The 15 best Italian restaurants in Las Vegas

Mario Carbone’s shrine to Italian-American cooking debuted in New York, but its spiritual home is Las Vegas, where glamorous, over-the-top dining experiences have been par for the course. The classy joint embraces pomp and showmanship with several dishes served tableside and a roaming rum cart. Favorites include lobster fra diavolo, octopus pizzaiolo, veal parmesan and spicy rigatoni vodka.

Fittingly overlooking the Bellagio fountain, James Beard-winning chef Julian Serrano transports diners to Italy with small plate starters—think mini pizzas, salmon crudo and caviar bites—before moving on to fresh pastas that include a homemade elbow rigatoni, truffle fondue lasagna and pappardelle with a lamb bolognese with truffle honey ricotta.

Giada de Laurentiis opened her first restaurant ever at the Cromwell in 2014. It’s continued to reign over its center Strip location. Here, diners dig into fresh, light Italian dishes with a dash of California (think bright lemony chicken piccata, veggie bolognese and orzo meatballs). The space is especially lively for brunch when the menu features polenta waffles and prosciutto frittatas.

This Detroit-born eatery inside downtown’s D casino has a dual personality. Is it a steakhouse? Yes. Is it an Italian restaurant? You bet. Is it worth trying? Absolutely. Along with the standard range of steaks, there’s a full menu of Italian temptations, from arancini rice balls to veal osso bucco to gnocchi with beef tenderloin tips and a gorgonzola cream sauce.

The Ferraro family has been giving Las Vegans their pasta fix since 1985. The menu at their Paradise Road restaurant (across from the Virgin Hotel) ranges from entry-level flavors to more sophisticated fare like braised rabbit with polenta and hen of the woods mushrooms or tripe in spicy tomato sauce.

Bramàre serves fresh house-made pastas such as tagliatelle with a wild boar ragu and innovative pizzas including braised beef cheek or roasted chicken with calabrian honey and chilis. The signature swordfish milanese comes breaded, pan-fried and served with a caviar sauce. The off-Strip restaurant is a great late night spot (it’s open until 3am) with an outstanding cocktail program.

James Beard award-winning chef Shawn McClain is slinging some amazing pasta dishes inside the Sahara resort-casino. On the menu: chicken parm, steamed mussels and a lemon-caper sea bream, plus a spaghetti with Dungeness crab and squash blossoms. There is also a $75 three-course tasting menu and half-price deals for locals for steaks on Tuesday and wine on Wednesday.

This is a solid pasta joint with red sauces, cheesecakes and dessert wines. Start with grandma’s meatballs or the eggplant parm and then hit up one of the pastas like the short rib lasagna pinwheels or the sea bass piccata. There’s also a takeaway slice shop and a speakeasy called Chez Bippy.

This tiny spot in the Chinatown neighborhood serves some of the best pizza in town—and possibly the entire country. Don’t believe us? Well here’s some backup: Double Zero made the 50 Top Pizza list for having some of the best pies in America. It’s worth a visit just to try the salami rosa.

This throwback restaurant may not look like much but there’s a lot of bang for the buck here. A brick home converted to a restaurant, Chicago Joe’s has been a Las Vegas staple since 1975 and is rumored to have once been a mob favorite. Now, it’s filling the bellies of nearby lawyers in the court district with dishes that barely top $20.