The Wynn, Las Vegas
Named for chef Paul Bartolotta, Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare is located in the Wynn Hotel. As the name suggests, seafood and shellfish are the stars here, and they’re flown in fresh daily from the Mediterranean. You can dine indoors in the two-level dining room with a grand, curving staircase, or in a private cabana next to the reflecting pool. The ambience inside and out is romantic and refined.
Bartolotta trained with French legends Paul Bocuse and Roger Verge, and in 2009, he won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef in the Southwest. His Spiaggia is one of the top Italian restaurants in Chicago.
Appetizers include tiny, sautéed clams with tomato sauce, garlic, and white wine, a platter of mixed, fried fish, and seared sea scallops with porcini mushrooms. Or you can order grilled shrimp, spiny lobster, or sardines by the piece. Non-seafood appetizers like pancetta-wrapped rabbit loin with crispy artichokes and balsamic vinegar are also available.
A nice selection of pastas is served as the first course. Lasagnette with lobster, shrimp, crab, white wine, and tomato, and meat ravioli with brown butter and sage are exquisite.
Whole Mediterranean fish like orata, branzino, San Pietro, and pagaro and lobsters are sold by the gram. Six fabulous sauces are available to top your fish. Cruda is made with tomatoes, arugula, garlic, onion, olive oil, and red wine vinegar. Palermitana has green olives, tomatoes, capers, and white wine. Your selection will be filleted for you at your table.
Seared Scallop
Meat lovers will have a tough time decided between the 12-ounce, milk-fed veal chop and the rack of lamb. Both are sensational. And Sommelier Claudio Vilani can help you find the perfect wine to complement your meal from the extensive list of mostly Italian wines.
Desserts are no afterthought here, so save room. The semifreddo with dried figs, red wine syrup, and bitter chocolate sauce is a masterful combination of perfectly balanced flavors. And warm chocolate-banana custard with passion fruit and banana gelato is heavenly. For something lighter, you can end your meal with delectable house-made gelati, sorbeti, or granite.
Appetizers start at $22.
For seafood lovers, Bartolotta serves some of the best Italian food this side of the Mediterranean. If you’re looking for a romantic evening with excellent service, lovely surroundings, and sensational food, you won’t be disappointed at Bartolotta.
See our list of the top Italian Restaurants in Las Vegas here.
The Wynn, Las Vegas Image Flickr: jimg944
Seared Scallop Image Flickr: stu_spivack
