Thu, 11/18/2021 (02:00 a.m.)
Rao’s Italian restaurant opened at Caesars Palace during the Christmas season in 2006 – a reasonable seasonal arrival given the colorful decorations and year-round Christmas lights that make the Strip restaurant feel like the red sauce around the corner where you make an annual reservation with family and friends and escape your own kitchen this time of year.
In East Harlem, the original Rao’s did just that starting in 1896. Sometime in the 1970s, the tiny but iconic New York City restaurant became known as one of the toughest reservations in the country because it was so small and its loyal patrons wouldn’t give up their tables. When Raos expanded to Las Vegas 15 years ago, it became easier for more people to experience the Rao family’s hospitality and homely cuisine, including specialties like the giant veal, pork, and beef meatballs; Linguine Frutti di Mare with seafood and red chilli flakes; Uncle Vincent’s Lemon Chicken; and Sunday sauce made with a variety of meats that aren’t on the menu but tasty enough to threaten your nonna’s recipe.
After a grandiose and long run, Rao’s Las Vegas will serve its last meal on November 28th. Locals and tourists were regulars here and we will all miss the food, the friendly atmosphere, the sitting at the bar and the E. 114. after a show in the Colosseum and meeting the family offspring Frank Pellegrino Jr., who always quickly filled his champagne glass. There was a feast here every night, and the same cannot be said of every restaurant on the Strip.
Click HERE to subscribe to the Weekly Fix, the digital edition of Las Vegas Weekly, for free! Stay up to date with the latest Las Vegas concerts, shows, restaurants, bars and more delivered straight to your inbox!
Brock Radke is an award-winning writer who has lived and worked in Las Vegas for more than 20 years.
Get more Brock Radke
