The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas is getting ready to welcome Zuma, a Japanese culinary concept prepping to make its West Coast debut. The new Vegas location, set to open January 28, marks the brands 11th location in its international collection.
Created and co-founded by Chef Rainer Becker, Zuma draws inspiration from the popular Japanese izakaya, a unique style of dining and drinking that focuses on embracing all the elements of Japanese cooking under one roof. Zuma will offer an authentic and complete Japanese dining experience, focusing equally on each cooking element to create great flavor and cuisine in the heart of Las Vegas.
The culinary concept will feature three kitchens – a main kitchen, a sushi counter and the robata grill. Guests will choose from dishes that are designed to be shared, as is tradition with the izakaya experience. Dishes like suzuki no sashimi (seabass sashimi with yuzu, truffle and salmon roe), hourensou no goma ae (blanched baby spinach with creamy sesame dressing ) and tsubu-miso hinadori no oven yaki (baby chicken oven roasted with barley miso on cedar wood ) will be brought through the table throughout the meal to create Zuma’s signature family style environment. The sushi bar will feature offerings like the dynamite spider roll (soft-shell crab, chili and wasabi tobiko mayo) and the spicy yellowtail roll (yellowtail, serrano pepper, avocado and wasabi mayo), among many others.
Insider Tip: we recommend trying one of Chef Rainer’s personal favorites, tori no tebasaki, which are sake glazed chicken wings with sea salt and lime, or the wagyu tomahawk steak, which is 28 ounces served with fresh truffle. Both are available at the robata grill.
Zuma will also feature a bar program, complete with heritage cocktails made with fresh ingredients, juices and fruits. Sake, shochu, yuzu and shiso leaves as well as hand-carved blocks of iced will dress the cocktails. Sip on the rubabu, a rhubarb infused sake mixed with vodka, passion fruit and lemon; or the geisha smash, served with Ketel One, shiso leaves, cucumber, edel flower and yuzu.
Don’t Miss: Zuma will also feature the exclusive Zuma Zacapa Live Solera during the spring of 2017, making the Las Vegas venue one of only 11 restaurants in the world to serve the individually- crafted Zuma Zacapa Live Solera cocktail, blended with locally sourced ingredients before it is aged and served.
Noriyoshi Muramatsu of Tokyo’s own Studio Glitt designed the 9,000-square-foot-space, which incorporates the four natural elements earth, fire wind and air. The décor also includes wood, rusted iron, stone and class. Contrasting the harsh neon lights of Vegas, Zuma will focus more on organic materials like a wall composed of natural stone from Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Located on the third floor of The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, the restaurant offers views of the Las Vegas strip for diners. If you’re with a group, try booking one of the restaurants two glass-enclosed private dining rooms, both of which can seat 14 guests, for a more exclusive view.
Reservations are being accepted now at 702-698-2199.