Saturday, April 18, 2015

Yama Sushi in Las Vegas Trumps Them All...Anywhere!





According to the owner and proprietor Tai, this lit-up back wall behind the sushi bar is changed with the seasons. Here is Spring!

I like to rent a car in Las Vegas so you can see the town and most importantly travel to where you want to eat since restaurants on the strip can  really be way too costly. If you have the opportunity to find some local restaurants off the strip, the cost of renting a car, especially when most hotels offer complimentary valet parking, more than pays for itself. 
 One evening, we wanted to find a great sushi restaurant for a fair price and nobody we spoke to in our hotel could suggest one.
So what does one do when one wants to find something?
I Googled "Best Sushi in Las Vegas" & "Best All-You-Can-Eat Sushi" in Las Vegas.
What came up first in both searches?
 Yama Sushi!
So off my buddy Alan and I we went with great expectations. 
In the back of my head, I'm always hoping to find something worthy of an entry into www.phoodographsandfinds.com ...and I'm quite pleased to report we have found sushi heaven.
Let me clarify. 
Many of the all-you-can-eat sushi restaurants are buffet style...and if not buffet style, you have to fill out a list of what you want with rules and regulations that touch on the penalties you will suffer if you don't eat all the rice etc, etc. Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with buffet style if the fish is fresh and prepared visually appealing. That's not the way it happens at Yama Sushi.
 There is, however, one small rule here: you have 2  hours to dine at Yama Sushi for dinner and 1.5 hours for lunch.
Can you handle it? We did...with ease.

Bottom line: What we found here was a sincerely happy group of waiters and sushi chefs who were super efficient in making sure you enjoyed the total eating experience. Part of this experience is sitting at the bar as we did with Maynor and his gracious fellow sushi chefs. What we enjoyed was getting to watch them expertly make your dish the way you want it with personal delivery in a matter of minutes...and...with a smile. Whew!
You simply don't get this at a buffet. 
As I always say, it comes from the top...and after meeting Tai, we knew why everyone seemed so happy and efficient. As I've always believed, happy waiters...and in this case, happy sushi chefs = happy (and repeat) customers.

Alan, Gracious Tai & Bert 

Remember I can only write about my experience and what I enjoyed. So I say...plain and simple...this is my new favorite sushi restaurant of all time! Yes...of all time!

The cost is $23.95 for dinner and you can order all you want for this amount of money.
We went two nights in a row...and this is how it went.
Upon sitting, we were served a pretty serious plate of sashimi that included salmon, tuna, yellowtail  & albacore sitting atop a grated bed of daikon (mildly flavored winter radish) along with sliced cucumber and ginger.
Regrets...missed this Chef's name...One Happy Dude!

We then ordered an interlude small appetizer of mussels from the kitchen...

Quite Un-ordinary Mussels

...sushi, hand rolls, and creative gourmet roll after roll, of which the names I could not even list.
Some were chef suggestions and some were straight off the menu.

Check these out...

Maynor the Great & Powerful!



Here HE is again!









Do I really have to talk about fresh? Absolutely! Nuff said.
Tai...As Elvis would have said "Thank you...Thank you very much" for a wonderful two nights and dining experiences.
Your were quite gracious...as was the rest of your staff.
There is something to be said for a good value. There is also something to be said for a good value with personality. For the personality, we tipped extra. It was well deserved.
We look forward to our next visit. To all of you who read this entry...do not miss this destination restaurant on your next trip to Las Vegas, Nevada.
It's the 4th Guarantee...Trust me!!!!
See you again...




As usual, please feel free to comment below. I'd love to hear from you regarding any of your suggestions, recommendations or experiences.

Mangia Baby!
Chef Bert
www.phoodographsandfinds.com