It was a sad moment when Chada Thai closed in May in the Chinatown plaza on Jones just north of Spring Mountain. Once upon a time, the space might have sat vacant for a while, but nowadays in Vegas, there are lots of quality restaurateurs eyeing dining-scene opportunities. Enter EDO Gastro Tapas & Wine.
EDO specializes in Spanish tapas, hardly remarkable unto itself. But under the watch of chef Oscar Amador of Boqueria Street food truck and former Bazaar Meat GM Roberto Liendo, EDO ranks a step above its brethren. In fact, it earns my early vote for 2018’s best new restaurant.
It begins with Liendo’s front-of-house attention to detail, from contemporary-yet-authentic place settings—you get to eat with tweezers!—to whimsical presentations (bikini sandwiches served in the prongs of a fork and paella cooked tableside to the sands of an hourglass). And it continues into the minuscule back-of-house, from which Amador delivers a slew of memorable bites.
An example is the aforementioned bikini ($7), a fabulous, pressed sobrassada and Mahón cheese sandwich similar to a paper-thin cheese panini. Elsewhere, the montadito ($8.50) delivers smoked salmon and honey atop truffle cream cheese-slathered bruschetta under a smoke-filled glass dome.
This being Chinatown, there are Asian touches. Tokyo oysters ($3.50 each), highlighted by Far East flavors of trout roe pico de gallo, ponzu and wasabi, begin an oyster world tour that travels from Peru to Spain. The savory Ibérico Secreto tsukune ($8.50) features ground pork in place of the traditional chicken served in Japanese izakayas.
Unsurprisingly, Ibérico makes its mark across the menu, especially in the transcendent paella Ibérica ($23). A single forkful of the infamously decadent Spanish ham combined with the crunchy socarrat underlayer is as good a bite as you’ll currently find in town. And don’t overlook the funky, intense Cabrales ($7), a pungent kin to our more subdued blue cheese. It makes for a sharp palate cleanser after an epic dining experience.
EDO Gastro Tapas & Wine 3400 S. Jones Blvd. #11A, 702-641-1345. Sunday-Thursday, 5 p.m.-1 a.m.; Friday-Saturday, 5 p.m.-2 a.m.