Shibuya at the MGM Grand

We'd read some wonderful reviews on this restaurant on a different site, which was why we chose to come here. We love Sushi, being fans of Takashi's in Salt Lake City, Fuki Sushi in Palo Alto, CA (most of the time), and Yoshi's in San Francisco, so we've got some decent Sushi experience under our belts. When it came to Shibuya, I have had better sushi at Whole Foods. Their Kampachi and Hamachi were flavorless, their Salmon tasted soapy, and their Rock and Roll hand roll had barbs. We ordered the vegetable tempura which was fair at best. Another appetizer my husband had was actually decent once he decided to eat half of them instead of the whole piece (they added a RIDICULOUS amount of rice to it). I agree with other posters that the portions were small on the whole. As for the ambiance: Interesting design and color scheme made it fun to look around and appreciate the design. However, it was also FREEZING in the restaurant, and it was so loud our ears were ringing when we left. With 5 industrial cooking fans in the main dining area, it is no wonder. There is little opportunity to talk because the tables for 2 are quite long and there are no walls or partitions between any of the tables. Service was decent, but we paid $180 for our meal (which was ridiculous and so surreal we were just flabbergasted that we were charged so much for such sub par food) and we felt genuinely robbed. I would completely avoid this location if you want sushi while in Vegas. Try "Yellow tail" in the Bellagio instead - at the very least you'll be able to hear each other while you talk. We will NEVER eat here again. 2 stars.

Pros: Interesting design/decor

Cons: Beyond Loud, freezing, tasteless sushi

Posted 09/24/09

I'd taken a vacation to Las Vegas last weekend with my girlfriend and I decided to stay at the MGM Grand. My girlfriend and I had decided to eat over at shibuya since we've heard from other friends that it was one of the greatest places to eat. I must say, the food such as the sushi, the soup, and desserts tasted so good that I can honestly say its the best eating I've ever had in the past few months. The prices were reasonable, but to be honest, the service that I got from the servers that night, made it all worth it. My girlfriend and I agreed that it's a place that we'd recommend to anyone.

During our meal our servers were making us warm and welcome. I decided to ask our server to get us refills on our waters. We decided to order something else but we remembered that we asked our server for the refill, so we asked this mexican lady if we could place another order. She was so rude to us, she looked at us and said no, your server is the one who will take care of that. I politely asked for her name, and she it was Celene and that she was the manager. I told her, there is no reason to be rude to us, she just turned around and walked away without apologizing. She just gave us that look.

The reason why I didn't give this restaurant 5 stars, was because of that single incident with that manager. She was just horrible.

Pros: the food and the customer service

Posted 01/27/09

We ordered the Shibuya roll and it was terrible. It tasted like it had been sitting in a fridge for a day. The portions were extremely small. The sashimi looked like it was cut with a dull knife. It is overpriced and not worth it!!

Posted 11/02/08

I laugh when I see some of the comments people who want to eat for less than $40pp in Hotels on the strip should go to the Buffet not in fine dinings.
Friends recomended Shibuya to us last year, we've been 2 times since, our experience was amazing every time. We must say both time Shibuya was better than well known highly rated Nobu and other praised sushi places.
Great flavors, textures, amazing presentations of innovative food did it for us ( if some classic like Miso black cod, spicy rock shrimp tempura, california roll are there " I imagine it is a must have to please the tipical demanding spoiled American customers")
Even so it seems a bit pushy at times service was good "nowadays waiters are vendors more than servers, but thay had great sake and food knowledge, it seems like there is something for everyone with differents taste and wallet's budget, we have eaten great a la carte for aroud $80 each before. They had a $58 menu that seemed to be of great value but decided to go for the $130 Omakase tasting "worse every pennies", well balance with very fresh sashimi dressed with special sauces, signature hot dishes top notch (hard to find in any Japanese restaurant) well executed dishes "we understood when the server told us they have a French executive chef that teamed up with Japanese master sushi chef". This place must do over 600 covers but still pulled of such a great performance with timing, presentation and quality of about 14 dishes in 7-8 courses, we ate in 1 hours and 20 minutes, well delivered as we mentioned we where going to a Show. I guess a Chef that can pull this off in those conditions is a true master of his trade, the restaurant was packed. Michelin guide must have forgotten to visit there as it is was far better than a lot for Japanese one michelin star we've been to a New-York and Los Angeles.

Pros: Spectacular Food

Cons: Noisy

Posted 10/20/08

My wife and I celebrated our aniversary at Shibuya Restauratnt at MGM and then went to see Robin Williams perform on 5/25/08. After the show my wife came down with serious lower intestinal problems. The next morning I came down with the same malady. We spent 200.00 at Shibuya and I wanted the restaurant to know they had served some tainted food to prevent it from happening again. I called MGM customer service who took the information and promised the restaurant manager would call. Nothing........ Will not go back to this overpriced dirty restaurant.

Pros: Location

Cons: Service and quality of food

Posted 05/27/08

The food was okay and the setting truly Las Vegas. But they really push the saki. No problem there, but being a novice when it comes to saki, I asked the waiter for assistance. By his reaction you would have thought I was asking him to solve a complex math problem. He got very flustered and abrupt. From there, it was a downhill experience.

Pros: Ambiance

Cons: Brusque service, overpriced food

Posted 05/10/08

Decor & ambience are the best features. Sorry. Check that. Sake is the best feature here. Hope you LOVE sake. If you don't care about sushi or your money but love fun drinky-poos, hang out here. If you do care about superb sushi &/or excellent experiential value for your money, but a few cool adult beverages make you happily forget those annoying elitist worries, this is the place to be. For everyone else: Service is superb until it's time to for the bill & they suddenly disappear. Other high-priced Vegas joints can't wait to turn the table over & even seem to bask in the "wow your bill is SOOO Big!" Here, they don't even push desserts or digestives or more sake for that matter. That's probably the weirdest phenom you'll encounter here & it's kinda not that bad. Especially if you need a quick nap before you head to wait in line for one of the mega-clubs. Now that I think of it, this place is like one of those fancy Asian sleep-pod hotels. Only you wake up $300 USD lighter, hungry &slightly disoriented with deja vu that you just ate a sushi dinner in a fancy place but the food was Red Lobster on a good day. Yet, like EVERYTHING in Vegas, looks are deceiving & the Japanese chefs at the sushi bar are making TOMORROW's rolls. For those of you just waking up in your Jap-pod: this place does not serve the freshest sushi. Even cooked sushi was served at wrong temps. Just ask them. Why would your server lie & spoil your special trip that is maxing your credit cards? If you really REALLY love sushi, that means you avoid rolls, ask for the daily list of nigiri, order sashimi, or have a super-specific favorite that isn't yellowtail, toro, salmon, eel, cooked shrimp or mayonnaise. If this sort of even a tiny little bit describes you: don't eat here. This place is not about sushi just like casinos are not about winners. Anyone who posts positive comments here about this place are displaying cognitive dissonance. This place isn't the worst, it's just expensive to figure that out.

Pros: Exotic way to get drunk or fun method of quickly draining an expense account

Cons: It is just one big CON

Posted 04/01/08

The food was really good! The atmosphere was pleasent and engaging. My girlfriend really likes sushi wheras I'm more like so-so on it. I like to find Japenese restaurants that have a little of both for us each. I oredered the salmon and black cod and my girlfrend had a soft shell crab roll and some other things and she thought it was really good. It wasn't as expensive as they write it up so give it a try!

Pros: food and ambience was delicious

Cons: Service good have been better

Posted 11/04/07

we walked by knowing nothing about the restaurant. We loved it. The waiter was great. Service was amazing. They knew the menu and everything they recommended was amazing. the sushi was soft and very tasteful. the dessert was really good too. the raspberry martini was really tasty. highly recommended.

Posted 09/30/07

My husband and I enjoy fine dining and don?t mind paying for it; however, we were disappointed with the cuisine quality at Shibuya. The beef tartar was flavorful but the sushi was mediocre at best. If you want good sushi this is NOT the place to spend your cash! The ambience was incredible but unfortunately that was the restaurant?s best feature.

Pros: Atmosphere

Cons: Expensive

Posted 02/23/07

My dinning experience here is was forever memorable. Each bite melted in my mouth. The flavor is so rich so the small portions are perfect. The staff was friendly and had great recommendations. I especially enjoyed the dessert sake. This was fine dinning at it's best.

Pros: Great food

Cons: Very Pricey

Posted 11/23/06

I'm normally skeptical of restaurants inside casinos, especially "family-friendly" casinos such as the MGM Grand. Not only was I NOT disappointed with Shibuya, I was actually quite impressed! The food, in a word, is exquisite. I went with a group of about 6 or 7 people, and everything we ordered was amazing. The fish was fresh, the flavors were intense, and the combinations were inventive. The drinks were incredible as well -- you owe it to yourself to spend some time looking through their sake menu. Even if you've never tried sake before -- or even if you claim to "hate" sake -- you're gauranteed to find something you'll like. Don't be afraid to ask your waiter for suggestions; ours brought one particular type to my attention that I'd never tried before: naturally sparkling, Nigori-style sake. It was incredible. Be prepared for a large bill, however. Hey -- it's Vegas, baby!

Pros: Incredible Japanese food, sake and ambiance.

Cons: Incredibly expensive!

Posted 11/13/06

My heading says it all--the sushi was fantastic, the cocktails were unique and delicious, and the atmosphere was great: not too crowded, zen-like unobstrusive dividers to give you a sense of intimacy at your dinner table. The only critique I have is that I wish the waiter had been faster in coming to pick up our check but, besides that, highly recommended.

Pros: GREAT atmosphere and cocktails

Cons: A little bit pricey

Posted 10/30/06

My husband and I had an amazing dining experience at Shibuya! We did not have reservations and were seated at the Sushi bar immediately (fortunately there were two available seats there). There was so much to choose from. As we were watching the sushi chefs prepare the different kinds of sushi we saw something that looked delicious and asked what it was. After expalining it to us he told us to let him know when we were ready to order and he would let our waiter know what we wanted to order. I love sushi and that was a fabulous meal! Fabulous service, great food and a great atmosphere! A little noisy and fast paced and pricey, but definitely worth it! I loved it!

Pros: Ambience and service

Cons: A little noisy

Posted 08/19/06

There was absolutely nothing special about this place with the exception of the prices. I expect to pay $$$ for quality on the strip, but the cost here was ridiculous. We were seated 10 min late because the staff was having a meeting. Simply average teppan and sushi with mediocre service at an outrageous price. Courses were served on top of each other and drinks disregarded (except the iceless water). Save your $$, find a local Shogun with better food and service.

Cons: Price, Service, Food

Posted 05/14/06

I am Japanese and Japanese people are very picky when it comes to sushi rice. I don't know if I went to a bad day or not. But the sushi rice that I had was dry and a little bit hard. And I was really disappointed to find that even though they had Japanese people as sushi chefs, they couldn't make sushi rice correctly. I just couldn't believe that they actually served the kind of sushi rice to customers at this kind of upscale restaurant. Anyways, I stopped eating after having 4 orders of sushi because the sushi rice was that bad. But I really loved their appetizer and sake. And the interior was superb.

Pros: Good Atmosphere, Good Appetizer, Good Sake

Cons: Bad Sushi Rice, Not Worth the Price

Posted 03/23/06

I remember walking into Shibuya, and thinking it was a bit too loud and it smelled a bit fishy. Not the best first impression. But then I ate. And ate. And ATE. The sushi is by far the best I've ever had. Most expensive, too. :-)

The fish was very fresh and very flavorful.

I don't actually remember how the service was, which means it was ok.

Pros: Excellent sushi

Cons: Expensive, Loud

Posted 01/27/06

The ambience of the restaurant is really interesting and creative. I was immediately seated on a Sat. evening without reservation (i ate there solo.) I had salmon nigiri for an app and for my entree I had their ahi tuna which was phenomenal. As for the service, i simply told the waiter that i was in the mood for something a bit sweet and a bit tangy for dinner - he recommended the tuna which was just right. The servers are very knowledgeable and helpful. I had the crepes and sorbet for dessert which I thought were fantastic. One gripe - the portions are too small in my opinion. Do not go here if you've been walking all day, haven't eaten, and are starving! If you're looking for a light, creative dining experience check this out.

Pros: house entrees, restaurant design, helpful service

Cons: small portions/price

Posted 11/13/05

amazing service- they remembered us when we returned six months later. Very knowledgable about the menu. Wonderful sushi selection with unique items. Our favorite spot in Vegas.

Pros: atmosphere, staff, selection

Posted 09/24/05

We had a 7:30 reservation and were seated at 8. By looking at the decor, I expected a lot more from this place. Menu contents were extremely limited and food was OK. The sashimi were not even fresh. We had a $400 bills for 4 ppl (didnt even ordered any hot entree) and stll came out feeling hungry (we are a moderate eater). It's just another fancy place with no real food! Perhaps the food at the food court beside it might tastes better.

Posted 08/08/05

One of the most memorable meals I've ever had. Don't go expecting a typical sushi place. We ordered the tasting menu and it was beyond amazing! It included lobster in uni butter, and kobe beef with fois gras among many other fantastic dishes. However I could see being disappointed if you wanted special or diffrent types of sushi, they offer just the basics, but you can taste how fresh the fish is. The service was great as well, our waitress was very knowledgable, and so sweet. This is not the place to go if you just want sushi, but it is great for a special night out, be prepared to pay for it as well. We were more than happy to shell out $600 for four people (we ordered a ton!)

Pros: FOOD, service, decor

Cons: pricey

Posted 07/09/05

This was the best Toro I have ever eaten ian all my years of traveling to Japan.

Posted 05/27/05

The best service I have ever had and the best fish ever!!!!! I cant wait to go back to Shibuya!!!

Posted 05/27/05

went to shibuya for my boyfriend's 30'th birthday while in vegas for the first time. i expected more. not to say it's bad, it's just good. the ambience is the high point - very classy & modern with plenty of elbow room at large, private tables. but i get sushi just as good if not better for half the price in new york. and the service was the low point. 20 minutes before even our water came. generally clueless & rushed waiter was polite, but not on the ball. there must be better options in MGM grand's A-team line-up of restaurants.

Pros: ambience, good enough food, large, private tables

Cons: food just good enough, sub-par service, pricey

Posted 05/16/05

I had a high expectation for this restaurant since there are many good online reviews, but there were nothing impressive about Shibuya base on my own personal experience. Their food selection are very limited, and there are only about 20 types of sushi available in their menu. I was disappointed to find Sweet Shrimp is NOT in the list. Hand & Cut roll are very standard and typical compare to other local Japanese restaurants. Their cold & hot plates are rip off also. One order of Kapachi sashimi only has 4 slices. The plate is huge but only 4 slices in there makes it look weird. An unreasonable 20% gratuity was applied on my tap for my party of 10 seated in separate corners fae away from each other. In short, no more Shibuya

Pros: Long Sake List

Cons: Expensive, Limited Sushi Choice, High % Gratuity

Posted 05/10/05

I wasn't by impressed by anything but the decor. The ingredients were top quality and fresh but the overall taste of everything left a lot to be desired. Also, be aware things that are normally gratis as most Japanese restaurants such as edamame and rice are charged for here. Even the desserts (which I usually love no matter what) we lacking. I was very dissapointed, I normally love Sushi & Japanese food.

Pros: decor, vibe, staff

Cons: value, taste

Posted 02/10/05

Best japanese in vegas period! I go ther every time I'm in Vegas. Staff is great and the chefs are very friendly.
SHIBUYA KOBE IS AWESOME!!!

Pros: design, service, food

Posted 11/22/04

arrived 6pm Sunday, pretty empty, but the main dining area & sushi bar gradually filled up ... very cool & not daunting or silly modern atmosphere inside. Unfortunately, it's at the MGM, and it's right along CityWalk ... would be nice is the premesis were recessed a bit, but hey ... Cold plates were lovely w/light flavors combining for powerful effect. A visit from the sommelier du Sake was refreshing too. the place to go before a show!

Pros: cold plates, sake , value

Posted 10/30/04