Best Restaurants for Special Occasions in The Venetian and Palazzo

Great dining experience and our waitress was excellent. They did get my protein wrong when I ordered the Lo Mein but the manager was so kind and took it off the bill. Only frustration is that we had a reservation at 7:30pm and waited about 40 minutes to be seated. They said they did not have my phone number but they did, not great communication from the front of house and there was only 1 hostess available.

Everything we ate there was just delicious! My favorites were the grilled octopus, cacio e Pepe peered in a cheese wheel and the tableside tiramisu. The grilled octopus was cooked to perfection. Our favorite Italian restaurant in Newport Beach closed — and we really liked the grilled octopus there. I’m so glad we can go to Mercato Della Pescheria and enjoy an even better grilled octopus. Our server was Hyden and he’s awesome! He made sure we get whatever we needed and even gave us the tiramisu for free! I wish all servers were like him!!

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.

I ate dinner on Christmas at Delmonico Steakhouse. The service was outstanding. My server went out of her way to make sure my meal was perfect. Unfortunately it was not but I can't fault her for not trying. I ordered from the Christmas special menu. I had the Chestnut soup with clotted cream which was perfect. I than ordered the prime rib with the twice baked potato for the entree. That was a mistake. The size was 14 ounces which I thought was not too big for me. It was the way it was served that was part of the problem. The prime rib arrived on a plate with the meat in the center surrounded by a thick circle of fat. That did not look appetizing to me. Also, there was no horseradish or au jus. Who ever heard of prime rib without horseradish or au jus? The prime rib was also lukewarm. When my server came by I did ask for horseradish and told her the temperature was not good. She took the plate back to reheat the prime rib and brought out the horseradish. Even after all that, it was still far from perfect. Some of the meat was grisly which made it inedible. I only ended up eating about half of the prime rib. The twice baked potato was good as was the popovers. I don't understand why the restaurant would go through the trouble of creating a special menu and than serving a mediocre entree.

We have never had anything but 5 star meals here for all 10 years they have been at the Venetian. Fried chicken is world class but honestly everything there is wonderful.