Question of the Day - 19 October 2022

When it opened early this year, the restaurant Peyote, located at 1028 E. Fremont St. in the Fergusons Downtown space previously occupied by the upscale Mexican eatery La Monja, got an enormous amount of buzz from the local foodie community.

We have to admit that we were a bit skeptical, given the hype and, frankly, the name of the place. (What was it supposed to signify? That the restaurant or the food was trippy? Psychedelic? Transcendent?) But we ate there anyway in March and tried to keep an open mind. Our write-up appeared in the April Las Vegas Advisor -- and it's the one we thought of immediately upon receiving this question.

Here's the review.

When we got there, Peyote was busy, so we (Anthony and Deke) were seated in two of the six stools looking over the counter into the kitchen prep area. This turned out to be a good thing, as we got to talking to Daniel Arias, one of Peyote’s two chefs, who worked previously at Robuchon and Andrés. Daniel explained the concept: a melding of each chef’s culinary preferences — one northern-style Mexican, the other southern.

Even with our expectations raised by Daniel’s exuberant descriptions, we were stunned into ecstatic silence by the flavors and textures of the food when it arrived.

We ordered the beets ($17) and ceviche ($21) appetizers; the former comes in a mild chile dressing, the latter Peyote’s own spin (salsa bendita and olive oil, cucumber, and avocado). Both different. Both absolutely delicious.

The skirt steak asada ($37) came with two extraordinary cheese-stuffed Anaheim chiles that we actually fought over, while the pollo asado al ajo ($27), grilled chicken in black garlic sauce with red rice and stewed pinto beans, was as complex as any “Mexican” food we can remember sampling.

The menu is brief, but power-packed, and just when we were congratulating ourselves on our choices, we got a gander at the pulpo sarandeado ($29), Veracruz-style grilled octopus, which Daniel proclaimed to be “tender enough to cut with a spoon.”

Fabulous food, but we weren’t done. Whenever there’s only one dessert on the menu, it’s an insta-try. In this case, it was eggless carajillo flan ($12). We’ve had flan before, of course, but never like this. It's topped with carajillo caramel and served over chocolate flakes and after our first bites, we finally understood the foodie buzzword “elevated” — plus, we succeeded in putting the name Peyote perfectly into context. (Don't eat here without getting the flan).

Suffice it to say, we can’t recommend Peyote highly enough. The prices are not only reasonable, especially compared to those in the tourist corridor, but the food is more plentiful than you might expect for American-Mex-fusion fine dining. Also, the outdoor patio is the coolest gathering place along Fremont Street and often hosts a DJ.

Peyote also serves a weekend brunch, bar snacks (mole wings, beet and ceviche tostadas, $8), and has a full bar. Be sure to make reservations; the word is out far and wide about Peyote and it’s closed Mon.-Wed. (open Thursday 5-10 p.m., Friday 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m.-2 p.m.); even with the big patio, this place fills up fast.