Osteria Fiorella — Restaurant in Summerlin South

I dined there recently with my brother and wife. He is a long-time Las Vegas resident. When we visit we like to get him to try new places, and this Italian-themed restaurant stood out for its location, the chef’s reputation, the good reviews and the menu, which veered off the beaten path. Also, it was easy to get in on a Saturday night. That should have been a clue. While most of the appetizers and entrees we tried were quite good, the pasta I ordered (spaghetti all’ amatriciana) was lacking in two key ingredients: guanciale and spiciness. Now this is not the type of Italian restaurant where they set parmesan and crushed red pepper on the table, but even if they had I would not have bothered to doctor it because nowhere amid the housemade strands of otherwise delightful pasta did I taste, see or feel the tiniest shred of guanciale. Since the dish is named after a region of Italy famed for its pork, this is a mortal omission. I sent the dish back. The second attempt was worse m, being a watery, hurried version of the first. Instead of suggesting another entree or solution to this issue, the waiter removed my entree from the bill. I went home hungry, the first time that’s ever happened after an Italian dinner in Vegas. Next time I’ll let my brother choose...

My wife and I had high expectations for Osteria Fiorella, having enjoyed Chef Marc Vetri’s food from several dinners at Vetri Cucina before The Palms closed. We considered it one of our top dining experiences since moving to Vegas just under three years ago.

Osteria Fiorella did not disappoint. From the moment we were seated, the service equaled the five-star treatment we received at Vetri Cucina, which makes sense, considering most of the staff was able to join the team at Osteria Fiorella. When I told them I really wanted a few glasses of something special, but didn’t want to buy a full bottle for myself (my wife is pregnant), Justin, the wine director, suggested a few 1/2 bottles of some amazing Barolos and Brunellos not on the menu, which was perfect.

Everything from the mozzarella en carozza to my veal chop parmagiana, and my wife’s rigatoni was spectacular.

Prior to their opening, my wife and I struggled finding another Italian of this caliber, since our other favorite La Strega, was usually busy and required reservations several days in advance. We hope this experiment works for them and Red Rock Casino, because we’d love to make this our next regular hangout here...

If you like Italian & want to get off the strip, you gotta try Osteria Fiorella, it’s located in Summerlin at the Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa. Went here a few weeks ago with some of my beautiful foodie G’s! We had a wide variety of good eats & another plus is we happened to be dining during happy hour which cut some costs that we didn’t expect (lol, it’s all about the extending the funds, cause we like to eat). We ordered some tasty cocktails, Crudo appetizer, 2 Wood-Fire Oven Pizzas (Classic Margherita & prosciutto), Bucatini Pomodoro w/ san marzano tomatoes, Ribeye w/ royal trumpet mushrooms & porcini jus, Market Greens w/ shaved squash & hazelnut vinaigrette, Escarole Caesar topped w/ durum croutons & grated parmigiano. For dessert we had classic tiramisu, assorted gelato. Everything was all good but my favorites were the Ricotta Gnocchi that was swimming in that tasty brown butter topped crispy leeks & Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Maple Glaze and one of the best desserts I’ve ever had, the Caramel Bonét, which was a cream-custard with bananas. It was the perfect finale after a delicious meal! I’d definitely...