Nobu Las Vegas

[offTopic]

I just posted this on yelp and gave the restaurant 4/5. Mods, please move to B&M if more appropriate there.

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Nobu would have gotten the 5th star, except for the loud music, and the decidedly non-intimate seating. My wife and I aren't opposed to answering a question about a dish, but when the folks next to you can lean over and check out what you're eating, well...I understand that that's the place's image, but it just keeps it from being a 5-star dining experience, IMO.

We went on a Sunday night at 7:30p. We were seated immediately, and our server brought the drink menus. My wife had the Passion Mojito, and I stuck with a Sapporo because I'm not a huge fan of sake. The drink menu was replaced with the dinner menu, but we were pretty sure we were going to have the Omakase.

There are two basic "levels" of Omakase...each is composed of a mixture of cold dishes, hot dishes, sushi, and dessert. The lower-priced version ($100) contains more traditional dishes, and the higher priced version ($135) was said to be more "exotic". We both opted for the latter. I was trying to listen to the explanation of each dish and then scribble them down, so I likely missed some of the little accompaniments/garnishes.

- Kumamoto Oyster, on the half-shell, with Nobu Salsa
- Sweet Shrimp (sashimi-style, no rice, and no tempura head)
- Some kind of shellfish sashimi-style (either scallop or clam, I'm leaning towards scallop, based on the texture and the menu offerings)
All three of these items were served on the same plate, the latter two with, I think, ponzu sauce. The oyster was pretty large, such that I didn't want to pick the shell up and end up wearing some of it. The sweet shrimp was very rich and quite tasty, and what I'm assuming was the scallop was a little firmer than I would expect, but still very good.

- Kampachi sashimi with kelp and mushroom
Kampachi is one of my favorite fish, and this did not disappoint. The kelp and mushroom, I think, were kept subtle so as not to overpower the fish...you could actually skip the kelp and mushrooms if you were trying to save room for later.

- New-style unagi (lightly seared) layered with shiitake over a bed of tofu, with uni on the side
They have a really good sauce for the uni, because I don't like uni, and this tasted great! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] The unagi was also wonderful when prepared like this, as the meat is very tender, and no powerful marinade.

- Toro salad with vegetable spring roll
I wasn't crazy about the spring roll...I thought it was bland. The toro salad, however, was very good.

- Green tea & Ume sorbet
I guess this was a palate cleanser? I wasn't expecting to get something like this in the middle of the meal. After the server brought it out, I told my wife, "Thank you for dining at Nobu, please come back soon." Anyway, it was not overly sweet, and would be fine as a dessert after a big meal.

- Broiled snapper over risotto with snow crab meat, topped with a white truffle chip
The hot dishes started with a small chunk of snapper that was done pretty much perfectly, no color, but still very juicy. The risotto was OK, nothing special, but the rice went well with the fish.

- Small, sliced, grilled "Kobe" beef tenderloin with Okinawa potatoes served alongside a slice of grilled Japanese eggplant topped with a small piece of grilled foie gras.
I'm going to commit heresy in a bit...I put Kobe in quotes, because I hear a bunch of stories about whether or not Kobe is Kobe, but this tenderloin was done rare, and the potatoes went nicely with it. Great dish. I don't really like eggplant, but this was OK, so they did something right. I'd never had foie gras before, and, well, meh? There, I said it.

- Miso soup with clam
Another break, like the sorbet. It wasn't bad or anything, but I was getting kinda full, so I almost skipped it. (almost).

- Nigiri sampler: Oh Toro, pink snapper, sardine, snow crab, jumbo clam
The clam was fresh and crunchy, but the snow crab was pretty ordinary. This was only the second time I've had sardine nigiri. I like sardine under other circumstances, but for sushi, I think it's just too oily? I couldn't tell the difference between the pink snapper and, say, fresh tai, but it was very firm and tasty. My wife told me the Oh Toro was awful and that I should consider letting her eat it for me, as she didn't want it to ruin my dinner. I love her very much, but in matters of sushi, she is not to be trusted. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Try the Oh Toro.

- Blancmange (yogurt, in this case) over almond crisp, pomegranate seeds, and assorted frozen berries.
Full. I almost had to pass on dessert (almost). Again, not overly sweet, which is a plus in my book, and the berries and almond crisp combined very well.

The service was tremendous, as the restaurant has a large waitstaff, so dishes are cleared away promptly, but we were not rushed. Our section filled up towards the latter half of the meal, but the staff were able to keep up with no problems.

If you're a fan of this type of Japanese food, check it out - it's pricey, but you're in Vegas, so live a little!

[DeezNuts]

I usually just get the usual: black cod/jalapeno yellowtail/rock shrimp/assorted sushi when I go to Nobu or Matsuhisa, but I will definitely try the Omakase next time!

DN

[dknightx]

i went about a month ago.

the black cod is great, the best dish there without a doubt.
jalapeno yellowtail is excellent as well.
the rock shrimp was so-so ... got a lot more than i expected though, which was good. I didn't really like the sauce that much.

We didn't go with omakase, and just order al la carte ... which included 4 pieces of toro sushi. It was definitely good, but not sure if it was worth the $15 a piece price tag.

[Tennenbaum]

I went once in July, unfortunately it was very late (close to closing) and I wasnt feeling very well so I didnt have anything but water and a Captain and Coke.

If I ever get back to Vegas, I'm definitely hitting Nobu up again.

[KyleC]

Kobe beef is wagyu cattle a bit larger then your average cow and takes 4 times longer to mature (a big reason why the cost is so high). A majority of the kobe beef you'd eat in Japan is bred here in the United States due to the small size of Japan. Basically what you eat is actually kobe beef, but they have to call it American style or whatever because it isn't butchered in Japan. It's just like dijon mustard, you can't call it Dijon mustard unless its made in the dijon region in France, but Dijon style mustard tastes the same. So basically the kobe beef you had is real kobe beef the cattle gets the same diet and is treated the same as the cattle would in Japan.

[2Fast]

I always go there when I'm in town and it's never disappointed so far.

[italianstang]

Good report, thank you, I am a sushi aficionado but have never made it to Nobu but definitely looking forward to it.

[Duke]

OP: I recall Nobu Las Vegas as being far more spread out than the hole in NYC. Is it also crammed together now?

[DeezNuts]

[ QUOTE ]
OP: I recall Nobu Las Vegas as being far more spread out than the hole in NYC. Is it also crammed together now?

[/ QUOTE ]

God I hate that seating where you are basically right next to the table next to you. I realize it allows them to fit more people, but when I see that I just want to turn around and leave.

DN

[El Diablo]

OP: Excellent review. I love Nobu LV. However, I always recommend people go alacarte over the omikase. Their hot dishes are the real standouts (except for the jalapeno yellowtail) and there's really little reason to get any regular sushi there, it's not better than any other good sushi place. I've made a couple of indepth posts re: Nobu in the past if anyone wants to search. However, yellowtail jalapeno, rock shrimp tempura w/ spicy cream sauce, and black cod miso are definite highlights. A couple of the other cooked fish dishes (black bean sea bass, toro rosa) and the tartars are also great.

Duke: Nobu LV is still more spread out than Nobu NYC or London.

Kyle: There have been extensive threads here and in B&M re: "Kobe" beef, but there are a couple of add'l factors besides what you mention - the diet and care of the cows. Plenty of websites go into extensive detail on this stuff. Summary: What you can get as "Kobe" beef covers a very wide range of stuff.