Las Vegas Weekly

July 18, 2008 · 2 PM

Iron Chef challenger opens Bellagio’s new sushi restaurant

By Robin Leach

Yellowtail plans to offer cuisine for both the sushi novice and connoisseur.

Photo: Bellagio

Iron Chef contender Akira Back opens the Light Group's new Yellowtail Sushi restaurant tonight – and it’s just steps from owner Andrew Sasson’s other nightlife destinations at the Bellagio.

The opening of Yellowtail comes just one month after the multimillionaire mogul opened his new Brand Steakhouse at the Luxor. This is his first Japanese restaurant venture and it's located directly opposite his mega successful Fix restaurant and bar, near the new Bank nightclub and his Caramel bar and lounge.

Yellowtail offers an extensive Japanese menu of fresh, ingredient-driven cuisine for both the sushi novice and connoisseur in a sumptuous and highly stylized surrounding. Overlooking Bellagio’s iconic lake and dancing fountains, Yellowtail’s stunning and sleek ambiance is the perfect setting for award-winning chef Akira Back’s menu of authentic, traditional and modern Japanese cuisine. Akira has managed to successfully balance a second career as a professional snowboarder while rising rapidly up the culinary ladder of fame.

Seasonal fish and ingredients flown in daily from the finest markets around the world will be showcased in sushi, sashimi, tempura and hand rolls. A multicourse omakase menu, will let diners sample Akira’s best culinary creations composed of small dishes. Designed by Manhattan’s world-renowned Rockwell Group, Yellowtail’s elegant wood and stone decor wraps around the signature design element: a 25-by-13-foot, wall-mounted installation at the entrance of bronze metal scales resembling the dorsal side of the eponymous fish. The dining room will offer a cozy setting with screens composed of woven twigs set inside antique brass frames.

The design of Yellowtail’s menu will encourage sharing and mimics Chef Back’s culinary philosophy “to bring happiness to my guests by creating a memorable experience through food.” Accessible and fun, shared plates include Toro Sashimi with caviar and microgreens and Yellowtail Serrano, with cilantro and yuzu-kosho, a condiment made from the zest of yuzu blended with chili peppers, and salt. Warm shared plates include farm-raised, grain-fed jidori chicken, popular with Japanese chefs, prepared with sweet Japanese garlic, potato puree, baby root vegetables and teriyaki; and grilled Walu, Hawaiian butterfish with shiitake mushrooms, pearl onions and tosa sauce, a bonito-flavored vinegar and soy sauce mixture.

In addition to traditional raw fish preparations, Chef Back will create a selection of innovative dishes inspired by his global travels and experiences working with such industry greats as Nobu and Morimoto. These dishes include the Big Eye Tuna Pizith, an aromatic mint-like herb popular in Japan, and Maine Lobster Carpaccio with sweet onion and cilantro. A selection of imported (Japanese) and domestic (Washugyu) Kobe beef will be available on Yellowtail’s menu in two different preparations: seared in hot oil or marinated in balsamic teriyaki.

Yellowtail also offers an extensive sake collection, ranging from the classic to the avant-garde. Large bottles of sake and souchu also will be displayed at the 18-seat bar. A selection of wine, beer and signature cocktails, including the exotic Dragon’s Fire, “Moon Rabbit” sake, lemon, habanero and pomegranate or the light and refreshing Shiso Sunset, Grey Goose Ohranj, blood orange puree, yuzu and shiso leaf will complement the menu.

The new hotspot seats 180 in the main dining room, an additional 30 in the lounge, and there's a 30-seat private dining room. As of tonight, it’s open seven days a week from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 5 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.

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