West Hollywood’s Mexican Restaurant Toca Madera Heads to the Las Vegas Strip High-energy fine dining and a speakeasy replaces the former Todd English P.U.B. at Crystals (Eater Vegas): Promising “an unmatched sensory experience,” Los Angles hospitality group Noble 33 plans a spring debut for its first foray to the Las Vegas Strip, importing a speakeasy, live theatrics, and a menu inspired by traditional Mexican cuisine. Toca Madera will move into the former home of Todd English P.U.B., known simply as the The Pub since the celebrity chef’s departure in 2017, at the Shops at Crystals with its entrance next to Aria. Noble 33’s Tosh Berman and Mikey Tanha already operate Toca Madera in Scottsdale, Arizona, and a six-year-old West Hollywood location. In Hollywood, the restaurant serves a 40-ounce Toca tomahawk, taco el padrino with Japanese A5 wagyu, and branzino zarandeado, as well as a weekend brunch with a mushroom truffle frittata and tres leches French toast. Other specialties include a raw bar and proteins served with lava stones for cooking at the table. Tanha revealed to Nation’s Restaurant News that the Las Vegas expansion will become the brand’s flagship, featuring a lounge connected to the main dining room, an open kitchen, and a hidden speakeasy. As a preview of the high-energy environment, future diners can tune-in to the venue’s soundtrack mixes on Soundcloud, but will need to visit in person to encounter fire-breathers, dancers, and musicians comprising part of the live entertainment. The Pub closed earlier this month with an outdoor patio space that sits a very short distance from the recently reopened Julian Serrano Tapas and fellow upbeat restaurant Catch. While paperwork for the construction overhaul has yet to be uncovered, an estimated budget of $150,000 has been allocated to demolish the 7,600-square-foot interior. https://vegas.eater.com/2021/8/30/22647201/toca-madera-todd-english-p-u-b-opening-strip-restaurant-crystals