Mizumi

Stepping into Mizumi is a completely  transporting experience.  All sleek wood and crimson lacquer finishes, the room opens onto a mystical Japanese garden and koi pond.   At night, the restaurant's large sliding glass doors are opened to reveal idyllic views of the meditative gardens and a 90 foot waterfall.

Executive chef Min Kim offers infinite possibilities for you to curate your dining experience as you wish, even if your wish is not to choose. In the teppanyaki room, guests gather beside a spectacular 90-foot waterfall, as chefs cook and serve dishes around the communal grill tables.  As entertaining as it is satisfying, the teppan experience offers all of the theatrical flair and excitement of a cooking show in a stylish, fine dining setting. At Mizumi's gleaming robatayaki counter, guests may enjoy a wide range of specialties - from Jidori chicken and Maine lobster to Alaskan king crab legs - all of which are fired over an authentic Japanese Binchotan charcoal grill.  The a la carte menu is where chef Kim brings together his  to craft savory Japanese dishes that are both contemporary and timeless.

For chef Kim, who guided Mizumi at Wynn Palace in Cotai to the most elusive of prizes - the Forbes five star award, the opportunity to cut a new swath in Las Vegas was irresistible.  As a young man he apprenticed in the kitchen of his father's Japanese restaurant in Seoul, learning the culinary disciplines that would serve him well in his career.  Honing his skills at the Michelin two-starred Narisawa and the Michelin three-starred Ryugin, both in Tokyo, he would make his way to Sydney and then to Macau.  His cuisine is a masterful merge of contemporary presentation with authentic Japanese flavors and techniques.

Chef Kim's sashimi usuzukuri is a gorgeously composed plate combining ultra-thin slices of Japanese madai snapper with white soy and lime dressing, roasted sesame seeds and konbu.  Toothfish saikyo-yaki is a sweet miso-glazed Peruvian toothfish with freshly pickled Japanese vegetables and Karashi Japanese mustard, while the char-grilled pork belly "Kakuni-style" is slow cooked for 48 hours to maximize its tenderness and served with pumpkin puree and roasted carrots. One of the most dramatic dishes is surely the wagyu hot stone Ishiyaki style, where precisely sliced certified Kobe wagyu beef or certified Hokkaido Snow wagyu beef is served raw tableside for guests to sear them on a hot Himalayan salt block.

Creativity and imagination are evident in each of the applause-worthy sushi platters at Mizumi.  The fish is pristine, flown in fresh from the oceans around the globe.   The snapper and bluefin tuna come from Japan, the toothfish is from Chile and the red spotted prawns from Santa Barbara.  Each ingredient has been carefully chosen by the chef to support the authenticity and sustainability he is committed to.  There are perennial favorites too, like spicy tuna, yellowtail and California rolls, each impeccably fresh and impressively presented.

Moored on a pier at the center of the lagoon is one of America's most unique dining destinations - the floating pagoda. Here, you can dine beneath the stars, surrounded by a 90-foot coursing waterfall and tranquil gardens. It's best to surrender your dinner choices to chef Kim, who will craft an exquisite multi-course omakase menu showcasing the finest and most distinctive seasonal ingredients. Whatever you choose, with chef Kim at the helm, Mizumi will be both a sensory and culinary experience not soon forgotten.

The desserts at Mizumi take their inspiration from chef Kim's artful savory presentations.  Each of these irresistible Instagram-worthy sweets turn heads in the dining room, from the roasted chestnut Mt. Fuji with chestnut ice cream, chestnut puree, Nikka Japanese whisky parfait, mandarin poached pear and golden meringue to the yuzu and passionfruit soufflé with passionfruit jelly, elderflower and vanilla ice cream.  But perhaps the most photographed of all Mizumi's sweets is the chocolate mask,  an outrageous replica of a Japanese Noh theatre mask, molded of white chocolate, and filled with hazelnut dacquoise, chocolate mousse, praline puffed rice.

Mizumi's cocktail list offers an eclectic array of highballs, hand crafted cocktails, small batch whiskies and Japanese craft beers. Some of the more popular offerings include the Yuzu highball, made with Elephant gin, Yuzushu, Kimino Sparkling and yuzu zest;  burnt old fashion, Iwai 45 Japanese whisky, Okinawa black sugar syrup, angostura bitters, a dehydrated persimmon; and the Cherry Blossom Margarita, made with Codigo Rosa Tequila, Mancino Cherry Blossom Vermouth, lime, lemon and Umeboshi salt.

The list is curated by Mizumi's certified sake sommelier and features a unique selection of premium wines from Europe and the United States as well as more than 60 types of sake - some which are exclusive to Mizumi at Wynn Las Vegas.