Ventuno Ristorante & Cafe

03/25/07

You're in Las Vegas, Don't Settle!

by wendora at Citysearch

On our first night in Vegas recently, we had no dinner reservations, no plans, and were starving. Ventuno was convienient (located in the hotel/casino), and we were able to get in without much of a wait. So, we decided to give it a try. Upon being seated, we waited several minutes with no attention from anyone. Finally someone came over and gave us water. We tried to order wine, but were told someone else would be over for drink orders. We waited again and eventually someone came and took drink orders only. By this point, we all knew what we wanted from the menu since we had been given plenty of time to peruse. We waited for our drinks, and waited, and finally they came and we ordered appetizers. The appetizers eventually came and were very bland and nondescript. Honestly, the food had very little flavor at all. One of my dining companions was served a cold cup of soup and asked that it be heated. By the time the soup was returned, we had all finished our appetizers, the bread basket was empty, and one bottle of wine was gone. What possibly could have taken that long? Well, upon it's return, the soup was scalding and appeared to have a "film" on top from being microwaved for a long period of time. Could that have been why it took 15 to 20 minutes to heat it? My entree was a pasta dish with virtually no taste at all. Pasta sauted with garlic, tomatoes, and onions can be delicious and subtle when done well. This literally had no taste. It tasted like boiled pasta with nothing on it. How does one take the taste out of garlic and tomatoes? Ventuno managed it. We did enjoy a second bottle of reasonably-wine while waiting and waiting and waiting some more. The atmosphere at Ventuno reminded me of a buffet. There was a real "get em in, get em out, feed em a lot of bland nothing" feel. Overall, I wish I hadn't "wasted" a meal in Vegas, on Ventuno.

• Pros: Ummm...the bar was pretty
• Cons: Poor service, bad food, unpleasant atmosphere