Visited 6/29/2010
Julian Serrano is one of the biggest celebrity Chef in Las Vegas. He is the magic behind the 5 diamond restaurant Picasso at Bellagio, and has build up royal followers through out 11 years. His new restaurant J.S. at Aria is going to be the next hot spot in Las Vegas.
The restaurant has a great location compared to the rest of fine dining restaurants in Aria. It is located next to the hotel registry, and on the passage way to City Center’s upscale shopping gem – Crystal. The color setup of the restaurant has a full gamma glow, orangey and bright, harmonized to Spanish’s warmth and passionate cultural food. It is almost impossible to ignore its existence as you walk by the restaurant.
Even though, it is described as classic Spanish tapas. It actually has elements from all over the
world. It has round table that allows ease of sharing. Due to flight schedule, I didn’t have time dive deep into the menu and think about what I want. I start the meal with apple manchego salad. Sliced green apple with manchego cheese is dazzle with chives and mix in balsamic vinaigrette. It is such a refreshing dish for the summer. The sourness in the vinaigrette instantly activate your appetite. This reminds me a lot of the famous Thai papaya salad. If there is a spicy kick to this dish, I think it can goes into another level.
Next is the Ahi tuna tempura. Ahi tuna tempura is Tataki tuna wrapped with crispy battings and seaweed. The fish was fried til perfection. You can still taste the tenderness of the raw fish while the battings is wonderfully crispy. However, the avocado mango ensaladila on the side isn’t as spectacular.
This is a lunch special going on when I visit, “Seafood rice”. We were here mainly for their paella (which required 35 min of prep, so make sure you have enough time) but again due to time constrain I ordered the next closest thing. The seafood risotto is wonderfully flavored, the sweetness of the seafood is brought forward and all the fishy smells are left behind, this makes great contrast to typical Spanish restaurant.
I will be looking forward to visit this restaurant again, and go for the more advanced dishes. By the way, compared to the rest of the fine dining in Las Vegas. J.S. is priced very affordable. Therefore, it is definitely worth it to make a trip to here if you are visiting the new City Center, Las Vegas.
Interior: 27/30
Price: $20~50
(based on appetizers and lunch special)
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