WAKUDA — Restaurant in Paradise

As a high end / innovative sushi fan (have dined at 5 different NOBU locations) I was really looking forward to trying WAKUDA as part of my Venetian hotel / Sphere Friday opening night concert / luxury dinner package. I (over)paid $230 in advance for a special U2-themed 5-course + 1 cocktail meal, which everyone seated around me ordered as well, meaning this was a mass catering style menu system of the exact same 5 dishes meaning the kitchen knows well in advance exactly what has to be made, how many and at what precise reservation times. For some reason though, my first course alone took over 45 minutes to be served. But not before my "Lemon" themed cocktail took 30 minutes to be made by the sole bartender (was totally bitter tasting and way too syrupy, so I sent it back and ordered a pina colada sake drink instead which actually tasted really good but of course I was charged extra for that even though I sent back my first drink). Back to the first course though: Canadian Lobster appetizer. Was good and a substantial portion, but nothing special flavor wise, although this may have been my favorite dish by default. An hour in, my second course finally arrived: Big Eye Tuna Tataki Salad. Again, completely average. The tuna cubes texture was somewhat gummy and the dressing was unremarkable as well. Third course: beef tenderloin with honey yakitori sauce. Meat was cooked well, but sauce was lacking any real unique flavor. Fourth course: Chef's Selection sushi + rolls (plural). Considering this is supposedly a premium sushi restaurant, this was the most disappointing dish of all. I was served two pieces of standard salmon and tuna sushi, nothing luxurious like toro. Along with half a roll (3 small slices) of something so uninspiring I don't even remember if it was a California roll or tempura shrimp. Overall this was barely better than what you can buy at a Whole Foods. Fifth and final course: Miso Ice Cream (dusted with gold flakes). Tasted pretty good, although pre-made soft serve is admittedly pretty hard to screw up. UPDATE: the restaurant's photos of this dessert show it being covered in gold foil almost as if it was dipped. All I got were a few tiny specks, not flakes, SPECKS, so now I'm even more pissed which I didn't think was possible. NOTE 1: A full hour before my 4th course sushi arrived, I asked for real wasabi to enjoy with it, which the waiter told me would be $25. It's only $5 back in Chicago at my favorite high end sushi place there, but okay fine whatever it's a special night so I said okay. Never received it. NOTE 2: I actually had purchased two dinner packages in advance, but my guest's flight was delayed and didn't arrive in time for dinner. I stopped by the restaurant an hour and half before my dinner reservation and asked the head hostess if I could either receive a refund for the second pre-paid dinner or if I could just drink $230 worth of premium sake. She said no problem, we'll do the sake option. When I told the waiter this during my meal, he said the manager said no. Which was just icing on this non-cake of a place. All they care about is making money in exchange for serving substandard sushi and overcharging for the lobby's artistic ambiance. NOTE 3: My waiter apologized to the table of four next to me for the same "subpar service" but not to me. About the only thing WAKUDA got right was not asking for gratuity since that was already included in the...

I am not one to leave reviews, but I am compelled to leave one for Wakuda because this could be the best meal we've ever had. We got one of the first reservations on grand opening day and the experience we received more than exceeded our expectations. Everything from the decor, service, food, and drinks was top notch. Staff was well trained. Our server, Charlie, provided courteous and attentive service throughout our meal. Here is what we ordered: Japanese eggplant, shishito peppers, chicken wings, New Zealand salmon salad, four types of nigiri sushi with fresh wasabi, and vegetable and seafood tempura. The sushi was the cleanest and freshest sushi we have ever tasted, and we've been to quite a few sushi restaurants. My favorite dish was the eggplant because it's delicate and superbly prepared, followed by the tempura, which was filling. For drinks we ordered Competent, a bottle of Ten Shi Love, and Shiso-Hito. All were very delicious, but my favorite was Shiso-Hito because it's a taste you don't really get elsewhere. We were pretty full after all this food, but we couldn't pass up the deserts. We got the house special miso ice cream, which tasted like sea salt caramel ice cream, and Terrine, which is made with red beans and macha custard. The deserts provided a satisfying finish to our wonderful meal.

Our bill came to $400 after tips. I would say this was worth every cent for the quality we received. The only picture I took was of the deserts because I wanted to fully enjoy this experience. We have had many fancy meals, especially in Las Vegas, but Wakuda provided a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us. We look forward to our next visit.

Edit: We had our second visit recently in late August with a friend. I'm leaving the review at 5 stars, but it was really more 4.5 for us. We wanted to try cold soba this time around, but were disappointed that it was not available due to truffle being out of season (I would've been fine with a truffle-free version since I'm not a truffle fan). At the end of the meal, we were disappointed again that the red bean desert we loved is now off the menu. Perhaps it's too authentic for this town, but it was perfect for us. The excitement from the grand opening was subdued substantially, but the service was still top-notchly attentive. It was still overall an excellent meal. We will probably give it another try after some time has passed to see how this...

WAKUDA!!! First, I'd like to thank the Assistant GM at CHICA (sister restaurant), Justin, for recommending and getting us a table at this euphoric experience giving restaurant. My experience here left me SPEACHLESS! (Look at the pictures - you'll understand 😉) We were greeted by two of the most informative, fun, and kind individuals when we walked in. I believe one of the Assistant GMs and the other was a gorgeous energy boosting woman (loved her red curly hair); I'm terribly sorry for not remembering their names. (I'll make sure to remember the next time.) They informed us of the restaurant's art style, flow, and ambiance. Their art is absolutely gorgeous - so much so- it makes you forget you're in a Vegas hotel and transports you to a chic Japanese restaurant in Japan. They took us through this beautiful hallway filled with art and "hideaway" corners leading to a speakeasy/modern style bar - followed by the main dining room. Everything from the comfortable tables to the gorgeous marble sumo wrestlers was stunning! Let's talk food, drinks, and service! I'm slowly convincing myself this was not all a dream. First and foremost, the quality of the food reflects in the price, but it's SOOO worth it if you're able to swing the bill. Our AMAZING server, Aria, was so well-versed in the menu, we instilled our trust in her to curate our dinner. Everyone was so accommodating and knowledgeable- how could you not trust them... After she got to know us and our taste palette, she asked for a price range (willing to spend) and crafted a meal of a lifetime. The cocktails we started off with was art for my mouth with bursts of scents and unexpected flavors that complimented each other so well. (Yuzu Tomi all the way!) The wide variety of fish was impressive. Each dish I had practically melted in my mouth because of how clean and amazingly prepared it was. Their Wagu and Sake (per my partner) was so smooth and heavenly that we needed a moment of silence after it was gone. Each piece of sushi and sashimi they brought was like bitting into a little slice of heaven. All in all, WAKUDA, you delivered an experience that I will forever hold in my memory, and I can't wait to come back and experience it again. For those on the fence - let this review be the one that pushes you into their front door....