Whether it’s the start or the end to your week, brunch at Giada is sure to be a high point in your Vegas trip. The restaurant, which opened in 2014, remains as vibrant as the day it opened, with a California-inspired décor and Italian menu.
That California-inspired, elegant patio feel is completely natural, given the food star’s background growing up in Southern California. It also reflects her family through movie posters hung throughout the restaurant (the late director Dino De Laurentiis was her grandfather). Request a window seat, and you can catch the Strip coming to life.
While perusing the menu, feel free to indulge in brunch’s specialty cocktails, such as the Mandorlato, with Stoli Vanil vodka, Tia Maria cold brew, amaretto, maple syrup, almond milk, cinnamon and nutmeg. Simply delightful. A Giada classic, the G, combines Macchu Pisco, pineapple juice, apricot preserves and Angostura bitters.
You’ll find plenty of shareable starters here, from orzo meatballs to Giada’s fresh pastry assortment—a rosemary-Parmesan scone, chocolate croissant, gluten-free blueberry muffin and strawberry cheesecake Danish. This is one of my favorites, perfect with a good strong cup of coffee. It changes periodically, but every incarnation I’ve had almost makes the rest of brunch unnecessary. Almost.
However, a salumi and formaggi board, with pecorino Toscano, prosciutto di Parma, buffalo mozzarella and sweet soppressata along with wild honey and fruit, will tempt you. Various seafood options are available, including the smoked salmon carpaccio. This pretty dish, consisting of thinly sliced salmon accented by balsamic pearls, shaved vegetables and a caper-lemon vinaigrette, perks up your taste buds.
For entrées, choose from breakfast items like Giada’s sunrise polenta waffle, a menu staple for many years, or the lobster hash, with the perfectly cooked seafood mixed with potatoes, bacon, piquillo peppers, tomato and onion confit. Two sunny side-up eggs add more happiness to the plate.
The salmon Benedict consists of beautifully layered wilted spinach, piquillo peppers and poached eggs with a bright Hollandaise poured atop. Hazelnut chocolate chip pancakes come with Nutella, strawberries and honey mascarpone , for a sweeter dish. As befits an Italian restaurant, there are pasta dishes like spaghetti with pomodoro and fettuccini with seafood. The cavatelli, with mushrooms, zucchini and peas, is a verdant green, thanks to the basil pesto that liberally covers the pasta.
More lunch-focused items include the grilled cheese, a delicious concoction with lemon pesto and heirloom tomatoes. Add avocado for more heft. Giada’s Burger layers a beef and pancetta patty with avocado-basil cream and provolone. You can ask for an egg, too, and I suggest you do so. And arugula and romaine salads make delicious options for the health conscious.
Dessert? Well, a cookie or two wouldn’t come amiss—the chocolate chunk version pairs nicely with that big cuppa you ordered earlier, and the signature lemon-ricotta cookies are divine. But ending with an espresso martini is also perfectly acceptable.
The Cromwell, 855.442.3271
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