WAKUDA
Restaurant · South Las Vegas ·
Japanese fine dining with omakase, sushi, wagyu, and sake
Japanese fine dining with omakase, sushi, wagyu, and sake
"In The Venetian’s Palazzo Tower, Tetsuya Wakuda channels Shinjuku’s buzz into a playground where traditional and contemporary Japanese techniques meet impeccable ingredients—Japanese seafood and beef, New Zealand Ora King salmon, Tasmanian oysters, Canadian lobsters. I book the main room for a splurgy night, but insiders jockey for the hidden omakase room to pair rare Japanese whisky and small‑batch sake with up to 15 courses of the chef’s choosing." - Andrea Bennett
"After a dinner of tuna and cucumber rolls, miso seabass, and rich Wagyu steak, dessert at Wakuda calls for something light and fluffy. The kakigōri delivers on both fronts. A bowl of delicate shaved ice enrobes a scoop of fruity sorbet. The ice is covered in fruit puree, a super soft and almost liquid form of chewy mochi, and sweet milk syrup. A cloud of cotton candy hovers above the whole thing — poised for pinching off tufts between bites of icy and barely sweet kakigōri." - Janna Karel
"Celebrated Australia-based chef Tetsuya Wakuda opened his first-ever Vegas restaurant a few years ago at the Venetian Resort, where he serves striking modern Japanese lounge dishes in an exuberantly-designed space. Think sushi and rolls with top-notch fish and seasonal offerings from around the world, like fatty tuna and scallion rolls or Canadian lobster ceviche. Larger items like sakura pork cutlet katsu and king crab tempura served with a yuzu kosho vinaigrette work as more substantial mains while a Patagonian toothfish (also known as Chilean seabass) miso comes right out of the Nobu playbook. Wakuda has a six-course and nine-course tastings in case its expansive menu has too many options. —Matthew Kang, lead editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest For those in the know: While the main dining room has some pricey dishes, the happy hour up front has some reasonably priced bites like jidori chicken nuggets and spicy tuna crispy rice to pair with solid cocktails." - Matthew Kang
"Award-winning chef Tetsuya Wakuda’s namesake restaurant at the Venetian Resort is already an excellent choise for quality sushi. But the Omakase Room is tucked behind an inconspicuous passageway, where you can find an exclusive $500 omakase experience." - Janna Karel
"Wakuda marks the first U.S. restaurant for award-winning chef Tetsuya Wakuda. Discover expertly crafted bites of sushi, a luxurious omakase experience, plus 100 different sakes and cocktails. During Social Hours — 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, sushi rolls start at $15, desserts like kakigori with candy floss go for $25, and cocktails like a lychee martini start at $14." - Janna Karel