Bāng Bar by Momofuku
In Las Vegas and NYC, this Asian/Middle Eastern fast food fusion concept focuses on flatbread wraps
We were fans of Momofuku well before it came to the West Coast, and have visited more than half of the restaurant group’s concepts over the years – including ones that closed despite serving phenomenal food and drinks. That said, even having seen chef David Chang’s team find ways to make all sorts of simple things cool, we found Bāng Bar at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas to be one of Momofuku’s most unusual ideas, and even compared with its Fuku fried chicken sandwich chain, arguably the company’s least compelling attempt to turn something really basic into a franchise.
Bāng Bar builds an entire restaurant (albeit one with counter service in a food court) around street food-class flatbread wraps that are upgraded with Momofuku-quality meats. Besides serving as a slutty pun, “bāng” refers to the oversized flatbread disc that here is loaded with Korean-style spicy pork, spicy eggplant, or teriyaki chicken, then wrapped in a distinctive U shape. The NYC location also offers cumin beef as a fourth protein.
Given that Chang has never served food that tastes anything short of delightful, it’s no surprise that the U Wraps taste great – quality-wise, at least good as any Halal street wrap you’d find on NYC’s streets, and flavor wise, straight out potent. But that’s basically all Bāng Bar does: you can opt for a rice bowl with the same ingredients, or two smaller fold-ups instead of the big U Wrap, but that’s it beyond drinks and a few basic sides, the latter available only in Vegas and not NYC. We wound up getting a blueberry soju to drink because it was here and the other choices were basic.
Given Momofuku’s retrenchment everywhere else, it’s hard to imagine this concept sticking around past the end of Bāng Bar’s lease in Las Vegas, but who knows – maybe it’s simple and successful enough to justify keeping around? Regardless, we wish that Momofuku and Chang would get back to opening the full-fledged, brilliant, punk restaurants they became known for, where U Wraps would be something offered solely for takeaway rather than being the star of the show.
Stats
Price: $-$$
Service: Counter
Open Since: 2021
Addresses
3708 Las Vegas Blvd S.
Boulevard Tower, Level 2
Las Vegas, NV 89109
10 Columbus Cir. #301
New York, NY 10019
Instagram: @bangbar.xyz