It’s always nice to kill two question birds with one answer stone.
Sensi is, as the second question says, hidden in a way-back corner of Bellagio. It’s a hidden little gem that has a popular bar with visitors-in-the-know and a multi-ethnic restaurant that, coincidentally, is one of the "Essential 50" in the book mentioned in the first question, Eating Las Vegas. Now that people have to pass right by Sensi to catch the tram to CityCenter at the back of Bellagio and it’s featured in the new dining guide, it’ll get the attention it’s always deserved.
Here, without further ado, is the review of Sensi from Eating Las Vegas by restaurant reviewers John Curtas, Al Mancini, and Max Jacobson.
Mancini Chef Martin Heirling’s beautiful dining room was overlooked for years, due to its location in a back corner of Bellagio. But all that’s changed with the opening of CityCenter, as guests walking between the two resorts can’t help but notice the place. The stone and flowing-water effects in the design give it the feel of a spa. But the real centerpiece is the central glass-enclosed kitchen where the chefs work their magic. Separate teams cook in each quadrant, each concentrating on one of the restaurants several themes: seafood, grilled dishes, Asian cuisine, and Italian food. Rest assured, Heirling has worked all over the world and he and his staff are experts in all four.
Curtas Trying to be, by turns, a steakhouse, an Italian, an Asian and an Indian eatery would seem to be a recipe for disaster. Somehow, though, Martin Heierling makes it work, dishing up serviceable standards of everything from potstickers and risotto Milanese to a meltingly tender signature short rib with horseradish mashed potatoes with real kick to them. As good as they are, it’s the Indian tandoori selections that tend to tantalize us. The naan also seems a lot tastier here than in most of Vegas’ mediocre Indian joints, ditto the superb savories from the tandoori grill, and the raita and tamarind and mint sauces. So is Sensi really an Indian joint masquerading as an Italian steakhouse? Heierling would say not, but that’s the way we prefer to think of it. Note: The house-made ginger ale is worth a trip all by itself, and this was one of the first bars in town to get on board the cocktail-nation train. It was KNPR’s Cocktail Bar of the Year in ’07. Desserts are a dream.
Jacobson I’m going to let you be content with what Al and John have to say about this place, other than putting in a plug for the ginger ale made by chef Heierling from a mysterious irresistible elixir, and talk more about Silk Road. Silk Road is his restaurant at the disastrous Vdara, still open for one of the best breakfasts in town, featuring a dish called Turkish eggs, and still open for lunch, although just barely. Silk Road is notable because it showcases Heierling’s incredible creativity, which you get less of at Sensi for higher prices. Heierling cooks his Central Asian-inspired menu at Silk Road, oddball stuff you’ll remember; kataifi-crusted shrimp and sardines with feta and mint come to mind. If you come to Sensi expecting this kind of creativity, though, you’ll only get it from Japanese designer Super Potato’s New Age design. Sensi is not what I’d call cutting edge, but the novelty of eating from four types of cuisines is still impressive, and the complimentary naan and chutney make it all worthwhile.
Sensi is open for dinner from 5 to 9:45 p.m. daily. Call (702) 693-7223 for reservations or more information.
NOTE: Now through Oct. 15 only, Eating Las Vegas is available at a pre-sale discount price of just $6.50 -- 50%-off cover price -- with $2 shipping.
