If you’re looking for award-winning cuisine on the strip and household names you’ll find Gordon Ramsay, Wolfgang Puck and Giada De Laurentiis to name but a few. All with restaurants connected to some of the world’s most well-known hotels.
I’ve had a love for The Cromwell since it reopened as The Cromwell in 2014 (formerly Barbary Coast). You may find this bizarre, however, The Cromwell is home to my most favourite scent pumped into a casino. You do know each casino has their own signature scent right?
Anyways with Drai’s beach club and After Hours, The Cromwell also boasts the jewel in their crown. Giada.
We had found an excellent Groupon deal which cost us $60 for $100 worth of restaurant credit. Which also entitled us to a glass of champagne upon arrival.
The Giada location is towards the front of the hotel and with an opulent entrance and escalator up to the first-floor restaurant the hostesses couldn’t be more welcoming. We headed through to the plush and spacious restaurant via the bar. It had an upmarket Italian feel to it, which fits perfectly with Giada’s heritage, an Italian born American.
Giada, a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef’s steeped family heritage was prevalent throughout the menu. As we perused the rich selection of dishes we sipped on champagne. Our server brought us the warm bread basket over which was filled with home-made focaccia and crispy Lavosh. With capers, chilli, salt, a homemade pesto and a garlic aïoli to accompany the bread. It was quite easily the best bread I’ve ever tasted.
We eventually came to a decision on the food we were opting for. Selecting entrees to share between the two of us we chose Fritto Misto – shrimp & calamari with shaved fennel & lemon aïoli ($15). As well as the Pea & Pancetta Arancini Pecorino Pomodoro ($17). Admittedly this more of a premium priced restaurant, so do expect to pay premium prices.
Sitting in a booth looking out of the floor to ceiling windows with views of the strip we joked at how disorientated we felt as we were looking out on the corner. The view was incredible, this was just the first time we’ve sat in a circular restaurant that has a corner position on the strip. The different perspective and views are absolutely mesmerising, looking out to Ceasar’s on your right and up the crossroad on the left.
Our starters arrived and the Fritto Misto was cooked to perfection. The shrimp and calamari were light and flavoursome whilst the batter complimented the seafood by being just the perfect crisp and texture. The accompanying aïoli was a real compliment to the dish.
Arancini is undoubtedly one of my favourite entrees and the ones at Giada didn’t disappoint one bit! Served with a tomato based dipping sauce the portion served 5 balls. Which was more than sufficient for us sharing and would be a great size for somebody enjoying them to themselves. The rice was perfectly seasoned and the pea and pancetta flavour really came through. Two entrees we were both pleased with selecting as they were great portion sizes and utterly delicious.
We both finished our champagne and opted for a cocktail, with us both selecting Mules. They were served in a traditional Moscow Mule copper glass and we’re perfectly muddled.
Our mains arrived and we had decided to share the Fried Whole Roasted Chicken for two, cacciatore style ($58). Especially as this appeared to be the signature dish as it has been featured in Food & Wine Magazine. We added Lemon Potatoes smashed & fried ($11) and Roasted Broccolini with parmesan, roasted garlic & lemon zest ($11) as side dishes to our meal. Both were a great choice.
The chicken was served with a rich cacciatore sauce. A tomato based sauce with herbs, onion and peppers. In case you wondered, cacciatore means hunter in Italian. Therefore the dish is served hunter-style. The chicken was tender and juicy and really well seasoned, the sauce really added to the flavour and was great with the potatoes.
We were absolutely full after out two courses, meaning we didn’t manage dessert. The ambience of the restaurant was perfect, it had a busy hustle and bustle. There was a mix of ages and people there for different occasions which was really spectacular as Giada tries to include everybody. They also cater for vegetarians and vegans as well as offering a gluten-free menu.
I highly recommend a trip to Giada at The Cromwell if you’re visiting Las Vegas, do check out Groupon before you go though as sometimes they have great deals.
Giada or not? Here are some other places to eat in Vegas;
Post-Turkey Day Brunch at Mercato della Pescheria
Have you been to Vegas and ate at The Giada? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Alternatively, if you have any other recommendations for places to visit when in Sin City. We’re heading back and would love to visit somewhere new!
