One of the Most Exclusive Experiences in Vegas Is Now Open — Japanese Cuisine by Omae

Japanese Cuisine By Omae
Address: 3650 S. Decatur Blvd.
Phone: 702-966-8080
Status: Open for reservations at lunch only; dinner coming

Now you can have one of the most exclusive meals in Las Vegas with a Michelin-starred chef who chose to bring his cuisine off-Strip. Meet Japanese Cuisine by Omae, the new restaurant from Takeshi Omae, whose Omae XEX in Tokyo received Michelin stars twice.

Japanese Cuisine by Omae [Photo: Susan Stapleton]

For now, the 12-seat restaurant is only open for a three-course lunch, a tour of Japanese comfort foods that starts with a triple-layered vegetable soup, a heady experience with a first layer of seven vegetables pureed together, then a brown soy sauce paste topped with an egg whites and sake third layer. Dip deep in the bowl to get a taste of all three layers combined or try them individually. Each brings a different sensation.

The second course is a petite assorted appetizer, a carefully arranged vegetable and shrimp dish served in a massive red bowl. Edamame with sweetened miso, yuzo-flavored shrimp, Japanese yum potato and deep-fried lotus arrive, each with subtle yet sophisticated flavors.

The third course is a choice between three dishes. A chicken rice omelet features white steamed rice sautéed with catsup, onions, green peppers, chicken, bacon and mushrooms, a typical Japanese comfort dish. The tonkotsu ramen noodle soup is wok charred and the most savory of the three. The black curry over seasoned rice rounds out the choices is perhaps one of the most subtle curries out there.

Japanese Cuisine by Omae [Photo: Susan Stapleton]

The flavors here are very refined and sophisticated, subtle in that no one ingredient overpowers the others. Omae spent two days preparing the dishes for this menu. All goes for $20, a relative steal.

Omae, who cooks in the kitchen and doesn't just have his name on the door, plans to change out some of the dishes about every two weeks. A burger is one of the new menu items teased.

For now, the restaurant has three seatings at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., so reservations are mandatory. Another note: The restaurant closes June 30 through July 14 while Omae travels to Japan. Lunch service resumes July 15, and hopefully by Sept. 1, Omae will have a liquor license so he can open his evening kaiseki experience with multiple courses, a completely different experience from the lunch.

Koi at Japanese Cuisine by Omae [Photo: Susan Stapleton]

The tiny restaurant is decked out with black marble on the floor and tabletops, a purple ceiling and white leather high-back booths, four in all. Kimonos serve as decor here, with a koi pond stocked with $85,000 in fish (five total) next to one of the booths.

And do make a trip to the bathroom to experience the washlet with its oscillating water features. Yes, the seat can be heated.
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