Amex just opened its first Sidecar by the Centurion Lounge at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, and it’s a genuine shift in how the company thinks about lounge space. Rather than building another sprawling Centurion Lounge, Amex went small and focused — 33 seats, restaurant-style table service, and a 90-minute departure window for entry.
What Is Sidecar by the Centurion Lounge?
Sidecar is a new express lounge concept from American Express, designed for cardmembers who don’t have hours to kill at the airport. The first location opened on March 4, 2026, at LAS, making it the 32nd outpost in the Centurion Lounge network.
The concept grew out of Amex’s own data showing that a large share of Centurion Lounge visitors stay for an hour or less. Rather than forcing those travelers into a full-sized lounge they barely use, Sidecar offers a compact, speakeasy-inspired space with made-to-order food and craft cocktails.
If this sounds familiar, it should. Capital One launched its own table-service lounge restaurants, called Capital One Landings, at LaGuardia and Reagan National in late 2024. Amex is clearly responding to that playbook, though Sidecar is even smaller and more tightly focused on the quick-visit traveler.
It’s also worth noting that Las Vegas was home to the very first Centurion Lounge back in 2013, so there’s some symmetry in launching this new concept here.
What to Expect Inside
At just 1,500 square feet with 33 seats, Sidecar is easily the smallest space in the Centurion Lounge network. The design leans into a desert-oasis theme with green tiles, lush plants, and neutral desert tones, all tucked behind a curved door with gold trim. Inside, you’ll find brass lighting fixtures, an antique mirror, vintage Las Vegas photography, and plush seating that make it feel more like a tucked-away cocktail bar than an airport lounge.
Seating consists of bar seats, tables, and booths along the wall. There are no large tables, so this space works best for solo travelers or pairs. Families and groups will want to stick with the main Centurion Lounge down the hall.
Food and Drinks
This is where Sidecar genuinely differentiates itself. There’s no buffet, no self-service drink station, and no coffee bar. Instead, you’re seated and order through a QR code powered by Toast, with servers delivering everything to your table. All dishes are made to order with a target of eight minutes from order to plate.
The menu is curated by James Beard Award-winning chefs through The Culinary Collective by the Centurion Lounge and rotates monthly. At launch, the lineup includes a crushed cucumber salad with crispy rice pearls, avocado toast with schug labneh and black sesame seeds, mushroom and mustard greens egg bites with black garlic aioli, chicken parmesan sliders, mini lobster rolls, parmesan truffle fries, and a mini charcuterie plate. For dessert, there’s an espresso martini panna cotta and a Meyer lemon posset.
Breakfast is served from 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM and features items like an acai bowl, egg bites, cranberry chicken sausage links, and the avocado toast. The namesake Sidecar cocktail — cognac, Cointreau, and lemon — anchors a drink menu that also includes small-production wines and nonalcoholic beverages intentionally paired with the food.
Multiple early visitors have praised the food quality, particularly the cucumber salad and avocado toast. For what it’s worth, I’d consider the restaurant-style experience a meaningful upgrade over the standard Centurion Lounge buffet, though the lack of any grab-and-go option feels like a miss for travelers who are truly sprinting to a gate.
Amenities
Keep your expectations modest here. Sidecar has two private restrooms, power outlets and USB ports throughout, and complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi. That’s it — no showers, no family room, no phone room, and no lounger-style seating. For a space designed around visits of an hour or less, that tradeoff makes sense.
Location and Hours
Sidecar sits near gate D1 in Concourse D at LAS, tucked by the escalators down to the tram. It’s less than a five-minute walk from the existing Centurion Lounge, which is directly across from gate D1. Having both lounges steps apart is genuinely convenient — if one has a waitlist, you can try the other.
The lounge is open daily from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM Pacific Time. For comparison, the main Centurion Lounge at LAS opens at 5:00 AM and closes at 11:00 PM, so early-morning and late-night travelers will need to use the larger lounge instead.
How to Get In
Access requires the same cards that get you into any Centurion Lounge:
- American Express Platinum Card
- The Business Platinum Card from American Express
- Centurion Card from American Express
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card (same-day Delta flight required)
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business American Express Card (same-day Delta flight required)
The key difference is timing. Sidecar only admits cardmembers with a boarding pass for a flight departing within 90 minutes, compared to the three-hour window at standard Centurion Lounges. You’ll also need a government-issued ID.
Guests aren’t included automatically. You’ll need to meet the $75,000 annual spending threshold on your eligible card or pay a guest fee of $50 per adult or $30 per child ages 2 through 17. All guests must be traveling on the same flight.
During busy periods, a digital waitlist will be available through the Amex app. One thing to keep in mind: you can only be on one waitlist at a time, so you’ll have to choose between Sidecar and the Centurion Lounge rather than hedging your bets on both.
How Sidecar Compares to the Centurion Lounge at LAS
With both lounges steps apart in Concourse D, you’ll naturally wonder which one to visit. The answer depends on what you’re after.
Sidecar wins on food quality. The made-to-order small plates are a step above the standard Centurion buffet, and the restaurant-style service makes the experience feel more intentional. If you’re traveling solo or as a pair and just want a great bite and a well-made drink before your flight, Sidecar is the better pick.
The main Centurion Lounge wins on everything else. It’s significantly larger, has a buffet with more variety, offers a phone room and an ice cream cart, and allows entry up to three hours before departure. If you’re traveling with a group, need to get work done, or have a long layover, the Centurion Lounge is still your best option.
Both lounges may have waitlists during peak times, and the 33-seat capacity at Sidecar means waits could be a real issue — especially with no reservation system in place.
The Verdict
Sidecar by the Centurion Lounge is a smart, focused concept that fills a real gap for cardmembers who want quality over quantity during short airport stops. The restaurant-style food is a genuine differentiator, and the intimate space feels like a welcome departure from crowded lounge buffets. The obvious concern is capacity — 33 seats with no reservation system at one of the busiest airports in the country will test this concept quickly. I’ll be watching to see whether Amex can manage the flow or if waitlists become the norm.
Have you had a chance to visit the new Sidecar lounge in Vegas, or are you planning to check it out on your next trip?
