NOBU LAS VEGAS Iconic Nobu’s Three Las Vegas Locations All Shine

STORY BY TERESA K. TRAVERSE

conic restaurant brand Nobu is synonymous with elegance, luxury and fine Japanese cuisine. Nobu takes its name from Japanese celebrity chef—one of the first major chefs with international renown— Nobu Matsuhisa. He opened his very first restaurant, Matsuhisa, in Beverly Hills, California, back in 1987. His Japanese cuisine made with Peruvian ingredients was as noteworthy then as it is now. After opening its doors, the restaurant quickly developed a celebrity following.

One A-list actor in particular became a very important part of Nobu. Here’s how the story goes according to an excerpt from Matsuhisa’s memoir, “Nobu: A Memoir,” that was published on the website Eater. About a year after Matsuhisa opened his first restaurant, legendary actor Robert De Niro came into the restaurant to dine. De Niro fell for Matsuhisa’s dynamic cuisine and desired to go into business with the chef. Sometime in 1989, De Niro flew Matsuhisa out to New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood to see a building he had purchased that was intended house a future restaurant. After that trip, Matsuhisa originally turned down the offer. But De Niro held out. Four years after he initially approached the chef, De Niro invited Matsuhisa back out to New York City. The actor’s willingness to wait convinced the chef he could trust De Niro. He signed a partnership with De Niro, restaurateur Drew Nieporent and investor Meir Teper, and the Nobu empire was born. Today, you can find more than 45 restaurants all over the world and a collection of hotels—the first opened in Las Vegas in 2013—that are all under the Nobu umbrella.

Las Vegas residents and visitors alike can choose from three different Nobu locations when they’re looking for haute Japanese fare. Nobu’s latest Vegas spot? A locale at Paris Las Vegas that opened in April of 2022. This is the brand’s second location with Caesars Entertainment Las Vegas Resorts.

“Paris Las Vegas is evolving into a premier culinary destination for some of the top chefs in the world,” said Jason Gregorec, senior vice president and general manager of Paris Las Vegas, in a press release about the opening. “We are extremely fortunate to have Chef Nobu as a longstanding partner and bring his iconic menu and exceptional service to the resort.”

Nobu at Paris Las Vegas is a 140-seat restaurant with an abundance of wood elements. Find wood circular tables, wood-paneled walls, ceilings and a long wood bar that looks over the open kitchen that all lend a zen-like atmosphere to the space.

Menu-wise, look forward to plenty of artfully plated fresh fish dishes. Find soups, salads, cold and hot dishes, tempura, nigiri, sashimi and sushi maki on the extensive menu at the Paris location. You’ll find most of the dishes mentioned below at the other Vegas restaurants too. Diners also can look find vegetarian, gluten-free and vegan dishes. Specifically, guests can feast on salmon or yellowtail tartare with caviar, lobster shitake salad, brick oven Hamachi kama, seabass tempura with amazu ponzu and three different beef tenderloin dishes. Expect fish options that range from traditional like tuna and shrimp along with more daring orders like sea urchin and shima-aji or striped jack.

The menu also includes vegetable, lobster and wagyu tacos along with A5 Wagyu Japanese steaks. The Paris Las Vegas Nobu serves a vegetarian, signature and Paris Las Vegas omakase or a chef-selected multi-course tasting menu that requires participation of entire table.

The food menu might be long, but one of Nobu’s signature and best-known dishes is its black cod marinated in a miso sauce. This flaky, tender fish is perfectly complemented by the sweet sauce. Another stand-out option is the yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno in a yuzu soy sauce. Both dishes are spectacular and worth savoring.

The dessert menu includes offerings like yuzu cheesecake, date cake served with crème fraiche ice cream and a bento box that comes with decadent flourless chocolate cake and ceremonial matcha ice cream. One unique dessert is the Japanese whisky cappuccino—coffee crème brulee layered with crunch coffee cacao soil, milk ice cream and Japanese whisky form—a crunchy, savory and sweet creation.

Drinks-wise, look forward to a menu packed with fine wines, spirits and sake that are in keeping with the luxe restaurant’s offerings. One notable item: Nobu has the rights to exclusively sell Hokusetsu sake—made on Japan’s Sado Island—in the United States. The drinks menu is rounded out by specialty cocktails, wines including specialty plum wine, whiskey, gin, vodka, beer, liquor and digestifs.

The Nobu at Caesars Palace Las Vegas is noteworthy for several key reasons. For starters, the massive 12,775-square-foot restaurants that seats 325 is the only one in the United States to have Teppan tables where guests can watch as chefs prepare food over a live flame. Each plate is served with the restaurant’s signature sauces, and every item is exclusive to this location. This experience is only available on Friday and Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. Nobu at Caesars Palace is also home to the sleek Nobu Lounge. The items available here are also exclusive to the lounge and only available after the main dining room closes. One noteworthy architectural detail is that the exterior resembles a traditional Japanese ikebana basket.

Nobu at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas Nobu, Curio Collection by Hilton, re-opened in 2021 following a renovation, but the history there goes way back. The first Nobu Las Vegas location opened at the Hard Rock Hotel—where the Virgin Hotel currently stands—in 1999. If you’ve ever visited the Hard Rock Nobu, you’ll notice that the bar has been expanded and is now about twice its original size. The refreshed restaurant features dark hard wood floors, an open kitchen and black tables in the dining room for a refined atmosphere. No matter which Nobu Las Vegas locations you choose, you’re guaranteed to enjoy fine Japanese cuisine in a posh setting.

STORY BY SCOTT LAIRD

There never seems to be any shortage of visitors, but it’s during the holidays, when shoppers hurry between world-famous department stores and luxury boutiques and local residents and visitors from all corners take in the unceasing spectacle of the city’s class-oftheir-own arts venues that the city takes on a special energy. Whether enjoying department stores and hotels with their halls fully decked with the spirit of the season, or braving New York’s famously breezy winter weather for ice skating, there’s no shortage of ways to enjoy the Big Apple during the holidays.

ravelers with a modernist aesthetic can take up residence at ModernHaus Soho – part of Preferred Hotels & Resorts. The hotel specializes in loft-style accommodations with in a chic minimalist style. Most guest rooms have views of Lower Manhattan and the Hudson River. The hotel’s 18 floor is host to JIMMY, a rooftop bar with a working fireplace for wintertime hygge and a pool deck with a view of One World Trade Center for summertime frolics.

Also in SoHo, the AAA Five Diamond The Dominick, part of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts Legend Collection, also has languid outdoor pool deck— along with oversized guest rooms with plush fittings. Certain Deluxe rooms have deep soaker tubs with views of the Empire State Building, while many other rooms and suites have views of the Hudson River and the exciting neighborhood surrounding the hotel.

The hotel’s soaring lobby gives all the flash of an arrival experience at a much larger property before wrapping guests in the quiet boutique-like intimacy of calm—there are only a few rooms on each floor, giving the hotel an utterly residential feel. It feels more like a temporary apartment than a grand luxury hotel.

The Dominick is also home to the Michelin-starred restaurant Vestry, where chef Shaun Hergatt turns out seasonal ingredient-driven global cuisine inspired by childhood memories of rural Queensland, Australia.

Across town in the East Village, visitors can dig into Ukrainian eats like hot or cold borscht, cabbage rolls, and pierogies at Veselka (144 2nd Ave). It helps to go early, as sometimes there’s a line. The nearby Lower East Side is a haven for dive and cocktail bars, including the slice-of-South Florida gem Sally Can Wait (252 Broome St.) where the Pina Colada is made with house’s own blend of rum, and the bites menu skews a little Miami, and a little New York.

Travelers preferring to stay close to the attractions of Midtown Manhattan might try the Lotte New York Palace, which takes up residence in an 1882 mansion commissioned by banker Henry Villard. The Villard Houses served as the historic base for a modern tower, constructed in the 1970s, when the residence was first converted to a luxury hotel.

The hotel has a variety of accommodations from standard luxury accommodations to the exclusive Towers level, a hotel-within-a-hotel with separate private reception, but the hotel is perhaps best known for its 5,000 square foot Royal Suites, one of which is the Jewel Suite by Martin Katz. The Jewel Suite contains some $1.5 million in jewels displayed in floating cases throughout, in addition to the feature two-story cascading crystal chandelier.

The city that never sleeps abounds in attractions around the clock, each day of the year, but the city often feels like a village, even though it’s one of the country’s most visited destinations. Broadway shows often fill with New Yorkers, and visitors can eavesdrop for a bit of local gossip—even at some weekend shows. The city is filled with art lovers and theatre devotees, and the sense of community is often best highlighted by visiting a Broadway production like a big, banner musical or a dramatic play with notable stage and screen stars.

Sardi’s (234 W 44th) is a Broadway institution, famous for caricatures of celebrities (mostly of yesteryear) adorning the walls, but also for consistent continental cuisine that evokes an earlier time – think hearty sauces, starched linen tablecloths, love-worn upholstery.

Off Broadway, at Lincoln Center, lovers of dramatic arias and vibrant coloratura can sate their need at the Metropolitan Opera, one of the world’s premier opera companies. The dramatic set of theatres surrounding a central plaza are also home to the New York Philharmonic, and New York City Ballet, all of which have programming through most of the holiday season.

Nearby, Bar Boulud (1900 Broadway) is a relaxed Parisian-style bistro with an impressive wine list, notable charcuterie and a faithful steak frites.

A top attraction for Manhattan visitors, particularly firsttime visitors, is the Empire State Building’s observation deck. While the 86th floor observation deck has played prominently in several TV shows and films, there’s a fuller attraction that will be new for many visitors. The Empire State Building Observatory recently completed a $165 million re-do that added a museum that celebrates the history and lore of the famous building in nine themed galleries (including one where King Kong’s paws appear to come through the exterior wall of the skate can go with the holiday icon—the skating rink at Rockefeller Center (it’s smaller than it looks on TV), but for a more local New York experience skaters can head to Central Park. The Wollman Rink is a full-service ice rink with skate rentals and lockers, and opening hours late into the evening for nighttime skaters. Skating is also permitted at Conservatory Water when conditions permit for visitors with their own skates.

Tavern on the Green (W 67th St & Central Park West) is a Central Park institution since 1934, serving up a contemporary American menu—it’s still a see-and-be-seen location for statement brunches and special occasion fests.

Holiday shoppers can get their fill at New York’s top department stores. Macy’s at Herald Square is the largest department store in the United States, and one of the largest in the world, with over a million square feet of retail space. Macy’s has long been noted for their elaborate Christmas display windows, and for the Santaland display where shoppers can pose for photos with Santa Claus. Shoppers in midtown can head to the subsidiary Bloomingdale’s at 59th and Lexington, or Bergdorf Goodman, the 5th Avenue temple to high fashion, located right next door to the Plaza Hotel.

Downtown, a popular stop for many New York visitors is the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. The Memorial is free and open to the public seven days a week. The Museum, which documents the events of the 9/11 attacks, not only in New York but at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, is open six days a week (closed Tuesdays) with the last entry at 3:30 PM). One of the easiest ways to reach the site is via the subway to the World Trade Center Transportation Hub to take the notable