One of the main reasons we go out to eat? We want to be served and feel like the most extraordinary people in the world. And at Carbone, the mission has been accomplished. It’s as if restaurant creators Mario Carbone, Rich Torrisi and Jeff Zalaznick put a mid-20th century Italian restaurant in New York into a time machine and transplanted it to Las Vegas.
As soon as you step in, you know that you are going to experience something special. You will be amazed by the plush, high-backed niches and velvet curtains around the dining area as well as the versatile playlist. Captains are assigned to your table and attend to all of your needs and desires, providing you with detailed menu descriptions and more than a bit of personality. Before you even order a cocktail, feel a little tipsy from the hustle and bustle. But you definitely want to order one here. Start with a classic cocktail like the Negroni, made simply with London Gin, Vermouth and Campari, or a fancy cocktail like the White Lady, with gin, orange liqueur, vanilla and egg white. Num-Num.
You can’t go wrong with the starter menu here, but we strongly recommend starting with the Carpaccio Piemontese, which is served with truffles, walnuts and mushrooms on thinly sliced beef fillet coated with a white truffle emulsion. Other highlights in this section include the baked mussels, the sizzling pancetta, as well as the prosciutto and melon.
Switching to main courses can be a challenge as there are plenty of flashy offerings. For meat lovers, a medium-rare ribeye Diana with a cacciatore sauce will surely satisfy, although we particularly like veal parmesan, and this version is pretty much why. It’s huge and hugely filling, accompanied by a fried rib with a cheese crust.
If seafood is more your style, the Dover Piccata, drizzled with a lemony brown butter sauce and served at the table by your captain, is irresistible. Another must-have for seafood lovers is the lobster ravioli, such a perfect rendering with sizable chunks of the delicious meat.
For pasta fans who may not prefer seafood, the choice is clear: Rigatoni in a spicy vodka sauce, an absolute carbon classic that lives up to its name. You’ll likely try Calabrian chilli, as well as loads of onions. Whatever you want to order, don’t forget the perfect side dishes such as spicy raven, potato louie, corn tartufato or funghi trifolati.
It’s great enough that you get a free bottle of limoncello (along with seven-layer biscuits) just before you leave, but don’t skip the dessert. Here, too, Carbone has specialized in the classics, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, especially when products like tiramisu and cheesecake are presented so beautifully and round off this experience perfectly.
Aria, 877.230.2742
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