Raku
5030 Spring Mountain Road (last visit: November 2008).
Japanese robatayaki.
Robatayaki is Japanese charcoal grilling. A few places offer robatayaki, but Raku is the first place in town I know of that specializes in it. It's way off Strip, so not too many tourists go there. However, it's generated quite a buzz among local chefs, such as Paul Bartolotta and Rick Moonen. Local food critic John Curtas called it "probably the single most exciting off-Strip restaurant to open in the past two years."
The Menu
There are lists of appetizers, soups, and a few daily specials (such as Kobe beef tongue), but robata items are the star. There are many unusual items on the menu, as you'll see when you read about my meal, but there are many more familiar items as well. On the night I was there, they were out of several items (e.g., Corn & Potato robatayaki, sea urchin).
I'm not sure about the proper method of ordering, but it appears that a good approach is to order a couple of items, then order more as time goes by. Items arrive as they're ready. There may be a long wait for an item; on the other hand, several items may arrive almost together.
The Atmosphere
Raku is small, with seating for 20 to 25 people, plus 5 at the bar. On a Thursday in November, it started to fill up not long after opening time.
Raku is also very plain - not in a bad way, so perhaps a better adjective is "spare." The staff is Japanese; their English may be hard to understand, but they're polite and patient.
The Meal
I started out with an item from their hot appetizer list: soft custard omelet with scallop. It turned out to be a large portion of soft egg - vaguely like scrambled eggs, but with better flavor - in a small amount of strong but not salty broth. My description isn't the greatest, but the dish was very good.
Next was grilled yellowtail with ground yam. My first taste didn't seem special, but the more I ate the more I liked it. It was rich, and had a small amount of strongly flavored sauce. The ground yam was a good foil. Overall, it got a surprising very good rating.
Onward to a special of the day: grilled Kobe beef tongue. I have no idea if it was true Kobe beef, although the low price made me suspect not. It was very fatty, and only a little chewy. Odd, but good.
Being an experimenter at heart, I ordered pig ears robatayaki: a plate of thinly sliced pig ears that were smoky, soft, chewy (in a gristly sort of way), a little crunchy, and fatty. Not bad, but not something I'd order again.
I had now ordered enough food to satisfy a normal person. But why be normal? I went for another daily special - an entrée sized portion of yari iki, a variety of squid from Japan, described by a couple of staff members as especially good. It was available either as sashimi or robata, or for people like me who couldn't decide, half prepared each way. The squid was more tender than squid I've tried elsewhere. It made for very good sashimi. The grilled half was served very plainly; it was good enough, but nothing special.
Summary
I like to try new things when I go out. Raku offers many exotic items, making this easy. I enjoyed doing this, but wouldn't order some of them again. Nonetheless, the food was generally tasty, and I believe it will be better still now that I have a feel for the place.
The Bill
The meal was $65, plus drinks, tax and tip. This was for a lot of food; most people will spend less.