Las Vegas tapas restaurant Forte to serve Russian sushi

Las Vegas isn’t lacking in restaurants that offer the world’s finest ingredients. Many Strip menus feature imported caviar and Spain’s prized Jamon Iberico de Bellota: prized black-footed pigs who spend their lives outdoors, primarily eating acorns.

But you would be hard pressed to find these, or similar ingredients, in the suburbs.

Forte European Tapas Bar and Bistro, 4180 S. Rainbow Blvd., is about to change all that.

Since opening in 2009, Forte Bistro has evolved from a funky, super-casual hidden gem that locals in the know frequented for Spanish tapas and exotic Eastern European dishes, to a celebrated restaurant that’s a critic’s darling and has been featured on the Food Network.

With its growing success, the father-daughter team of Stefan and Nina Manchev slowly but surely began renovating the place, adding better wines and other attractions.

In the meantime, the pair used the elder Manchev’s numerous connections from a life spent traveling Europe to begin importing high-end ingredients to the local market. Among their most successful products is a line of Bulgarian caviar used in some of this town’s finest restaurants, including MGM Grand’s Joel Robuchon.

Now, the Manchevs are in the midst of a three-phase addition that will take suburban dining in our valley to a new level. The first change was the addition of a retail wine operation and a deli cabinet in the bar area offering fine cheese and imported sausages and cured meats. Among those are varying grades of Spanish hams including three varieties of Iberico de Bellota.

It’s a better selection than that of most top restaurants, at a fraction of their prices. So far, however, it’s been takeout only.

That limitation was lifted this week. The bar area, once reserved for drinking house-infused brandies and vodkas and other fine spirts, now offers counter service of bocadillos (sandwiches on Spanish baguettes) made with many of those prized deli ingredients. Early offerings on the menu, which is still evolving, include the Dona Juana (jamon serrano and Spanish sausage with manchego cheese and roasted pequillo peppers) and Cantabrian Sea anchovies with tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil. All are served with a side of mixed Spanish olives.

This, however, is just phase one.

“Later we’ll introduce prepared salads, and more stuff that’s grab-and-go,” Nina Manchev explains of their game plan.

“The next phase will be breads,” she continues, noting that their new baker also provides products to high-end Strip eateries. “It’ll be all artisanal breads and pastries. So it’ll be breakfast and lunch, but not egg scrambles and stuff like that. (Instead) it’ll be fresh pastries and artisanal quiches.”

While all of this is groundbreaking in terms of the level of ingredients being offered, sandwiches, salads, breads and pastries aren’t exactly new for the ‘burbs. But what comes next will be.

By the beginning of May, the restaurant will transform the entire bar area into a dining concept known as a “Russhi bar,” short for “Russian sushi.” And there, diners will be able to get all of the above, as well as tastings of Iberico ham, a new Beluga-hybrid caviar that Forte is already promoting to its four- and five-star restaurant clients, and other assorted high-end delicacies.

“Semi-luxury, semi-casual,” is how Stefan Manchev describes the menu. “”Something affordable that people can enjoy. But they can enjoy the real thing. Not paddlefish, that tastes like (expletive). Not hackleback. Not the salty, fishy stuff that Americans don’t like, because they’ve never been introduced to real caviar.”

“It’s going to be something very special and very different,” Nina Manchev promises.

Contact Al Mancini at amancini@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5250. Follow @AlManciniVegas on Twitter.