Las Vegas Weekly

Social House improves on its quality pan-Asian cuisine in its new Crystals location

Social House’s salmon tartar

Photo: Beverly Poppe

Social House is back. Once a favorite sushi spot for celebrity types, the Treasure Island location closed last year and has been resurrected by Pure Management Group inside CityCenter's Crystals. The skillful Joseph Elevado is back as executive chef, and his approachable-yet-innovative cuisine, which always lifted the restaurant above the trendy mediocrity littered about the Strip, marks an improvement even over its former self.

Social House 2.0 seems to have a renewed focus on the warmth and comfort its name implies. Our service during a Thursday dinner felt more like visiting a friend's house — a friend with a really expensive condo. The bar and dining room are welcoming, dark and kinda sexy, a calm escape from the overwhelming brightness of Crystals.

Photo: Beverly Poppe

Social House's Thai beef salad

Upgrade your first bite from regular old edamame to roasted shishito peppers, doused in a sweet glaze. Much of the menu made the trip south on Las Vegas Boulevard, including the Nobu-inspired tuna tataki with crispy rice. Even better is the kitchen's version of Thai beef salad, with tender grilled steak and fresh Bibb lettuce in a delightfully brisk, slightly spicy dressing. There are a few Thai dishes on the new menu, several additional beef preparations including a Korean-style kalbi steak, and small bursts of unique flavor like the jalapeño-cilantro "chimichurri" served with the hamachi tartar. These changes might move Social House out of the fun sushi category and into the scarcely populated realm of good pan-Asian restaurants on the Strip. Dishes you know — snow crab dynamite, a big and rich piece of cod in miso, all those decorative cut rolls — satisfy as much as the new stuff.

If you need an extra incentive to come to CityCenter, consider: Social House offers a 20 percent discount to locals during the week.