Mario Batali's more casual Italian restaurant in the Venetian focuses on antipasto, pasta, and pizza.
I really enjoyed the antipasto offerings where we ordered an item or two from all but the salad section. The risotta balls from the Fritti (fried) section were delicious. On the cured meats, I loved the proscuitto but the pancetta was too fatty for my taste. The cheese plate we ordered - 3 for $15 I think - was very good and nicely accompanied by brandy-soaked cherries, spiced apricots, and honey w/ truffles. We also enjoyed the surprisingly spicy Bitter Broccoli with Spicy Lemon Oil and Lentils w/ Salami from the Vegetables section.
Given the mildish prices (for Vegas) and the quality of the antipasto, I was considering 5 stars....
Until the pizza. Huge disappointment considering Batali's reputation and the great things I've heard about the pizza at Mozza in LA. The crust on our pie was thin but chewy in a frozen pizza way. The flavors of the cheese. sauce, and toppings were just ok.
I tried my friend's veal and ricotta meatballs (off the entree menu) and these were quite good. I'd recommend those or one of the pastas and to skip the pizza altogether.
As for wine, nice selection available by the bottle or in 250 ml pourings (about a glass and a half). I had a $16 Montepulciano that was nice. Recommend the wine over mixed drinks as our whole table complained the drinks were poorly mixed (too strong).
4 1/2 stars for everything but the pizza. 2 stars for the pizza.