One of the most dynamic places on the Las Vegas Strip has to be Eataly. The expansive marketplace in Park MGM features a shop area that faces toward the Strip, with gelato, espresso, bakery and wine service counters, and a wall of wine along one wall. On the elevated level are numerous counters serving up a variety of quick-serve food like pizza, pasta and Italian street food. It also features two eat-in restaurants, including Toscana Ristorante & Bar by Eataly.
Tucked near Park MGM, the entrance to Toscana is accented by vines climbing the exterior walls, creating a charming vista. Inside, it’s incredibly intimate, seating just 75 guests, with Italian memorabilia on the walls. There’s also a lovely private dining room that seats 12, with walls lined in bottles of wine, that allow you to peek out at the people walking past (but they’ll never know you’re in there).
Once seated for dinner, you may choose to get a cocktail to start—in addition to a variety of cocktails with ingredients from Italian brands, you can indulge in a customizable Negroni Toscana or a trendy espresso martini. And if you are a spritz fan, Toscana features four different ones as well as a nonalcoholic one. Plus, there are plenty of by-the-glass wine options, as well as sommelier-recommended pairings for the menu.
As you order, think about sharing each dish for maximum enjoyment. Antipasti includes the grande piatto misto, a selection of several cheeses and meats plus a house-made focaccia that you’ll go back to again and again. Other options include crudo di tonno, yellowfin tuna tartare accented with espelette peppers, orange zest and fried capers, and prosciutto e mozzarella, with house-made fried gnocchi—puffy little pillows served with aged prosciutto.
From the pasta menu, choose gnocchi alla sorrentina, baked gnocchi with both house-made mozzarella and imported Italian Parmigiano Reggiano; or the linguine all’astice, imported Italian pasta with lobster, basil and parsley.
Bigger dishes include branzino all’acqua pazza (crazy water), where the fish is served in light white wine sauce with cherry tomatoes; the filetto al tartufo, a petite, 8-ounce Creekstone Farms cut with roasted and fried artichokes, and a black truffle sauce; the 16-ounce N.Y. strip, the tomahawk appesa, a 40-ounce slow-roasted cut. Now, you can see why sharing is a good thing. Toscana also offers three-course menus for two with a bottle of wine—maybe you’d like Fiorentina, a 42-ounce Creekstone Farms porterhouse.
For dessert, tiramisu is served in a chocolate shell; it’s really neat, as is buttermilk and sage panna cotta in a white chocolate shell. This one, don’t share.
Park MGM, 702.730.7617
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