My husband and I dined at Kuro during a recent stay at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City. The contemporary Japanese restaurant serves sushi and sashimi as well as grilled dishes, salads and dessert.

We arrived just in time for our reservation and were immediately seated in a cozy booth. We perused the food and beverage menus while our waiter came by with water. He explained food could be ordered à la carte, or he and the chef could create a personalized tasting menu based on our preferences. While we were tempted by the tasting menu, we instead opted to order à la carte. First, we ordered drinks. The beverage program offers an impressive selection of cocktails, wine, beer, sake and spirits. Specialty cocktails are categorized into five basic tastes: sweet, sour, umami, salty and bitter. I ordered the salty option, Pinku, made with vodka, mezcal, watermelon, lime and ichimi salt. Both salty and sweet, it was a refreshing start to the meal.

We planned to share the dishes and selected a mix of cold and hot options. There wasn’t a bad bite of food, and there were many standouts! Our first bite was crispy rice topped with spicy tuna and caviar. The tuna was still perfectly cold even though it was on top of warm, crispy rice. We devoured the toro tartar, which came with a miso wasabi dressing and rice chips. From the grill we enjoyed tender Wagyu lollipops. One of our favorite dishes, surprisingly, was a salad. The Green Goddess salad included lettuce topped with tomatoes, crispy noodles and a shiso dressing. We ended the meal on a sweet note with Japanese-style doughnuts and cheesecake.

Dinner at Kuro is a must on your next visit to Atlantic City.

— Katie Skrzek, vice president/digital director