EATING LAS VEGAS – The 50 Essential Restaurants – Number Eight

8. KABUTO EDOMAE SUSHI

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ELV note: Gen-san, the sushi master who opened Kabuto and was largely responsible for its early and stellar reputation, left the business a few months ago. Our last omakase dinner there was a few weeks before he left and it was as pristine as ever. Although we haven’t been in the three months since, reports from our regs and other sushi hounds around town tell us neither the quality of the fish nor the experience has suffered.

Let’s get a few things straight, shall we? If you like things like “Firecracker” rolls, “Spider” rolls and “Dynamite” rolls, then you should roll right past this sign-less jewel box on Spring Mountain Road.

Or, perhaps you are in love with some neighborhood sushi joint that “specializes” in rolled rice concoctions with more characters than a “Game of Thrones” episode. If so, then stay away. Kabuto Edomae Sushi is too good for you.

Kabuto is for lovers of true edomaezushi (Tokyo-style sushi), who will, after a couple of bites, think they have died and gone to heaven.

Not only is it the best off-the-Strip sushi bar, it’s probably gets the best fish in town (much of it from Japan), meaning: lots of delicious fish with names you’ve never heard of (houbou, renko dai, isaki, et al.), served in classic nigiri-sushi style.

This is a place for those who can (or want to) discern the subtle differences between all types of seafood, and are willing to eat this Japanese snack they way they do it over there. Kabuto is so good, and so popular, its killer low prices ($48 for the 10-piece nigiri tasting) won’t last for long. If someone else is paying, go to BarMasa. If you’re an aficionado dipping into your own wallet, head here without delay.

Max Jacobson: “If that well-known Japan expert Mr. Curtas says it’s good, who am I to argue? But I do admit that this modest sushi bar sets a new standard for excellence amid our graveyard of bad sushi restaurants, most of which are run with little respect or understanding of the idiom. At Kabuto, you’ll eat one of the best sushi meals in this country, prepared by a pair of skilled craftsmen serving you what is fresh and in season.”

Favorite Dishes: Nigiri Sushi Tasting; Chef’s Omakase Dinner.

KABUTO EDOMAE SUSHI

5040 West Spring Mountain Road

702.676.1044

1 thought on “EATING LAS VEGAS – The 50 Essential Restaurants – Number Eight

  1. Any updates on Gen-san? Heard he was staying in Las Vegas, but have not heard anything since he left Kubuto.

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