Wakuda — Restaurant Review | Condé Nast Traveler
"Global culinary superpower Tetsuya Wakuda, whose Tetsuya’s is legendary in Sydney, Australia, and whose Waku Ghin at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore garnered him two Michelin stars, opened Wakuda this year in The Venetian Resort’s Palazzo Tower. He bypassed other cities for his US debut, choosing Vegas for its buzzy energy that reminded him of the Shinjuku area of Tokyo—and inspired the restaurant. This is his playground for blending traditional and contemporary Japanese cuisine using the ultimate ingredients from around the world: Japanese seafood and beef, New Zealand Ora King Salmon, Tasmanian oysters, and Canadian lobsters. The Rockwell Group created a lounge with prints by Shohei Otomi executed entirely in ballpoint pen, and a dining room of rough stone and wood surfaces and soaring wood ceilings, presided over by two sumo wrestler sculptures. A reservation in the main room is a splurgy occasion, but insiders are jockeying for one of the few seats in the hidden omakase room, where they sample rare Japanese whisky and small-batch sake along with their meal—up to 15 courses of Wakuda’s choice." - Andrea Bennett
