Whenever someone recommends a Vegas restaurant that isn't on the Strip we immediately take notice - especially when it makes our list of the top 100 restaurants in the country. In this instance, the focus is on the "superb aburiya cooking" in an "off the beaten track location." While a number of people dismiss the raw fish preparations, calling them "pedestrian," they rave about offerings like aged dashi (house-made tofu), which they say "serves as a reference point" for the dish, and offerings cooked over the robata grill, ranging from tsukune (chicken meatballs) to foie gras. Reviewers call Raku "a very special and soulful restaurant," adding, "It's better than many izakaya restaurants I've been to in Japan." No wonder it's the number-one spot to see local chefs having dinner on their nights off or after they've finished service in their own kitchens.