Recently awarded with the Presidential Medal of Honor, José Andrés is a culinary icon whose humanitarian reputation has grown almost as fast as his restaurant empire. The recent opening of the Bazaar Mar/Bar Centro duo on the Las Vegas Strip expands his local presence to a sextet of venues, including the Sahara’s mind-blowing Bazaar Meat. And if early meals are any indication, Andrés is not resting upon his laurels, even while he furthers World Food Kitchen and his other charity efforts.
When you have a successful concept, it serves you to rinse and repeat. With this in mind, think of Mar as the seafood-centric younger sibling of Bazaar Meat. Whereas Meat is Andrés’ ode to the classic steakhouse, Mar is his nod to a Mediterranean fish market with the daily catch proudly displayed on ice outside the kitchen; with that in mind, keep an eye out for staff members occasionally misting the seafood. And while Meat has a hunting-lodge-gone-awry motif, Mar is airy and ocean-like on the mezzanine overlooking the spacious Crystals mall, in the space where Wolfgang Puck’s Cucina used to reside.
Bazaar Mar interior
The menu contains some José hallmarks—nutty jamón Ibérica de bellota with pan con tomate, José’s tacos, his liquid olives—but with the seafood focus, the menu runs the gamut from common (think sea scallops and monkfish) to obscure (cockles, anyone?) aquatic offerings. You’ll certainly find something to pique your interest.
I suggest starting with kueh pai tai ($14) as your opportunity to explore southeast Asia, a spicy sweet shrimp and peanut-filled pastry shell indigenous to Malaysian hawker stands. Cobia ceviche ($28) makes playful use of liquid nitrogen with a frozen rose of leche de tigre, while abalone and shiitake ($32) is a study in contrast with the subtle shellfish coupled with umami-laden mushrooms. And the bluefin tuna and fried egg ($26) requires a steady hand, rolling the paper-thin, dashi-doused chu toro around the comically tiny fried eggs.
The menu exudes Andrés’ typical playfulness. The California “funnel cake” ($18)—the quotation marks are chef’s—is a California roll masquerading as the state fair favorite, a crispy, nori-infused funnel cake topped with king crab and tobiko. The buttery Alaskan king crab chawanmushi ($28), a Japanese egg custard, is delivered in a crab-shaped dish, as if you’re cracking the crustacean yourself to devour its tomalley, while the bagel and lox ($14), a playful take on the New York deli classic, is a cream cheese-stuffed and lox-layered air bread shaped like salmon itself. These presentations are so much more natural than many other Insta-ready restaurants.
River trout cone
Strip seafood restaurants allowing for a variety for preparations aren’t uncommon, but where else would sashimi be an option? Your server will advise you as to which preparation method applies to what catch —turbot sashimi is unfortunately not an option but sendai is—but where else can you get whole fish sashimi in a fine dining setting? Just another way Mar differentiates itself.
And then there’s the single best bite on the menu, and quite possibly across the Valley right now: the Anchoas Don Bocarte ($26). Nothing could sound simpler: an anchovy on bread with smoked butter. But the fish’s saltiness atop the subtlely smoky spread is an epiphany which demonstrates that even intertwined among all the fanciful presentations and obscure ingredients, Andrés understands simple is sometimes best. It’s why he continues to be so successful, even as he expands his domain.
BAZAAR MAR The Shops at Crystals, 702-803-1100, thebazaar.com. Sunday-Thursday, 5-9 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 5-10 p.m.
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