Raku
Raku runs its robata until one in the morning, which is when the cooks who have just finished their own shifts turn up.
Why go
John Curtas dates the whole corridor off this room: Mitsuo Endo's intimate izakaya sparked a revolution when it opened in January, 2008 — igniting a demand for sophisticated Japanese cooking on an avenue previously known for bubble tea, mochi, and moo goo gai pan.
1 Competitors followed and he says none of them took the crown.1 Emmy Kasten gives the mechanism: They import binchotan charcoal and condiments directly from Japan, and you can often find other chefs and hospitality workers eating here late.
2 Both tasting menus open with tofu made in the house, then run through mixed appetizers, sashimi, grilled meats and a daily fish.2 Joshua Smith, who cooks at Bardot Brasserie, puts one dish above everything else he eats in Las Vegas.3
Order this / avoid
- Order: the premium or deluxe omakase, and call three days out for it. Kasten: it
is the best way to have a meal here.
2 - Order: the poached egg. Joshua Smith:
The poached egg dish, on the other hand, isn't just good, it's my favorite dish in the entire city!
3 - Order: off the robata, which is what the imported charcoal is for.2
- Avoid: arriving on the night and expecting the tasting menu. It wants three days' notice.2
What locals & experts say
- John Curtas, Eating Las Vegas: The 52 Essential Restaurants (2023):
It also spawned a number of competitors, none of which have managed to knock it off its crown as the Nipponese king of Spring Mountain.
1 - Joshua Smith, executive chef at Bardot Brasserie:
There are several dishes I love at Raku and can't visit without ordering a little too much. I've never been unpleasantly surprised.
3 - Emmy Kasten, The Infatuation Las Vegas:
Raku is one of the top Japanese restaurants in Vegas, with a menu of oden recipes and robata cooking.
2
Good to know
- Three rooms in this city carry the Raku name. This is the izakaya at 5030 Spring Mountain Road. Casa de Raku, the Spanish room, is next door at 5040 and is the one the Review-Journal's Top 100 carries.51
- The kitchen runs until one in the morning, every night.2
- Mitsuo Endo has been a James Beard Award finalist, which the Review-Journal notes on his Spanish room.5
- The sake list is long and Kasten says to pair the tasting menu off it.2
Verdict
should-visit — Mitsuo Endo opened this izakaya in January 2008 on a stretch of Spring Mountain Road known for bubble tea, and every serious Japanese kitchen out there came after it. The charcoal and the condiments come in from Japan and the room runs until one in the morning, which is why cooks finishing their own shifts eat here. Joshua Smith of Bardot Brasserie calls the poached egg his favourite dish in the city. Call three days ahead for the premium or deluxe omakase, which starts with tofu made in the house.