A new neighborhood bar and restaurant is set to bring trivia nights, live music and a Kerala-spiced fried chicken sandwich to southwest Las Vegas. Hawthorne Craft Bar & Kitchen, located near Dean Martin Drive and Southern Highlands, is slated to open in fall 2026, according to its website.
The restaurant sits at 10620 Dean Martin Drive, Suite 100, within the KAKTUSlife plaza in Southern Highlands, according to WhatNow, which identified the location through a Clark County permit. That earlier report had indicated the plan was to open by mid-October, a timeline that differs from the Review-Journal's more recent Nov. 12 date — the dossier does not clarify what caused the shift or confirm which date ultimately held.
The surrounding market is much larger than the Southern Highlands neighborhood alone: the U.S. Census Bureau counted 221,831 residents in the broader Enterprise census-designated place in 2020. That figure provides regional context for a restaurant positioned as a neighborhood gathering spot, but it is not a population count for Southern Highlands itself, which the Census Bureau does not list separately in its Enterprise totals. Enterprise CDP’s census profile shows the scale of the southwest valley area.
A Restaurateur's Strip Experience Comes Home
Hawthorne is presented by restaurateur Robert Parekh and friends, according to the restaurant's own website, hawthornelv.com. Parekh told WhatNow he has more than 20 years of experience in the food and beverage industry and has been part of eight restaurant openings. Per the website, Parekh decided to open his own place after overseeing some of the Las Vegas Strip's most successful sports bar concepts.
WhatNow reported that Hawthorne is intended to serve an underserved residential neighborhood. Its plans include food, cocktails and weekly events.
Hawthorne is arriving amid other additions to Southern Highlands’ dining scene. Nudo Italiano, a family-owned neighborhood restaurant from restaurateurs Michael and Jenna Morton, opened there in 2025. The area had been known for high homebuilding growth but a shortage of neighborhood restaurants, a gap Nudo was intended to help address. Nudo’s opening offers a recent comparison for Hawthorne’s effort to bring more dining options closer to residents.
Fish and Chips Meet Kerala-Spiced Fried Chicken
The menu blends traditional pub fare with modern American dishes carrying international flavors. WhatNow reported the kitchen plans scratch-made staples like fish and chips alongside dishes such as Kerala-spiced fried chicken. Per the Review-Journal, the lineup also includes beer-battered cod with hand-cut fries and remoulade coleslaw, a Mediterranean braised lamb sandwich with cucumber, pepperoncini, shallots, tzatziki and brioche, and a charcuterie board featuring three cured meats and artisan cheeses.
Other items on the Review-Journal's rundown include a caramelized onion and tomato flatbread with roasted garlic cream sauce, provolone and chives, and a hot fudge sundae loaded with vanilla ice cream, caramel, peanuts, Oreo crumbles, chocolate and peanut butter chips, toffee, cherries, sprinkles and whipped cream.
Cocktails, TVs and Weekly Trivia
Beyond the kitchen, Hawthorne plans to pour beer, wine and signature cocktails.
The space is also designed around entertainment. The Review-Journal reported that Hawthorne will feature multiple TVs, live music, karaoke and rotating trivia nights. The restaurant's own site promotes weekly events and live entertainment, while WhatNow described an elevated sports-bar experience featuring TVs, live entertainment and audio-visual enhancements.
Karaoke and live music also come with a local permitting requirement: Clark County says liquor establishments must obtain an incidental activity permit before offering live entertainment, and its definition expressly includes karaoke and music. The county’s guidance describes the permit as covering specified entertainment at on-premises liquor establishments; it does not establish whether Hawthorne has obtained one. Clark County’s permit guidance lays out the rule.
According to the Review-Journal, planned hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. More information is available at hawthornelv.com.
