Crafting Culinary Excellence At Barry’s Downtown Prime

Yassine Lyoubi’s passion for the restaurant business began as a teenager in Morocco, working summers at his father’s restaurant. After high school, he moved to the U.S. and graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, with a degree in Hotel Administration, concentrating on Food and Beverage. During college, Yassine honed his skills in various front-of-house roles, from bussing tables at the Cheesecake Factory and Del Frisco’s Steakhouse to bartending at Mon Ami Gabi and serving at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon.

His professional journey began with Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (LEYE) after an internship at the Four Seasons Las Vegas. Yassine advanced through LEYE’s management training program, gaining operational experience at several Las Vegas and Chicago locations, including the launch of Café Ba-Ba-Reeba Las Vegas.

As General Manager of N9NE Steakhouse at the Palms, Yassine collaborated with Chef Barry S. Dakake on a venue refresh and the opening of the Scarlet mixology bar. Promoted to Director of Restaurants, he broadened his expertise further. In 2014, Yassine joined SBE and Think Food Group, facilitating the openings of Bazaar Meat by José Andrés in Las Vegas and J by José Andrés in Mexico City. Returning to the Palms in 2017 as Director of Fine Dining, he launched Scotch 80 Prime with Dakake. In 2019, Yassine co-founded 980 Restaurant Consulting, leading to the formation of Make It Happen Hospitality LLC with Marco Cicione and Donnie Rihn, and the opening of Barry’s Downtown Prime.

We delved into the details with Yassine to share a bit more about Vegas’s hottest steakhouse.

How did Barry’s Downtown Prime come about?

“After years of working in the corporate restaurant industry and hospitality world here in Las Vegas, we knew that it was time to apply our experience, network, passion, and savoir-faire to a business of our own. As with so many things in life, timing is key, and the opportunity to sit down with Derek Stevens couldn’t have landed at a better time. Derek had a detailed, dynamic, and amazing plan with the development of Circa downtown, and he gave us a once-in-a-lifetime shot at being a part of that dream by offering us the space and build out of our own steakhouse.”

What sets Barry’s Downtown Prime apart from other steakhouses?

“In short, our people. If you have been part of the Vegas restaurant landscape in the last 20 years, you will certainly recognize our Bar team, our Captains, our Chef de Cuisine Pat, as well as Helen at the front door. One of the statistics that I am most proud of as a restaurateur is our extremely low turnover rate. Staffing and human resources are usually one of the biggest challenges in hospitality, and we are extremely fortunate to have a following and the honor of employing the people that we have worked with for years, and in some cases, decades. Secondly, we never ever sacrifice on quality. Ever since the pandemic, costs of goods have soared, making the fiscal part of our business extremely taxing. Yet, we have never resorted to purchasing sub-par products, and never will.”

What do you enjoy most about the restaurant business?

“Seeing everything that we dreamed up together in that downtown office on Carson Avenue during the pandemic come to fruition. When we turn the lights down every night, get the music and ambiance going, hearing the first guests’ order print in the kitchen within minutes of opening the door, listening to the ice in the bartender’s shaker…all of that reminds us of why we love the restaurant business, that we are on stage every night and that we get to make a living doing what we love.”

How would you compare the Las Vegas culinary scene to that of other big cities?

“Regardless of what various national and international restaurant “award” committees may portray, Las Vegas is hands down consistently in the running for top culinary scene. It’s hard to argue against that, due to the world-renowned F&B platforms we have in all the mega resorts. Furthermore, our local dining scene is world-class, thanks to the talented chefs and cooks from said platforms branching out and creating their concepts.”

Where do you see yourself in five years?

“Continuously expanding our restaurant company as well as getting more involved in the growth and development of future restaurateurs by way of public speaking, private seminars, and being more involved with the UNLV Hospitality program.”

What do you do for fun?

“Hang out with my sons. I’m currently enjoying the dynamic of having a newborn as well as a 22-year-old.  It’s pretty cool to go from changing Tamim’s diaper and singing nursery rhymes to sitting in the back yard with Victor, smoking cigars and talking business opportunities.”

For more information, visit barrysdowntownprime.com | Follow @yassine.lyoubi on Instagram