Lago, Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas

Lago, Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas

Lago is a fabulous restaurant on The Strip, inside the famous Bellagio.  It’s this Hotel whose fountains entertain and excite young and old, spurts of water ejected from a lake to music, from Frank Sinatra to Bruno Mars.  Its entrance is via the gaming hall and what a contrast.  Bright, airy and with one of the best views of the fountains.  It’s here you can eat and watch the jets do their thing.

The bar also has a full menu service and the cocktails are inspired, expect molecular mixology and unexpected flavour pairings.

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So, the food.  Table 36 is a great corner table that affords the diner a good view of both the room and the outside display.

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We’ve been brought here by our great friends who have been to Las Vegas a fair bit and have sampled the food of Julian Serrano in the past.
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He’s already an established name in Vegas, his French restaurant Picasso in the Bellagio holds two Michelin stars and also had its starring role in the film Ocean’s Eleven.  He has another restaurant in the Aria.

Spread on toasted bread is nduja, a spiced sausage typically made with parts of the pig such as the shoulder and belly and mixed with a mixture of spices, usually paprika and chilli.  In turn, it had been mixed with Gorgonzola cheese, black olives, red peppers, capers, tomatoes and olive oil.

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Guanciale E Fave consisted of ground fava beans, topped off with crispy pork cheek.

 

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We had two pizzetta – Margherita (tomato sauce,  homemade mozzarella and basil) and Pizza Zucchini (sliced courgette,| smoked provolone and cherry tomatoes) I’ve tasted better, and there are plenty of other things to try on this menu.

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The beef carpaccio was delicious and razor-cut slices of rare tenderloin, had been covered in aged Parmesan, rocket, mushroom and an anchovy and garlic sauce.

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Branzo Livornes or sea bass was simply pan-fried and served with red and yellow heritage tomatoes.

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Spiedno Salsicia was skewered lamb sausage in a tomato sauce, spiked with Rosemary, full of flavour and plenty for four to pick.
A rice dish of Risotto Rosso was a large plate of risotto, cooked with red wine, although I could still taste the red wine and felt it needed a little more cooking.  There was an enormous lump of Burrata, which helped the dish out considerably.
We chose an excellent pasta dish in the form of ravioli.  Prawns filled pillows of soft, hand-crafted pasta squares and sat in one of the best tomato sauces, deep with flavour.
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Lobster Knuckles were the star of the 7 & 7 dish that sat alongside potato gnocchi, in a bisque reduction.

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The bill for four, which included two glasses of wine from a list of 750, was $223.77 without a tip.