Italian food is the most reliable category in Las Vegas dining, from red-sauce family rooms to the destination prestige of Carbone and the neighborhood trattorias locals actually use. Here is the full picture.
Where to eat,
start to finish
Everyone in Vegas has an Italian restaurant, which is why the category sorts itself so clearly: the big-name rooms, the family-style institutions and the neighborhood favorites.
Match the room to the group and you cannot go wrong.
The Aria room that made tableside Italian a phenomenon: spicy rigatoni, veal parmesan for two, worth the booking fight.
Check it outScarpetta
The Cosmopolitan's uptown Italian: famous pasta, elegant room, great people-watching.
Cipriani
Wynn's sleek Venetian-born room: bellinis and the timeless Cipriani menu.
The Forum Shops family-style giant: platters built for the whole table, New York energy.
Check it outThe off-Strip institution where Vegas power players have celebrated for decades.
Check it outThe family-style move
Carmine's and Buddy V's are built for groups: order a few big platters, share everything and let the wine flow. The per-person price stays sane and the energy is loud in the best way.
Book the group early, these rooms pack with parties.
The date-night move
Carbone, Scarpetta and Cipriani are the romantic registry, but Trattoria Reggiano on a Summerlin patio is the locals' secret for the same mood at half the price.
For the old-school date, Piero's remains the room your grandparents would have chosen, and they would be right.
Moving to Las Vegas? The food is part of the decision.
When clients relocate, the dining scene is one of the best ways to feel out a neighborhood. I can point you to the restaurants that make each corner of the valley home.