by Andrea Stolarczyk

HAKASE JAPANESE CUISINE
3900 S. Paradise Rd., Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 796.1234

Hours:
Monday – Friday, 12noon – 2:30pm (lunch)
Open seven days a week, 5pm – 10:30pm

Only about half a mile east of the Strip, Hakase offers a very bare and authentically Japanese ambience decked out with maple wood, pinewoods and Oriental screens. Their fish is always fresh and cut to perfection, and the Miso soup is fiery and delicious. The Teppan grill does require reservations if you want to have a chef cook at your table. For those craving the authentic sushi experience, a Tatami room is available as well.

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by Erin Auerbach

SUMO JAPANESE RESTAURANT
2861 N. Green Valley Parkway, Henderson, NV 89014
(702) 451.7866
Sumo is a good place to go if you have both sushi enthusiasts and sushi skeptics in the same dinner party. There are plenty of other Japanese dishes to choose from including sushi platters for newcomers (they recommend the sashimi, which is very mild in flavor, but excellent for getting used to the texture), and rolls and sushi/sashimi combos for the most worldly of raw fish experts. They offer cooked fishes such as salmon, sea bass, and cod, too. The salmon and cream cheese rolls are worth a try, and if you’re really feeling daring, taste the spicy yellowtail or grilled eel.

 by Erin Auerbach 

DRAGON SUSHI
4115 Spring Mountain Rd., Las Vegas, NV 89102
(702) 368.4336
Consider it Sushi 101. This is a great place for the sushi novice because the dishes are simple and don’t require too big a risk, and it just goes to show that basic can be blissful. The entrees are simple and allow you to try the essentials: California roll (crab, avocado, cucumber, and rice), Kappa Maki (cucumber and rice), and Tekka Maki (tuna and rice). Sushi tends to be quite expensive, especially if you crave a variety of tastes for your meal, but Dragon offers reasonable prices and good lunch specials.