on there, although officially, he's described as having partnered with the app (likely providing them with his recipes and guidance), rather than directly owning this restaurant.