Handcrafted, diamond-shaped chandeliers descend from the high ceilings of Nove Italiano, casting their warm glow on an elegant but colorful dining room fit for the 51st floor of the Palms Casino Resort. Senses other than vision are piqued when tables fill with Chef Kieran Toivonen’s contemporary Italian dishes, such as salmon with a truffle pan sauce and Sunday gravy—a medley of sausage, meatballs, pork gravy, and braciole. The successor to longtime Chef Geno Bernardo, Kieran crafts the restaurant’s signature pasta in-house using the recipe he learned from his predecessor, who learned it from his Sicilian grandmother. The kitchen also boasts its own pastry shop, which spins fresh gelato every day.
Smooth jazz or classic crooning fills the air in the early evening before transitioning into livelier tunes, such as upbeat soul and South American house music. Pours of red or white wine—Nove Italiano's selection is comprised mostly of Italian and Californian vintages—balance the menu's dulcet Mediterranean flair better than Frank Sinatra singing back-up.
