Today in Las Vegas Magazine

Downtown's Little Secret

Tucked away downtown is Bistro Divino, which can best be described as a charming, neighborhood restaurant, reminiscent of those you can find in New York or San Francisco. Located in the uber-hip Holsum Design Center, which is home to specialty furniture and art shops, as well as offices, artists studios, galleries and showrooms, this eight-month pizzeria and wine bar took over what was The Grill on Charleston. And what a changeover.

The interiors are true to the Italian theme – the walls are done in Venetian plaster in a light shade of forest green, and numerous vintage liquor ad prints adorn the walls. This is not your run-of-the-mill pizza joint – there are no red-and-white checkered tablecloths, jars of parmesan cheese, or deep-dish pizzas in sight. Manager Megan Bass explains, “The owners were just so in love with Italy, that they wanted to bring back a piece of Italy to Vegas. That’s why all ingredients are imported from Italy. From the deli meats, down to the flour used to make pizza dough and pastas.”

Adds Chef Tony Weber, who is also Megan’s husband, “Even the marble where we roll our pizza dough is imported from Italy.” Such is the dedication and, shall we say, adoration of owners Scott Randall and Andy Artusa, that it permeates all aspects of the restaurant – from the décor, to the menu, and especially to the food.

You might be tempted to jump right into the specialty pizza, but as in Italy, there is an art to enjoying food and savoring the moment, which is world’s away from the take-out mentality in this part of the world. The restaurant does brisk business for lunch, serving mostly locals from the neighborhood and professionals who work downtown, but may we suggest you come for dinner instead for a complete experience.

Among appetizers, there is a choice of bruschetta, caprese and carpaccio. Though we think a good choice would be the ‘mixed plates’ – either the affettato misto, with sliced Italian meats, or the piatto ai formaggi, with Italian cheeses. There are salads and paninis listed on the menu, averaging about $8 apiece, and comes with a choice of salad or fries, which is very good value-for-money.

And on to the star item – the thin-crust pizza. If you have to order just one thing, though we really doubt that, then make it the pizza. World’s away in look and taste from what you can get delivered in 30 minutes.

A couple of popular combinations are listed, such as capricciosa (with tomato, mozzarella, ham, mushrooms and artichokes) or quattro formaggi (mozzarella, brie, swiss and gorgonzola). Why not start with a basic base like margherita (mozzarella, tomato and basil) and top it up from a selection of specialty meats, cheese or vegetables. We had ours with Italian prosciutto and fennel sausage, which was divine. Though modest by our standards – we didn’t go overboard with the toppings – it was still delicious. The crust had the right crunch, softened only slightly by the cheese and toppings.

While I’m no pasta lover, I would gladly recommend the bolognese and actually looking forward to trying the carbonara or quattro formaggi with gnocchi or ravioli instead. Items from the grill are also good. In keeping with the Italian theme, we ordered the salsiccia, grilled Italian sausage, served with grilled vegetables (roasted red and yellow peppers) and fries.

Desserts are another matter. Order conservatively because you will not want to miss the lucca – calzone filled with chocolate hazelnut cream and sliced banana, topped with vanilla ice cream or the tiramisu, that standard served in every Italian restaurant.

If all this sounds too much to take-in, then brace yourself, for on top of the difficulty you will have from ordering off the menu (everything we tried was excellent), daily specials, priced from $7-$12 are available as well. The restaurant also has plans to offer fresh-baked bread, a Happy Hour, and, when the weather gets better, patio dining.

All in all, this is one of the city’s best offerings to the dining scene. It may be a little off the beaten path, but it’s well worth the effort. Parking’s a breeze, no walking through several storeys to get to your destination; the ambience is charming and the antithesis of the bright lights and thematic restaurants on the Strip; it’s child-friendly (it’s the rare child that will refuse pizza or pasta) and most important of all, the food is out of this world – fresh, made-from-scratch with the best ingredients possible. Now this is eating good in the neighborhood.

-Rachel M. Sugay