Eight years ago, I wrote a weekly post titled “The Most Important Restaurants in Las Vegas,” which tried to change the status of local favorite restaurants. I would definitely tell a different story if I wrote it now because the scene has changed quite a bit and with it my definition of an important restaurant.
Chikyū would make the cut easy. It opened in the Silverado Ranch area in May 2020 as the first vegan sushi bar in the Las Vegas Valley. Eight years ago we didn’t even know what that meant. But the demand for vegan restaurants continues to grow and so creative restaurants like this have emerged.
Smoked beet salad, spicy garlic miso ramen and monkeyflower and sunray rolls in chikyū
“Our goal is not to offer plant-based alternatives to more glamorous fish-based options; it is a plant-based menu that not only shines on its own, but also offers complete satisfaction to everyone, ”says partner Casson Trenor. “You don’t make change when you give vegans vegan food; They do it to feed omnivores. We don’t want to convert anyone. That’s not our thing. “
Chikyū is clearly about preparing good food. Specialized sushi rolls like Monkeyflower ($ 13) with smoked beets, cashews, creamy tofu, avocado, asparagus, and sweet mustard; and the Sunray ($ 14) with tempura sweet potato, mango, tomato, shiso leaf, and kabayaki sauce are among the most popular items. But there’s a lot more than fish-free sushi creations, including Veggie Robata, the soulful mushroom rice clay pot ($ 16) with truffle soy sauce, and hearty ramen bowls ($ 14-18) that, like the tempura, are completely gluten-free.
“Most people who have been gluten-free for a while haven’t had tempura in years. So when they find that they can have those fried dishes back, they are very excited, ”says Trenor.
He opened Chikyū with John Le, one of the first chefs hired when this restaurant group started Shizen in 2015 in San Francisco, their first vegan sushi bar project. That move was taken years after starting a successful sustainable sushi restaurant in the City by the Bay because the owners felt they could put even more pressure on it.
“Our philosophy has always been to eat better fish and eat less fish … and we felt we could do better in the second part,” says Trenor. “We are a mission-oriented group and want to make a statement with our restaurants.”
With Chikyū, the statement is crystal clear. Fish and meat aren’t required for a delicious Japanese meal or sushi experience, and if that’s not enough, then you just haven’t tried it.
More importantly, this restaurant continues to propel the valley’s culinary skills in an exciting new direction. Many restaurants on and off the Strip these days offer vegan options, but where else can you find a completely vegan fine dining experience?
“I don’t think we can get that much credit,” says Trenor. “We have put a lot of work into taking some risks and making these options public … but the vegan cuisine of Japan is rich and steeped in history. We didn’t make that up. We may be the first in Vegas to create this interpretation, but when you pull that skin off, it’s very old-fashioned Japanese. “
CHIKYU VEGAN SUSHI BAR & IZAKAYA 1740 E. Serene Avenue No. 130, 725-777-3787. Tuesday-Sunday, 5 pm-10pm
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