text: There are two ways to enjoy Raku Las Vegas Izakayastyle or Omakasestyle I believe they call it Kaiseki Both are excellent But the latter is truly stars nnSeveral months ago we were unable to score reservations for the main dining room our usual Vegas hangout spot and our small group was told that we could get a table in the omakase section where we would have to order one of the Kaiseki fullcourse consisting of various raw and cooked seasonal items courses nnNow just for the record I rarely order a Kaiseki or Omakase course at a typical Aburiya aka Izakaya but having done my homework on the chefowner Chef Endo whose background is in traditional Kaiseki in Tokyo who then moved to global fame as executive chef of Megu NY I was more than willing to give it a try And I have been hooked ever sincennOne of the most memorable Kaiseki dishes we had here was the whole Nodoguro white fish a seasonal winter fish Apparently only two of these whole fish made its way to Las Vegas that winter day via direct flight from Tokyo and we got one of them One of the most fun ways of enjoying an excellent fish is to see how different it tastes under different preparation Chef Endo understands this completely and we were served different parts of the same fish as three different courses First the Sashimi Second steamed with ginger and seasoned with a light Dashibased sauce Third grilled with pinches of sea salt An ultrafresh fish is a must for Sashimi but when you have that sashimigrade fish expertly steamed or grilled it is absolute heaven The heat breaks down the amino acids of the fish significantly boosting the Umami factor I would argue that the most delicious way to enjoy fresh fish is lightly cooked and not raw nnHonestly the skewers that they threw into the Kaiseki course were meh but the homemade Tofu the fish dishes and the soups were absolutely amazing Cannot wait for my next trip to Vegas and Raku I got to make sure to book at least a week in advance