Other Mama
The chalkboard at Other Mama carries the day's fish and oysters, and the locals order off it instead of the menu.
Why go
Dan Krohmer cooks sushi, seafood and dishes rooted in Japan in a strip mall on South Durango Drive, across from Desert Breeze Park.12 Johnathan L. Wright puts what it has achieved in local terms: Other Mama draws nearby locals, residents from across the valley and tourists from the Strip — no small accomplishment considering Vegas traffic and the competitive restaurant scene.
1 Eater describes a raw bar and a counter built to watch the cooking from, with small plates of deviled eggs topped with crispy oysters and French toast caviar
getting the attention.2 That caviar dish has a history: Emmy Kasten says it started off as one of those chalkboard specials and proved so popular they landed a full-time spot on the menu.
3
Order this / avoid
- Order: off the chalkboard first, which is where the daily catch is.3
- Order: the French toast caviar, and Kasten is firm about it:
don't you dare leave before destroying the French toast caviar.
3 - Order: some of the rotating oysters broiled.1
- Order: the way Joshua Smith does, by handing the decision over:
Order a tuna tartare or poke and then tell him to pick the rest for you.
4 - Avoid: staying on the printed menu. The fish moves faster than it does.
What locals & experts say
- Joshua Smith, executive chef at Bardot Brasserie (2016):
The place is super clean, the product is the freshest in town, the value is insane.
4 - Emmy Kasten, The Infatuation Las Vegas:
Other Mama's rolls and sashimi are so fresh that you'll forget that you're in a desert strip mall—and you'll wonder why anyone would want to cook their fish.
3 - Eater Vegas, on who eats there:
The industry-favorite restaurant offers a fairly modest interior.
2
Good to know
- The bar overlooks the cooking, which is the seat to ask for if you are eating alone.2
- It is a drive from the Strip, out on the west side, and Wright counts that as part of what the room has overcome.1
- The room is decorated with the chef's own collection of treasures and trinkets.3
- The chef's praise on this page is from 2016, and nothing I have read since says who works the pass now.
Verdict
should-visit — The chalkboard is the menu that matters here, and everyone who writes the room up says the same thing: order the daily catch off it and let the kitchen decide the rest. Take a seat at the bar and watch the work. The French toast caviar started as a chalkboard special and got popular enough to stay. Joshua Smith of Bardot Brasserie called the product the freshest in town and the value insane, in 2016.