By Elaine Harris and Scott Harris — Cuisineist

Some of Las Vegas’ best dining hides in plain sight, in a Spring Valley strip center on South Durango Drive. Other Mama has been a locals’ favorite since 2015, and a fresh round of new dishes from Chef/Owner Dan Krohmer gives everyone a reason to go back — or to finally make a first visit.

Krohmer trained under renowned chef Masaharu Morimoto, and it shows in the way he cooks: ingredient-driven, precise, and quietly inventive, with Japanese technique running through a menu that wanders the globe without ever losing its footing. The room helps, too — intimate, relaxed, and completely non-gaming, the kind of neighborhood place Las Vegas always needs more of.

The new dishes lean into seafood, as the kitchen always has, but with fresh twists. Grilled Octopus arrives with a warm sweet potato salad, bacon, scallions, and pipian. Garlic Shrimp Yakisoba piles on charred cabbage and crispy shallots. Lobster Dumplings come with kimchi ponzu and a bright scallion salad, and the Snow Crab and Amberjack Tartare — built with aji amarillo, arare crackers, and herbs — is the kind of dish that disappears from the table in about a minute.

There is more: Baked Oysters with bacon, crab, and celery butter; Kabocha Tempura with mentaiko mayo; and a Roasted Eggplant with charred miso and sesame that will convert people who think they do not like eggplant. Save room for the Hojicha Panna Cotta, with black sesame and poached pear — a gentle, toasty finish.

“We’re always trying new things in the kitchen,” Krohmer says, “whether it’s working with different ingredients or putting our own spin on familiar dishes. We want to keep the menu interesting while staying true to what people have come to expect from Other Mama.”

If you have never been, happy hour may be the smartest way in. It runs Tuesday through Sunday from 5 to 6 p.m., with bluefin tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and amberjack sushi at $2 a piece, $5 hand rolls, and kitchen favorites like crispy Brussels sprouts, spicy edamame, and Japanese fried chicken. Signature cocktails and martinis are $10, wines by the glass $7, sake $8, and draft beers $5 — and there is a proper zero-proof selection, too. Night owls get a second chance with the After Dark happy hour, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 p.m. to midnight, in the restaurant’s dedicated bar and lounge — an ideal perch for date night or a last cocktail with friends.

Krohmer’s other kitchen is steps away: Durango Social Club, where he collaborates with Executive Chef Crystina “Mama” Nguyen on Vietnamese comfort food, scratch-made and bold. What began as a series of pop-ups is now a permanent fixture, and together the two restaurants make this corner of Durango a small destination of its own.

Other Mama, at 3655 S. Durango Drive, Suite 6, is open Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight; it is closed Mondays. Reservations and menus are at othermama.com. Go hungry — and go soon.

All photos by Cole Curtis.