I must admit, I am a fan of Giada's shows and recipe books - so my opinion may be skewed.
We ate here on a Monday night at 9:30pm. We were seated at 9:45pm, and because we had the tasting menu, we did not leave until about 12:30pm. I called about 2-3 weeks in advance and had about 2 or 3 time slots to choose from in a span of a week for a party of four for dinner. So if you want to dine here, call well in advance.
The restaurant is very nicely located in the Cromwell, across from Ceasar's Palace and kitty corner from the Bellagio. The view from the windows is fabulous, but you'll have to request a window table when you make reservations.
Since we had to wait for a bit for our table, we had some cocktails at the bar. The service was a tad slow, but since they gave us an iPad that acted as the menu, we just played with it and explored the different drinks. Overall our cocktails were okay and cost $15 each.
The tasting menu for the night was spot on with Giada's style. If you have cooked from her recipes, you know what I mean. The flavor profiles were aligned with what I have made from her books before. Here's the overview:
Bread selection - all of it was very yummy, but the rosemary foccacia was the star. We knew we had a lot of food coming, but we still had to ask for more bread JUST BECAUSE!
Antipasti - a selection of four items. I forgot the names of everything, but I ate everything but the stuffed peppers with goat cheese (not a fan of cheese). The other three items were perfect, and I especially loved the eggplant mix.
Second course - my friend and I ordered one each so we could try both. She ordered the Vegetable Bolognese and I ordered the Lemon Spaghetti with Shrimp. The Lemon Spaghetti was surprisingly good and the Shrimp were "ginormous"! I personally liked the Vegetable Bolognese more, but both dishes were great. Again, the flavor profile is SO GIADA.
Third course - I chose the Sicilian Roasted Lamb. I love lamb, but I must confess that I was SO stuffed because everything before this was so good that I could not truly enjoy this. It was good, but if I had more space I would probably rave about it more. I was so full that I could not even try the family-style sides of Smashed Potatoes and Sweet Corn (sniff sniff).
Dessert - as stuffed as I was, because they roll to your table a big cart filled with all types of temptations, I had to try a few. The gelato was good, especially a coffee flavored one. My only complaint was that it was melting too much. The cookies were good, as was everything else. Again, I was too stuffed to truly enjoy it.
I wish I had a second stomach for the Third Course and Dessert!
Along with the Tasting Menu, you also get a nice folder with some recipes, the tasting menu you had, and a signed copy of Giada's photo. The only sad part of this dinner was that I brought my copy of Giada's book all the way from California...and she wasn't there to sign it. Boo hoo. But at least I still got a signed photo.
If I get to come here again with my husband, I'll be making reservations here as soon as we book the trip!