Italian dining in Las Vegas....Help!
 

DH and I are heading back to LV next week. We already have reservations for Otto at the Venetian; Julian Serrano - Aria; Olives - Bellagio and ????? We have placed a rez for Scarpetto - Cosmopolitan, but I'm questioning our decision. While we are anxious to try a Scott Conant restaurant, we are reading majorly mixed reviews. We love great tasting Italian food and are shooting for a new restaurant along those lines. We've eaten at Bartolotta, Lavo, B&B, Zefferinos..all yummy, but need something new. Fiamma reviews run from excellent to down right awful. Any thoughts about Capo's on Tropicana, Rao's or any other restaurants?

We need to make a rez soon as the evening we need to fill is a Friday, over Valentine's Day weekend. Don't know why I waited so long to make our plans. HELP, please!!

Thanks -

No first hand experience as we always dine French in Vegas (Robuchon, Guy Savoy, Alex, maybe Picasso next time) but on Chowhound there are a lot of threads discussing "best Italian" and similar, you might get some good tips there ... here's a link to one such thread, there are others at the bottom after the replies ... http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/687091

Another excellent source for Vegas restaurants is this site, from a guy who has write-ups on over 90 places. I always check with him before trying something new there and thus far I've always agreed with his reviews after the fact: http://home.comcast.net/~lasvegasvac...rantGuide.html

I would probably choose Bartolotta just from seeing it from the outside (one of those poolside cabanas looks romantic, though probably cold for Valentines unless those heaters are working right), but you've already been there/done that ...

We had an excellent meal at Fiamma at the MGM - food was fantastic, service was great, cool decor - no complaints whatsoever. Their short rib ravioli was delish!

We ate at OLIVES, was very disappointed in the meal. Was way too heavy for our taste. Ordered scallops and it came with a dark heavy sauce instead of something lighter. We had 2 great meals during our stay at Postrio's in Caesars, but restaurant was not overly crowded. I've heard some good mentions of Capo's, but I have a feeling its more of a "theme" type restaurant.

sorry, that was SPAGO, not Postrio we ate twice in Las Vegas. Had great halibut there, was delicious! Restaurant was kind of "empty " though, but food was great.

I've never been there but I've heard great things about Rao's. I stayed at CP recently and wanted to eat there but it was too pricey for my companions.

Friends also like Postrio at the Venetian, but I think it's more casual than the other places you've mentioned. Except OTTO Pizzeria (the new name -- it used to be called an Enoteca San Marco but apparently people didn't know what an enoteca was and couldn't pronounce it), which is even more casual, and right next to Postrio on the fake piazza.

Postrio is good but it is not Italian.

Spago is also good but again, not Italian.

I've eaten at Rao's a couple of times. It's okay. I enjoyed it a lot the first time, less so the second time. I like the atmosphere of the two smaller dining rooms (as opposed to the larger dining room or the "terrace" dining area).

I used to go to Antonio's at the Rio, which I thought was very good. But it's been a few years since I've been so I don't know if it is still good (or even still there).