Yellowtail in Las Vegas is inside the Bellagio Hotel, one of the most prestigious addresses in the city. It’s a Japanese inspired restaurant serving sushi and other Oriental style cuisine. Out trip so far had exposed us to a lot that the city has to offer, so hopes were high about this visit.
I’m glad to say we weren’t disappointed. The place is amazing. The décor is sleek, chic and manages to mix traditional with contemporary very cleverly. It’s obvious that a lot of time, money and effort went in to planning and executing the Yellowtail. It’s a nice place to be.
"With excellent service, nice surroundings and great food, we would definitely visit again"
The service was also worthy of note. We had seen a mixture of service levels while in the US, everything from elitist disdain to fawning falseness, and we had just about had our fill. So it was nice to be greeted and seated with genuine politeness, pleasantness and to see staff who genuinely seemed happy in their work.
We later heard that the restaurant will be receiving an award for their customer service. I can well believe it. Good service is such a fundamental thing, it’s just a shame many places get it so wrong. In my mind, the Yellowtail is now the new benchmark with which all others will be judged.
The seating area is light and spacious. There are a lot of tables, but there also seemed to be plenty of space between them. The wood and stone décor sets an earthy tone that is both fashionable and classy at the same time.
When we arrived, we had a few minutes wait so we were escorted to the bar for a pre-dinner drink. We had a Fiji and a lychee cocktail. We weren’t in the mood for a sake right then. The cocktails were done really well, the barman knows their stuff. We had time for another cocktail while we waited for our table, so we ordered a cucumber essence. Cucumber in a cocktail works better than you might imagine!
When we were seated, our server presented the menus and talked us through it. It was a nice touch, even though we knew most of the dishes, he offered advice when prompted and recommendations when asked. We were really impressed.
I know I have said it before, but I’m still amazed that we’re so far from the sea, yet we get seafood that tastes as fresh as this. It tasted as though it had just been caught, it was delicious.
Main course consisted of Jidori chicken and a ribeye steak with a side of potato puree and Brussel sprouts. Despite being a renowned sushi restaurant, we were more in the mood for meat. Jidori means “chicken of the earth,” which is basically a free range chicken. It was served with baby root vegetables, potato puree, and garlic cream. The ribeye was a 16 oz. vintage served with Kizami-wasabi butter.
Both were mouth wateringly amazing. The chicken was just cooked, leaving it tender, juicy and utterly delicious. The steak was exactly the same. Cooked to perfection, pink in the middle and juicy as anything. Both were a delight to the palate and left us glad we went meat instead of sushi.
We rounded off the meal with another couple of cocktails, a shi-so sunset and an aviation. Both offered a light, tangy end to a delightful meal. One we would be glad to repeat. With excellent service, nice surroundings and great food, we would definitely visit again.
The Bill: £130 per head
