Dining with a group? Head straight to Zuma, where you’ll enjoy an energetic, “izakaya” style of dining (a Japanese izakaya is a bit like a pub with communal cuisine) that showcases cocktails, sushi and shareable items, albeit with a slightly upscale twist.

After you head up to the third level of The Cosmopolitan and get your table in the contemporary restaurant with huge windows stretching up, up, up, the first order of business is sure to be cocktails. Although Zuma has plenty of options, one of the most popular is the Burning History, where a barrel stave is lit on fire with a blowtorch, creating a fragrant smoke that is captured by an upended glass. That’s then filled with a combination of Suntory Toki whiskey, honey, yuzu, ginger and egg whites. And once this showstopper is ordered at one table, you can expect to see it at many other tables around. Not only is it intriguing to watch being created, it also beautifully slides over the tongue. A deceptively light yet powerful raspberry and passionfruit martini with apple and Haku vodka will satisfy fruit lovers, while champagne, sake, Japanese beer and wine will cover everyone else.

Although you can order traditionally with starter, main and dessert, you can also pick whatever you fancy without taking courses into consideration. Just a few of the possibilities include marinated black cod and prawn gyoza; yellowtail sashimi with green chili relish, ponzu sauce and pickled garlic; signature dishes like rice hot pot with wild mushrooms and black truffle; and roasted lobster with shiso ponzu butter.

The robata grill yields plenty of choices, like grilled scallops, a 10-ounce skirt steak with shiso chimichurri, ribeye, or the spendy A5 Japanese wagyu ($55 per ounce) with fresh wasabi and a trio of salts. Get seafood such as jumbo tiger prawn or Chilean seafood, plus sides of potato and tender little sweet corn cobs with shiso butter and shichimi pepper.

The sushi selection here gives you enough to choose from without being overwhelming, with maki rolls including spicy tuna; a California roll with snow crab, avocado and tobiko; and the vegan Zuma Kappa, with avocado, cucumber and ginger. Order the wagyu special sushi with daikon or black truffle, or the torched salmon belly sushi with tomato mayo and truffle for a sophisticated twist. Nigiri and sashimi include everything from toro and sea bass to Ikura and uni. The chef’s selection gives you a little more of several varieties, and is well worth seeking out.

The omakase menu will give you a variety of the chef’s best, so you’ll enjoy some signature items and some of the freshest dishes available. It’s available in two sizes.

Dessert options range from yuzu Key lime pie with lychee sorbet to a green tea and banana cake with coconut ice cream. The Zuma deluxe dessert platter is pretty special, though, with a variety of fruit like dragonfruit, plus ice cream and sorbet.

The Cosmopolitan, 877.893.2001

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