Two-Michelin-Star Chef Opens Restaurant at The Venetian Resort.
In the heart of the bustling Las Vegas Strip, WAKUDA is a new Japanese fine dining concept reimagining the noble art of Japanese cuisine. Helmed by world-renowned, two-Michelin-star chef Tetsuya Wakuda and entrepreneur John Kunkel of 50 Eggs Hospitality, WAKUDA’s menus put a playful, refined spin on traditional cooking, elevating the highest-quality ingredients from Chef Tetsuya’s choice vendors around the globe through a heightened sensory experience of flavors, textures, and aesthetics.
Sleek and sprawling, award-winning architecture and design firm Rockwell Group ideated a space that evokes the Shinjuku Golden Gai district of Tokyo; with its paper lanterns, neon glow, and an installation of cherry blossoms, guests are immediately immersed in the world of WAKUDA. Enter through a rounded entrance in the Palazzo Lobby at The Venetian Resort, then wind your way through each experience WAKUDA has to offer from the buzzy cocktail lounge where guests sit and sip in the lounge’s neon glow, surrounded by the famed ballpoint drawings of Japanese artist, Shohei Otomo, enjoying bites from a limited menu of WAKUDA’s best-selling starters and rolls; the lounge is host to DJs from around the world, playing weekend sets for guests into the evening hours. From the lounge, guests can step out onto the restaurant’s vast terrace offering unparalleled views of the Strip. In the main dining room, two larger-than-life sumo statues - also by Shohei Otomo - anchor the space, here guests can enjoy an izakaya-style meal at the chef’s sushi counter and watch WAKUDA’s skilled culinary team prepare the night’s meals behind a glass-enclosed kitchen.
WAKUDA’s beverage program boasts a selection of elegant global wines, a curation of the best Old World vintages, and eclectic New World wines. The focus of WAKUDA’s beverage program, however, is the variety of nearly 100 different sakes, a list overseen by chef Tetsuya Wakuda and his affinity for the liquid that has earned him the elusive distinction of Sake Samurai. Another facet, a menu of craft cocktails ideated by head mixologist, Daniel Yang; an alum of illustrious beverage industry veterans, Yang curates an irreverent list of reimagined classic cocktails infused with Japanese flavors and Yang’s signature flair.
Past the main dining room, the restaurant’s winding halls take you to the Secret Bar, Secret Omakase (opening soon), and private dining rooms; here guests enjoy a selection of hand-picked rare and vintage spirits, sourced by WAKUDA’s head mixologist alongside a premium, multi-course menu of the freshest, seasonal ingredients, flown in from markets around the world. Served over a long oak bar by a team of chefs hand-picked by chef Wakuda, WAKUDA’s Omakase experience is the most unique and refined of its kind in Las Vegas.
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