Inspired by our experience at La Popular at the Palms, we checked out the happy hour at Toca Madera (literally “Touch Wood,” the Spanish way of saying “knock on wood”) at the Shops at Crystals. The original Toca opened in West Hollywood in 2015 and quickly made a name for itself for dishing up food from the “highest quality, sustainable, and organic ingredients.” A second location opened in Scottsdale; this one in Vegas dates back to late last year.
It’s a little hard to find, one of the reasons that the previous restaurant in this space, Eva Longoria’s Beso (renamed SHe by Morton’s), lasted less than two years. It’s located “at” the Shops at Crystals, but you have to exit through the back door on the way to Aria; from Aria, you also have to go out a side door. Then the sign is unobtrusive and the unmarked front door gives you pause. But once you’ve found your way inside, it’s a whole other world.
The interior is as classy and understated as the food is top-notch. The regular menu prices range from $18 for guacamole and $28 for ceviche to $48 for a truffle burger and $325 for a 40-ounce tomahawk with bone marrow. That’s why happy hours are the best way, hands down, to try these ultra-exclusive Strip restaurants.
The HH menu is much more manageable. Guacamole is $10, three short rib tostaditas $12, Caesar salad and sea bass tacos $14 each, and ceviche $18. Mexican bottled beer is $5, house wine $8, and margaritas $13. We weren’t drinking, so we had a pineapple juice for $5.
The quality of food was noticeable as soon as we dipped a chip into the salsa, just diced tomatoes and cilantro, but impeccable.
The sea bass tacos were so good, we almost couldn’t believe what we were tasting. And the short rib tostaditas were so plentiful and rich, we couldn’t finish them. The bill, with tax before tip, came to $33, not a bargain, but not bad either for what turned out to be dinner at the highest-end Mexican steakhouse in town.
The Toca Madera happy hour is Mon.-Fri. 4-6 p.m. It was wide open when we got there at 5, but pretty crowded by the time we left around six, with people filling up the bar stools and tables. And that was on a Tuesday evening. We’d bet that this place will make it in one of Vegas’ least accessible Strip locations.