Come fishing with me in Las Vegas

Bazaar Mar's Head Chef Daniela Romero shares some new surprises.

Hola my friends, I hope you are all doing well! Today I’m so excited to share an update with you about one of our newer restaurants…it’s one I think you will really enjoy! Last August, we opened Bazaar Mar in Las Vegas—you might remember Bazaar Mar was originally in Miami, and when it closed in 2019, I was determined to find a way to bring it back. It turns out that you can bring the ocean to the desert, and that’s exactly what we did when Bazaar Mar was reborn in Vegas.

Bringing Bazaar Mar back to a new location meant so much to me because it was always one of my favorite restaurants (I know, I’m not supposed to have favorites, but it really was), and that’s because I absolutely love seafood. All kinds of fish, shellfish, things no one can pronounce—if it comes from the sea, I love it. As we re-imagined what Bazaar Mar Las Vegas could be, we wanted it to be a place of wonder and surprise for everyone who’s excited to explore the ocean, and it has become exactly that kind of place! Where else can you pick your own fish and match it with a preparation of your choice? Seriously, people, this is such an interactive experience—pick a fish, whether it’s turbot, lubina, red snapper, or anything else we have that day, and you also tell us how to prepare it, whether it’s fried, baked in salt, grilled over wood, or a la Donostiarra! If you choose the salt-baked preparation (which, I can’t say I have a favorite, again, but this one is close!), it is served to you tableside, and it’s as theatrical as it sounds!

The fish display at Bazaar Mar

Of course we couldn’t stop there, so today I am sharing with you you another treat—our omakase box! In Japanese, the word “omakase” means “I leave it up to you,” and I love that so much (especially if I am sitting at the chef’s counter at a sushi restaurant!). We already have an element of that with our service at Bazaar Mar, but recently, our head Chef, Daniela Romero, has been receiving a weekly “omakase box” of fresh fish from around the world. We always serve the freshest fish you can find anywhere, but fish is seasonal, like produce, so you won’t always find the same dishes on the menu…so we can surprise you even more!

Let’s hear from Daniela herself about how she uses the weekly omakase box…and how it influences all the amazing things you see on the menu.

Bazaar Mar Head Chef Daniela Romero

How did the omakase box idea come along?

Chef Daniela:
It started as a “fisherman’s box” from one of our vendors—he basically said “hey, I have this array of fish if you want to try them.” I already order and receive fresh fish every day, like turbot from Spain—it’s all freshly caught. But when the first “omakase” box arrived, all of the chefs sat down and started googling, because it was all labeled in Japanese. It incentivized us to be a little more curious as a whole, and push our creativity. And it’s been evolving from there, and it’s restaurant-wide: it gives us something new to talk about in pre-shift, and it gives the servers the opportunity to educate guests about a fish they may never have heard of or had before—like a sea robin, which is a very traditional fish in Spain, and it has little legs! So those are the types of things we talk about in pre-shift, and the servers can bring that knowledge directly to the customer. You see the personality of each server come out when they explain to guests about each fish. They really take it to heart and write everything down. The distance between the fisherman and the customer becomes much, much shorter.

A fish prepared Donostiarra style

What are some creative preparations you’ve done based on the box?

Chef Daniela:
We recently had a fish that was very interesting…a goat fish. And it tasted like shrimp. So it was like three animals in one—a fish, a goat, and a shrimp. And we had a cornet fish, a really long skinny one that looks like a dragon—someone took a picture of it next to me and it was way taller than me. Every person in the dining room turned around, like, what is that? We were all very interested, and thought that it would be really good elevated ceviche classico—with leche de tigre—or it could be good fried, we thought with a vodka tempura. So we did it both ways and the guests absolutely loved it. It was a great way to showcase what we can do with fresh fish, and it really catches the attention of the guests.

The cornet fish is taller than Chef Daniela!

What else can both new and returning guests look forward to?

Chef Daniela:
Right now I'm working with a company in Las Vegas called The Joint and they dry-age fish, so we’re working on a dry-aged sea bass. We already have their dry-aged king salmon which sells really well, but I also want to bring in that sea bass. A simple preparation, on the grill. It’s like butter in your mouth. Meat is usually dry aged for a longer period of time, but fish is different, maybe two weeks at most. Dry aging removes the extra water from the fish, and the skin will crisp up beautifully on the grill, and it shows the fish off in the best way possible—it’s pristine. It pairs really well with our donostiarra sauce.

José here again—are you hungry yet, people? I’m so excited about all of the new things happening at Bazaar Mar, so if you are planning a trip to Vegas, try to make a stop there. I promise you will want to return!