Mott 32 (Las Vegas, NV) [2]

Mott 32
The Palazzo
3325 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Dining date: 7/26/22

Hong Kong-based Mott 32 has been open in Las Vegas for three years. I’ve managed to dine here twice previously and they’ve both been very good meals, but dining in a party of two limited my ability to try much of the menu at once. I was excited to dine here in a party of seven to try a host of new items, as well as some favorites. My dad has also been here a few times and led the ordering focused around a lot of the restaurant’s signature dishes. He called ahead to preorder the whole duck, the barbecue pork, and the short rib to assure we’d be able to sample each of them.

Crispy Sea Bass, Salt & Pepper

Traditional Iberico Pork Shanghainese Soup Dumplings

Crispy Sugar Coated BBQ Iberico Pork Bun

Signature 36-Month Acorn Fed Barbecue Pluma Iberico Pork

Apple Wood Roasted 42 Days Peking Duck “Signature Mott 32 Cut”

Crispy Triple Cooked Wagyu Beef Short Rib

Signature Smoked Black Cod

Snow Pea Tips

While my first two visits to Mott 32 were hits, this meal fell well short of expectations. The duck was perhaps the most disappointing; while it was still a sight to behold, the meat was blatantly overcooked and under-seasoned. It was my first time having the short rib but it was generally unmemorable and not as tender as expected, especially for something advertised as “triple-cooked.” Smoked black cod was presented in a spectacular way, its glass cover  removed tableside to reveal the smoke flavor. The fish was cooked nicely with a delicately crispy skin, but just too sweet. The barbecue pork was similarly on the sweet side as well. On a more positive note, the soup dumplings and pork buns were strong efforts, as was the crispy sea bass.

The service left a lot to be desired as well, starting with the food really needing to be coursed out. The duck and short rib arrived at the same time, quickly followed by the fish. There wasn’t enough space on the table to set them all down, and by the time we were able to get to the short rib and fish, they were lukewarm. Wine service was also a notable issue; while the staff initially served us the bottle of wine we ordered, they set the bottle aside on a separate table and seemed to forget to serve the rest of the bottle. There had been minor service gaffes in prior visits but this is the first time the food was such a letdown. And at this price point (Peking duck $108, barbecue pork $42, short rib $88), I needed a lot more from this experience as a whole.