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| - Raku is one of the most unique restaurants you will find in Las Vegas. The location is in a small strip-mall in Chinatown, an area west of the strip that has become a sort of hotspot for favorite restaurants of local foodies. Not only is Raku in a very small strip-mall, but it's located in the very back corner of the strip-mall, barely visible from the road. The restaurant is very small, maybe 15 tables at most, and is usually very crowded, so make sure to make reservations.
While I have had one very bad experience here due to the service, I am too loyal to great food to hate this restaurant. I also have had too many great experiences here to let bad service ruin it for me. But nonetheless, this should be an example of how good the food is here. It is what brought me back after that bad experience, and I am glad it did.
The food at Raku is amazing, that's the best way I can put it. The menu mostly consists of different skewers of meats, seafood, and vegetables. All of them are made with the highest quality ingredients, and simply grilled over Japanese charcoal grills. It won't sound fancy, but the flavors are so profound and so noticeable that you will appreciate their simplicity. I have dined at Raku around 10 times now, and have compiled a list of my favorite dishes to get here.
-Yellowtail Carpaccio: Thin slices of raw yellowtail, much like sashimi. My favorite yellowtail comes from Ichiza, but every time I come to Raku, I question if this is my favorite. Either way, it will be some of the best Yellowtail you have ever had, so definitely try it.
-Duck w/ Balsamic Soy
-Foie Gras: some of the best Foie Gras I've ever had, and that's saying a lot.
-Kobe Outside Skirt w/ Garlic: Toasted garlic on top of the very flavorful skirt steak.
-Kobe Beef Filet w/ wasabi: One of the best things on the menu. Fresh wasabi grated on top of the very tender, flavorful Filet. Get this!
-Kurobuta Pork Cheek: Some of the best pork you will eat. The small layers of fat are caramelized perfectly on the grill, creating a lot of great flavor in the meat.
-Lamb Chop
-Yellowtail: simply grilled yellowtail that is very tender, and perfectly cooked. Fish of this quality needs no sauce as it melts in your mouth.
-Salmon: just like the yellowtail, melts in your mouth.
-Chicken breast wrapped in skin: chicken that is wrapped in its own skin and grilled until the skin is crispy.
-Juicy, deep-fried chicken
-Chicken Thigh
There are many other great items, but these are the staple items that I think are a must. The only problem with Raku is that it can get very expensive. The portions of each skewer are not very large, and you will need several to get full. The prices are anywhere from $2 for each chicken thigh skewer to $14 for the Foie Gras. So when you get a lot of these skewers, it can add up. I usually come to Raku for a special occasion, or a time that I am expecting to spend around $50-$75/ person. And to be honest, it could easily end up being $100/ person if you want sake, and they have a very good selection of sake.
Do not bring your own wine in, as they do not allow it, and are very stubborn about not allowing it, as well. Their wine list is terrible, yet for some reason they refuse to have a corkage fee. When we went in one time, they tried to tell us it was illegal, which was clearly a lie because I've brought wine into many restaurants around Las Vegas, including other places in Chinatown. But just know ahead of time to either drink sake, or drink bad wine. They definitely won't let you bring your own.
The service can be very good or very bad. As is the case with many asian restaurants, the service is not very good unless you are asian or a regular. I've had bad service here, and I've had pretty good service here, but service doesn't matter too much as long as I can get my Foie Gras!
And much like most of the other best restaurants in Chinatown, Raku is open very late, until 2 am I believe. So "it's getting late" isn't an excuse not to go here.
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