Las Vegas: Sakana

When I realized that we would have to pass through Las Vegas to get from Zion to Joshua Tree National Park, I was ecstatic.  Why, you ask?  Because going through Las Vegas meant stopping for lunch at Sakana.

I'd never been to Sakana before, but I'd heard plenty about it from Abby and UK after their last Zion trip.  They described it as the best sushi buffet experience they'd ever had and I was all in, even despite a pandemic raging on.

We arrived at Sakana around 10 minutes before they opened at 11:30am:

It was a Wednesday and there was nobody in line.  I did, however, notice some people sitting in their cars.  Using my deduction skills, I guessed that they were just waiting for Sakana to open.  Lo and behold, once the clock struck 11:30, people started getting out of their cars to join us.

The interior was large and the tables well spaced out as according to COVID-19 safety guidelines:

The restaurant never filled up while we were there, so we never felt unsafe.  All the servers wore masks and were careful not to stand to close.

If you choose the buffet route at Sakana, you're given 90 minutes to go ham off their menu.  Lunch will set you back $20.95 (a total steal), while dinner costs $25.95 (which is still cheaper than sushi buffets in the Bay).  

We started off with The Shit:

Hilarious name for a deep fried mix of chopped salmon, white fish, and crab.

We also got the Pang:

Which was a mix of lobster and salmon cream cheese baked on two slices of garlic bread.

Abby really wanted salmon kama (grilled salmon collar), but they were unfortunately all out.  Instead, we settled for the saba misoyaki:

Now, please prepare yourself for a parade of nigiri and sushi roll photos.  I will do my best to recall what each one was, but food coma was hitting hard toward the end and things started to blur a little.

Each nigiri order came with two pieces.  We began pretty basic, with seared lemon salmon, salmon, and squid:

Abby loves salmon roe or ikura:

Whereas my favorite is the mackerel:

Sakana's mackerel nigiri came with a light garlic ponzu sauce on top.

After that, we dipped into the more adventurous side of the nigiri menu.  There was the cajun tuna (with garlic ponzu and fried onion), the smoked paprika salmon, and the yuzu yellow tail (with jalapeno and yuzu):

Then there was the albacore (with garlic and ponzu sauce), the 300 albacore (with 300 sauce and jalapeno), and the super white tuna (with S.O. sauce):

From the sushi roll section, we ordered the Something Wrong Roll (tuna, salmon, and white fish on the top with shrimp tempura and spicy soft shell crab inside) and the Dancing Eel Roll (eel, shrimp, and avocado on top with shrimp tempura and crab inside):

We also ordered the TT baked roll (crab and avocado roll topped with a mussel, scallop, and lobster mix):

And the baked scallop roll:

Then came the Bam Bam Roll (super white tuna with S.O. sauce on top and seared tuna, salmon, and cucumber inside) and the 49ers Roll (salmon and avocado on top and shrimp tempura, crab, cucumber, and cream cheese inside):

We reordered some of our favorites, but by this time, I was pretty darn full.  I did manage to squeeze in a quail egg nigiri out of curiosity:

Even though we were stuffed, everyone knows dessert is a separate stomach.  At Sakana, you can get as much ice cream as you want.  Your choice of flavors consists of green tea and red bean:

For all other desserts, each person can only choose one.  We got the black sesame blanc manger:

The brick honey toast and the afforgato:

Las Vegas may draw lots of tourists with its casinos and shows, but for me, the only reason why I would go to Vegas is for the buffets.  And from here on out, there's only one Vegas buffet I want: Sakana.  The price really can't be beat.  Not only that, but Sakana's menu is both extensive and varied.  And most importantly, the rice to sashimi ratio is on point.  No need to try to hide rice at Sakana!  Just generous portions of sashimi that make my little heart flutter.

After such a stressful election, my friends and I were thinking of celebrating Biden's inauguration in January by driving down to Vegas from the Bay just to eat at Sakana.  We just might be crazy enough to do it.  Nevada might have taken forever to count their ballots, but they pulled through in the end!

Sakana

3949 S Maryland Pkwy

Las Vegas, NV 89119

(702) 733-0066