For those unfamiliar with the restaurants of Michael Mina, here’s all you really need to know: He’s a perfectionist in the best way. He puts a heavy premium on ambience, service and, especially, food. It’s the reason he’s been so successful, not just in Las Vegas but the world. And one of his first ventures on the Strip, the aptly named StripSteak, just reopened following a lengthy renovation. And, boy, was it worth it!
You’ll immediately be struck by the incredibly inviting “desert lair” feel of the space (it feels like you’re in a spy movie!), courtesy of California-based firm Bishop Pass. Sage-green booths and deep-burgundy chairs really pop against this background. In addition, there’s a new private dining room with the same hues and atmosphere. It seats up to 72 guests.
Mina and executive chef Kyle Johnson have prepared a next-level menu that matches the adventurous spirit of the interior design. “Growing up in Las Vegas, I dreamed of one day working in the kitchen of a culinary legend like Chef Michael Mina,” Johnson said. “Working alongside the Mina Group’s incredible team to lead the reopening of StripSteak is a career highlight, and I look forward to sharing our team’s new vision and culinary creativity with our guests.”
You’ll find not only the great steak program Mina is known for, but Asian influences and creative culinary fusions. For instance, some new starters to really get your tastebuds going include foie gras doughnuts, caviar jelly doughnuts, Maine lobster toast and truffle corn bread. You’ll want to accompany these tasty bites with a tasty cocktail, and the new beverage menu has some doozies, including the Winter Old Fashioned, which uses apple brandy, maple and toasted pecan bitters in addition to the bourbon base, Fruit Ninja, so flavorful with tequila, yuzu sake, lime, grapefruit and honey, and Way of the Sword, a seductive blend of mezcal, Aperol, lime, pineapple, vanilla and jalapeño.
Hamachi nori tacos
New starters like hamachi nori tacos (where the fish is wrapped in crispy nori and topped with soy-cured ikura and wasabi tobiko) and crispy Dungeness crab cake (topped with miso cauliflower cream, graffiti cauliflower and winter citrus fruits) really show off Mina’s creative prowess while packing a flavorful punch.
For a real treat as your main course, dig into the duck fat prime rib. A succulent slab of wagyu is smothered in duck fat before being aged 45 days, and the difference is sublime, especially when paired with a blue cheese popover. More traditional entrées—but still reimagined—include the Kurobuta pork tomahawk, topped with sliced Fuji apples and a hot Japanese mustard sauce mixed into a creamy savoy cabbage, and the Japanese A5, cooked in a red wine-shallot butter bath before being finished atop a mesquite grill.
Full? You should still seriously consider dessert. The warm beignets for two comes with Macallan butterscotch pudding, chocolate pot de crème and a vanilla crème brulée; this is one of the best desserts on the Strip, no joke. But there’s also a delightful orange creamsicle made with tangerine cream mousse, vanilla soil and a citrus swirl sherbert, as well as a lemon meringue crackle cheesecake, featuring yuzu curd, crispy meringue and graham cracker crumble. It’s all so cool and exciting—just like the reimagined StripSteak as a whole.
Mandalay Bay, 702.632.7414
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