3 Las Vegas spots among top 20 Italian restaurants in US

The U.S. has about 100,000 Italian restaurants, including pizza and chains, according to industry research. Three spots in Las Vegas were just named to the top 20 Italian restaurants in the country. That’s not the 1 percent. Or even the 0.1 percent. That’s the 0.02 percent.

Tasting Table, the New York City website that reports globally on food and drink, just released the list, with Esther’s Kitchen in the Arts District, Brezza in Resorts World and Carbone in Aria in the mix. Only New York City, with four places, had more restaurants recognized.

Esther’s Kitchen

Esther’s Kitchen, from chef James Trees, a James Beard Award finalist, opened in January 2018, helping to fuel the renewal of downtown Vegas. Tasting Table praised Esther’s sourdough swiped with anchovy butter, pizza topped with Brussels sprouts, veal osso buco and its rigatoni with black kale and almond pesto.

As the Review-Journal reported, the hugely popular Esther’s needs more space, so it’s moving half a block away to the Retro Vegas building on Main Street, with L’Aristocrat, a new French restaurant from Trees, set to occupy the space. The chef is also opening Bar Bohème, a brasserie, and a sister cocktail bar, La Petite Bohème, nearby.

Brezza

Chef Nicole Brisson, a James Beard semifinalist, and her former business partner opened Brezza in June 2021, finally giving the chef a room of her own after a heralded career on and off the Strip. Tasting Table showcased Brezza’s tuna carpaccio, heirloom Caprese salad, lobster campanelle and steaks like a dry-aged tomahawk.

Brisson recently spoke with the RJ about personnel changes at Brezza and what’s new (and ahead) at the restaurant and its sibling next door, Bar Zazu. Lunch service, for one, was just introduced at Brezza; the menu of 14 dishes includes salumi chopped salad, a mortadella melt and cannoli.

Carbone

The original Carbone, from chef Mario Carbone, chef Rich Torrisi and restaurateur Jeff Zalaznick, launched in Greenwich Village in 2013 to acclaim for its zhooshed-up Italian American standards. Carbone later expanded to four other restaurants, including Aria in 2015.

Tasting Table recommended the tableside Caesar salad, beef carpaccio, veal Parmesan and spicy rigatoni alla vodka (a dish now enjoying a return from the ’80s in Vegas).

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ItsJLW on Twitter.