Wakuda

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

The Vision Behind Wakuda

Tokyo's Golden Gai is a labyrinth of narrow alleys, neon glow, paper lanterns, and tiny bars where street-fashion tribes mingle with bankers, artists, and world travelers — a place where old-world Japan meets the future. That charged atmosphere is the creative engine behind Wakuda, born from a partnership between world-renowned chef Tetsuya Wakuda and 50 Eggs Hospitality Group CEO John Kunkel. The result is a bold, artful collision of time and culture, traditional eastern mythology, and seductive design, housed in the Palazzo Lobby at The Venetian Resort on the Las Vegas Strip.

Chef Tetsuya Wakuda

Few chefs carry credentials as formidable as Tetsuya Wakuda's. He grew up in Japan and first gained international acclaim with his restaurant Tetsuya's in Sydney, a fixture on S.Pellegrino's World's 50 Best Restaurants list. His Singapore restaurant Waku Ghin at Marina Bay Sands earned its first Michelin star in 2016 and has held two stars since 2017, alongside a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating. Chef Tetsuya was the first global chef recognized by the Japanese government as Japan's Master of Cuisine, and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2015. His Confit of Ocean Trout has been called the "most photographed dish in the world." In Las Vegas, his team brings that same precision and philosophy: harnessing the tension between what is time-honored and what is possible.

What to Expect

The dining room channels the seductive ambiance of Golden Gai through provocative art and considered design — a space that feels both rooted in Japanese tradition and alive with contemporary energy. The Japanese cuisine here spans a main dining room open nightly for dinner and a cocktail lounge, with the Omakase Room operating on Thursday through Saturday evenings — an intimate, chef-directed experience for guests who want to place themselves entirely in the kitchen's hands. Gallery images hint at the range: premium sashimi platters, wagyu preparations, lobster rolls, and handrolls alongside artful cocktails.

The wine program has earned recognition from Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence for 2025, a fitting complement to a kitchen that takes its pairings as seriously as its plates.

A Restaurant for Las Vegas — and Beyond

Wakuda operates with a sister location in Singapore, and the ambition is clear in both cities: to offer Japanese fine dining that doesn't simply replicate what exists elsewhere, but reframes it through the lens of one of the world's most decorated culinary figures. Private dining rooms and event spaces make it equally suited to intimate celebrations and larger gatherings, while the omakase format ensures that those seeking the most focused expression of Chef Tetsuya's craft have a dedicated setting to find it.