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| - Yellowtail will not overly impress traditional sushi aficionados but for the jetset, it will make for a good change of scenery from Nobu at the HRH for those used to that sort of dining environment. There are however a fair number of reasons why you might put this on your itinerary for your next Vegas trip:
1) "NOBU" FOR ADULTS
The décor, the atmosphere, the music, the attractive hostesses... even many of the dishes are blatent clones of Nobu's aesthetic. Some of Nobu's more famous plates like "tuna tataki" have been adapted to "yellowtail tataki". Some dishes served, like Nobu's Toro Tartar, are available as flat out Xeroxed, down to the caviar accenting & ume plum garnish.
That being said, there are some improvements over Nobu that aren't hard to miss:
--- CROWD: The clientele are of a, uh, higher caliber. Being at the Bellagio makes Yellowtail a target for business dinners & younger committed couples. This is by design, according to a friend who works there.
--- BAR: The bar is very large & active, not to attract singles but to provide respite for individuals waiting for their tables. There are 14 first-come-first-served 'bar tables' that you can just jump on & get served at. And again, since it's at the Bellagio, you'll find it easier to dodge the patented HRH skanks & douchebags.
--- SERVICE: There is a very strict code of service at Yellowtail where "everyone on the waitstaff is held responsible for any customer's satisfaction". They have "secret shoppers" go through often to ensure service levels & with the exception of really busy days, this should shine through.
--- VIEW: Call for the 'window view' reservations FAR in advance & you'll have a spectacular view of the Bellagio fountains & the Eiffel Tower at Paris.
2) NOUVEAU JAPANESE DISHES
Like most "trendy" sushi restaurants, the Yellowtail menu has both traditional as well as avant garde dishes to satisfy any age palette. Yellowtail didn't hold back in duplicating the "Hot Dish/Cold Dish" menu orientation of Nobu, & why should they? It works & is immensely profitable.
A few notes:
--- ROCK SHRIMP: Overly soaked in a cream thai hot sauce that mimics the ludicrous over-saucing of many of today's Americanized sushi "rolls". Similar to a finger foods version of a "911 roll", this undoubtedly is a huge moneymaker w/ its cheap ingredients but familiar flavors.
--- TORO TARTAR: An poor clone of Nobu's more famous dishes, this is disappointingly salty. The soy sauce concoction that the minced toro w/ caviar sits in lacks the savory nature of Nobu's dish because they forgot the bonito stock. As a result, its got a salty bite & at $39, it's as they say: EPIC FAIL.
--- SUSHI: The salmon & mackerel were fairly good. Fresh, select, cut correctly, & in good proportions. The sweet shrimp were actually live amaebi surprisingly. The deep fried head however was served luke warm, but it was also a pregnant shrimp providing a good amount of roe to accent the head & that sort of made up for it. I expected the toro & the yellowtail to be good considering how much they must serve at the restaurant.
Rock Shrimp/Creamy spicy sauce: 3/5
Toro Tartar: 3/5
Salmon: 4/5
Spanish Mackerel: 4/5
Sweet Shrimp: 5/5
Sweet Shrimp head: 4/5
Toro: 4/5
Yellowtail: 4/5
3) SAKE MENU
Yellowtail has a fairly good sake menu that is price-designed very well to direct people to the cheaper high-margin Jokigen. As a result, don't be surprised if it's "out of stock" as a result.
--- BEWARE THE SAKE 'SWITCH'
Don't order an expensive 'carafe' of sake if you don't know what you're doing. I received a tokkuri of sake - the Mukune, which I've had many times before. They serve the Junmai Ginjoshu which is dry & a little earthy but still lightly fragrant. What was given to me was none of the above, making it either a) not Mukune or b) very old. To the wait staff's surprise, I demanded that they bring out the sake bottle. Not surprisingly, they chose not to & instead brought out a completely new unopened bottle of Mukune. The bottle's production date was 9/08 & lo-and-behold, the flavor was greatly improved from the first.
--- EXPERT'S HINT: If you order a 'carafe' of sake, request that your sake be served in a 'tokkuri' or ceramic flask COLD & have them bring out the bottle at Yellowtail. And most importantly, do not let them pour it into those bamboo shoots - it distorts & changes the flavor.
CONCLUSION:
For the strip, this is about as good as you're going to get. There's better in Vegas, but not by much.
4-stars.
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NOTE:
Yellowtail does not have the "most comprehensive sake menu in Vegas". That award goes to Okada & Shibuya, as any sake distributor will confirm.
And as for the dude that recommended "the sushi bar inside Caesar's Palace (next to Cleopatra's Barge)" over Yellowtail, that place is called "Hyakumi". It has an all-you-can-eat sushi deal during lunch if that tells you anything. [shakes head]
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