Best Family Style Restaurants in Southern Highlands

Beauty & Essex is one of my Las Vegas favorites. The atmosphere is fun, and the music is just right as a precursor to a night out. The servers can be a little slow with cocktails, but overall service is great. Our water glasses were never empty and food was well-paced. As a group of 6, we ordered 10 different dishes and 2 sides. This is a family style / sharing type restaurant. We were hungry, but didn’t finish all the food. I would say a moderately hungry group could probably go with 6-7 dishes with 1-2 sides and be fine (assume 1/person + 1/4 of a side). The downside is most of the dishes that were the favorites, are those that only had one portion per person. In our party those were: chicken meatballs, grilled cheese dumplings, and the kale apple salad. Least favorites: French dip sliders, scallops, and the filet. Of the sides, we got French fries and broccolini- both great (get horseradish aioli with the fries if ranch is your usual go to). The drinks are good, but I didn’t see anything I found particularly creative and different from similar establishments. Beauty & Essex is great for groups due to the family style plates and atmosphere. It’s loud, so maybe not the place to have conversation with everyone at the table. However, if you need a place to eat before hitting the town Beauty & Essex has great food with an energizing ambiance.

The food did not disappoint! Started with chicken lollipop drumsticks that were very savory. The broccoli and NY steak was cooked to perfection. The sweet and spicy shrimp and vegetables rounded out the meal enjoyed family style. But can’t say enough about our waiter and his hospitality. Will be back for sure.

The restaurant is beautifully decorated and very much in theme with the rest of Vegas; a departure from your current reality to a place where everything feels more alive. The staff are all courteous and kind, helping you make decisions and find the meal you’ve been on a mission to find your whole life. Don’t hesitate, just order it. Share it with a friend or eat it all yourself. You can’t go wrong with any of the freshly made pastas, with sauces that make you want to take up cooking classes. Although I didn’t have the salt baked wild branzino, the table next to me did and it was all anyone around us could talk about. It looked incredible and judging by their reactions, it certainly was. I had the giant 16oz meatball, which is almost big enough to be a meal on its own. Softball sized and covered in fresh ricotta, I couldn’t help but devour the whole thing. My server suggested the bucatini carbonara to pair with the meatball and she nailed it. Tender, flavorful and the perfect portion size. I was eyeballing that 20 layer chocolate and peanut butter cake, but as able to somehow resist temptation. If LAVO isn’t on your list of places to try in Vegas, it needs to be.

Old school Italian restaurant with too many great choices. Our server (Rob) was attentive and a lot of fun. We ordered a salad, 2 main entrees and dessert for 6, plus 1 bottle of wine (Chianti) and that was enough food without any leftovers. Tried 2 new items - the Rigatoni country style and the Italian cheesecake - and they did not disappoint. Veal Parmigiana and Ceasar Salad (including anchovies on the side) were also very good.

We went for Christmas Eve dinner. They did offer the feast of the 7 fishes, we did not get that. We started with Caprese appetizer which was delicious. Shrimp scampi and lobster spaghetti were the entrees. Both delicious. The bread is amazing! Chef Mark was going table to table wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. Very hospitable.