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| - I was tasked to find a venue for dinner for my friend's bachelorette party weekend in Vegas. I have done a lot of research on top restaurants in Las Vegas and I remembered Inyo being one of the restaurants I've read about. It was also recommended to me by a fellow food lover at a restaurant I was dining at last summer. I felt confident about selecting Inyo for our tasting menu dinner party.
I called the owner, Peter, and asked if he would a tasting menu for our large group. He said that he has done tasting menus before and he would email me so we can work together to put a menu together within my budget.
We finally settled on a menu with a total cost of $42 including tax and tip.
The chef at Inyo Variety is Gregg Fortunato who previously had stints as executive chef at Little Buddha at Palms and Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill at the Cosmopolitan. He also opened up an Asian fusion restaurant at a hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi and has worked in the opening team at some locations of the upscale chain, Roy's Restaurant.
With his experience, what you're getting at Inyo is Las Vegas Strip world-class food at off-strip prices.
Inyo has been rated as one of the best restaurants in Las Vegas and I feel is still undiscovered since we were the only ones in the restaurant for the first couple hours.
$42 tasting menu:
Garlic soy butter edamame - Probably the most flavorful preparation of edamame I've ever had.
Japanese street corn - Next level elote. More satisfying than the street corner elote I had recently
Duck jam - Confit drake duck leg "pho flavor" with radish salad and crostini
Smoked foie rinds - Crispy togarashi pork rinds with yuzu honey & shaved smoked foie gras
Octo-cargot - Broiled spanish octopus baked escargot style with garlic, shiro miso and herb butter panko
Bone marrow - Roasted beef bone with truffle red miso, shaved bonito, fried herbs and milk toast
Cauliflower - Chile nam pla & mint
Brussel sprouts - Tosazu sauce & bonito
Wings 3 ways - Thai, Japanese, and Korean chicken wings all with their own very distinct flavor
1) Japanese tebasaki - sweet ginger soy & black pepper
2) Thai chili nam pla - chili, lemon grass, fresh herbs
3) Korean gochugaru - Korean chili flakes, sesame seeds
Yari ika squid - Grilled large imported sashimi grade squid w/ soy butter
Snow crab fried rice - Maitake & soft scrambled egg
Squid ink uni fried rice - Squid leg, usea urchin
Gelato - Green tea chocolate chip, red bean from local gelateria, Gelatology. I could have passed on the red bean flavor. It had a strong earthy flavor that I didn't enjoy too much and neither did my table mates.
We all could not believe we got so much food for $42!
There were more adventurous dishes in there that I wanted to throw in to make it a bit more interesting.
The presentation was beautiful and portions were just right. Peter threw in some new menu items for us to taste such as the octo-scargo and the dishes they are known for such as the wings and yari ika squid. We all left extremely satisfied that evening.
Peter was really attentive ensure our waters were topped off. Great service despite managing our large party on his own.
It's located in Chinatown in a shopping center so there's plenty of parking.
There's a bottle charge if you're planning on bringing wine, but Peter told me that they have reasonable prices for bottles of wine at under $30. They also have the most interesting selection of Japanese craft beer.
To be honest, I enjoyed these inventive and playful dishes more than my meal at Raku at more than half the price. Yes, it's "fusion" which I typically don't like, but with an open mind, I was really pleased with the entire experience. Chef has described what he does is cook utilizing French technique using Asian ingredients.
As Eater Las Vegas mentioned -- "run, don't walk" to Inyo Variety Restaurant. It's still a bit of an unknown spot serving some of the best tasting food in Las Vegas. Great for those willing to leave the strip for in my opinion a better taste of the Las Vegas culinary scene where the chefs and locals eat.
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