Raku

A small charcoal-grill izakaya on Spring Mountain Road, open since 2008 under chef Mitsuo Endo. The kitchen works over binchotan charcoal and the menu runs to dozens of skewers, among them pork cheek, quail egg and asparagus wrapped in bacon, alongside house-made tofu, agedashi dishes and a short sashimi list. It seats well under fifty and takes bookings some way in advance; late walk-ins are sometimes possible, since the restaurant traditionally serves into the small hours and draws chefs finishing shifts on the Strip. The premises are plain, set behind a strip-mall frontage with modest signage. Portions are small and meant to be ordered gradually. Raku sits at the centre of the city's largest concentration of Asian restaurants, several hundred of them along this corridor.