OKADA at the Wynn

The Wynn is probably Vegas' most subdued hotel (if you can call it that). Tasteful decorations like the numerous Venetian lanterns help to offset the noise, lights and gaudiness of the casino floor that is unavoidable in this city. The only exception would be the Four Seasons at Mandalay Bay that's right on the strip yet doesn't have a casino so it actually feels like any other luxury hotel.

We went to dinner at Okada Tuesday evening and booked a table for 6:00 p.m. The Wynn has a no-stroller policy for all guests (unless you're actually staying at the hotel , in which case you'd still need a stroller tag from reception) so my 3-month old niece had to stay home.

Okada is a fine-dining Japanese restaurant with a sushi bar, teppanyaki tables, a robatayaki grill and an area for a la carte dining in separate sections of the sleek space. We went a la carte: J knew exactly what he wanted and chose the chicken teriyaki, my two sisters had a set three-course summer menu and a Bento box of six small dishes. My brother-in-law C and I shared a sashimi special, a Robata platter (grilled mini skewers of mini green peppers, sea bass, beef tenderloin, mushrooms and the traditional chicken-spring onion combination and a popcorn shrimp with chili aioli. The sashimi was extra fresh and there were two pieces of toro (fatty tuna) that were delectable. The best thing of the evening though were the skewered items from the Robata (charcoal grill). We enjoyed that so much that we ordered an extra beef tenderloin, chicken-spring onion and the fantastic Japanese oysters which arrived hot and flavored with Japanese mustard and the oyster juices.

Everyone was too full for dessert except for my five-year old who ordered ice cream which came in a large plat with three square scoops (you read right, square scoops) of chocolate, vanilla and banana ice cream on a graham cracker biscuit with a sliver of dried banana chip on the side - a sophisticated version of the classic banana split. We ate that too fast to take a photo - the banana ice cream was the popular one at our table. In fact, we tried to order another scoop of it but were told that only chocolate and vanilla were available by the scoop. Too bad. Although that gives us another reason to try Okada another time - maybe at one of the Teppan tables or at the Robata grill bar.