Step into the alley for a cocktail.
Golden Gai Cocktail Club, opening Nov. 15 at The Venetian, draws on the spirit of the neon-lighted blocks of the Golden Gai district in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo, where hundreds of bars, clubs and dining spots populate narrow alleys and passageways.
Golden Gai, which roughly means Golden Block, lies just inside Wakuda, the Japanese restaurant opened in June 2022 at the property by Tetsuya Wakuda, the famed Michelin-starred chef, in partnership with 50 Eggs Hospitality Group. 50 Eggs is also opening Golden Gai, which replaces the lounge at Wakuda.
Sake, whiskies, Champagne
Luis Lopez, beverage director of the cocktail club, harnesses the precision and seasonality of Japanese food and drink with inspiration from some of the world’s top bars to create balanced cocktails using ingredients such as Fuji apples and Japanese whisky, Golden Gai said in a statement.
Golden Gai also offers an expansive list of sakes, wines and Champagnes; ongoing pop-ups in collaboration with World’s 50 Best Bars; and pop-ups showcasing Champagnes and highly regarded sakes and Japanese whiskies.
Bites and vibe
To pair with cocktails and other wet work, Golden Gai presents a menu of bites and hand-held dishes such as toasted nuts, housemade chips, Japanese pickles, hand rolls, katsu, wagyu sliders and caviar.
Golden Gai, taking from its edgy underground Tokyo namesake, deploys jabs of neon punctuating the dark space and contemporary art by Shohei Otomo, whose drawings and sculpted sumo wrestlers enliven the dining room of Wakuda. Inside, there are only eight tables; outside, the terrace overlooks the Strip. Live DJs perform Tuesday through Saturday evenings.
The cocktail club will be open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 5 to 11 p.m. Sundays and Mondays. Reservations (21 and older): wakudajapanese.com/golden-gai, Peter Lee at plee@wakudajapanese.com or 702-665-8592. Follow @goldengailv on social media.
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.