Cantina Contramar Fontainebleau, Las Vegas

I had two options going into Las Vegas. Cantina Contramar at the Fontainebleau, or Maroon, a Caribbean-inspired steakhouse from James Beard winner Kwame Onwuachi. I wasn't entirely sure what a Caribbean-inspired steakhouse was, but I liked the sound of it enough to put it on the list.

As it turned out, Maroon didn't open until four days after I arrived. So the choice was made for me, which is occasionally how the best meals happen.

Cantina Contramar is having a moment. Chef Gabriela Cámara built her name on Contramar, her seafood restaurant in Mexico City, and this is her Las Vegas version, inside the Fontainebleau in a room designed by architect Frida Escobedo. A few months open and already getting serious attention. That kind of early press can go either way.

I walked in when they opened and sat at the bar. Reservations, I was told later, are not easy to come by.

A bartender named Daniel took care of me. He had that quality that good restaurant people have where the recommendations feel genuinely personal rather than recited. I ordered the ceviche contramar, the tuna tostada, and the tacos de gaoneras. The tacos were wagyu. I don't entirely know why I ordered them given that the whole point of the place is the seafood, but the word wagyu was right there on the menu and I am not immune to that.

The tuna tostada arrived first. It was simple and very fresh and had real layers to it. There were pickled onions on the side and a salsa verde, and I used both, and the tostada went from great to something I was genuinely sad to finish.

The wagyu tacos came with a toasted salsa verde. After one bite I switched to the fresher, lighter green salsa and it lifted the whole thing. They were good. I'm glad I tried them. I would probably order the ceviche again instead.

The ceviche contramar arrived last. It came with crisp tortillas and was extraordinary. Incredibly fresh, packed with flavour, the kind of dish that makes you understand why someone built a career around it. I used the pickled onions and the lighter salsa verde. By this point I was full enough that I'd pushed it to the side, half finished, and told Daniel I was done. He said there was no rush, that I should give it a few minutes. He was right. There was nothing left when he came back.

I had ordered a red wine at the start, on account of the wagyu. Daniel quietly suggested I try an albariño and a Mexican chardonnay alongside it. The chardonnay was excellent. I don't normally drink chardonnay. This one was clean and slightly salty and made the ceviche taste better, and the ceviche made the wine taste better. I don't have a more technical way to explain it than that.

The staff across the board were warm in a way that felt unforced. The hostess, the servers, Daniel. It had the energy of a place where people are genuinely happy to be working, which is rarer than it should be.