Sushi Mon

Las Vegas has a peerless all-you-can-eat scene: not just touristy steam-table buffets, but a number of all-you-can-eat sushi places. Dozens of them serve unlimited rolls, and all of them are perpetually packed. Most places have similar prices, menus and codes of conduct. There is a time limit, and some expensive items can only be ordered once (like uni). You must eat everything that you order (or incur a fine and public shaming), and you absolutely can’t share anything with non-participants. Rules aside, the whole menu, even the fried oyster, is your oyster. Go nuts!

Sushi Mon does all the important things well. It’s not quite the Sushi that Jiro dreams about, but it is by far the best all-you-can-eat sushi we’ve experienced. A la carte pricing is fair, too, if you’re not feeling piggish.

We sat at the bar and watched the focused squad crank out sushi for an hour without pause. Busy as they are, all of the fish is cut to order. We started with gaudy, Vegas sounding rolls, and as the kitchen gained our trust, we switched to more simple raw fish based items. All are good.

The flamboyant sexy girl roll is an omnibus with several types of crunch, four kinds of fish, and two sauces: a gaping mouthful. Incidentally, this is the second raciest name on the menu, after something called “orgasm sauce,” which we refused to order on principle. Compared to others, Sushi Mon actually is quite tasteful. Another place we considered trying had so many X-rated roll names that we couldn’t have possibly published a review. 

We really enjoy the crispy rice roll, which is a take on the spicy tuna on crispy rice appetizer that has become a benchmark of West Coast sushi. It is an entire California roll, fried and topped with spicy tuna.

Sushi lasagna, which is on the menu at several sushi places in Las Vegas, is basically a California roll topped with “scallop yum sauce” and strips of cream cheese.  Scallop yum sauce is spicy mayo. This baked roll became more of a rice casserole than anything recognizable as sushi.

The best roll we’ve had was a daily special, the Little Tokyo roll, featuring refreshing flavors of cucumber and yuzu with fresh tuna. A serrano chili slice on top flavored each piece with a strong heat.

Some final words of advice: Most rolls are available as halves, allowing you to sample more different varieties. Also, don’t be afraid to order nigiri here. The fish is high quality and it is not overloaded with rice like you find in shoddier sushi places.