When you heard that the chef behind Esther’s Kitchen in the Arts District and Ada’s at Tivoli Village was opening an even bigger Italian restaurant at Tivoli, you knew it was going to be good.
But you didn’t know James Trees was going to team up with the LEV Restaurant Group—the company behind a diverse slate of local restaurants and bars including the Golden Tiki, Evel Pie, La Strega and the Downtown Summerlin steakhouse soon to take over the Andiron spot—to create Al Solito Posto, which transformed Tivoli’s former Brio space into a restaurant that feels casual and comfortable yet highly refined, just like the food itself.
“The biggest thing we debated in the beginning was this room, which was divided into four sections by pony walls and had banquettes in the middle. I thought it was so weird,” Trees says. “Me and the partners were sort of arguing whether or not to keep the banquettes, and then one day we came in and … let the demo guys go with no instruction, and they cleared the room. The only thing remaining was the bar. We had this full space with no walls, and it was crazy but cool, a clean slate.”
Roasted chicken piccata
Designer Amy Kim, who had worked with LEV on La Strega in nearby Summerlin and on the beloved, dreamy environment at Gabi Coffee & Bakery in Chinatown, took over. “She really understood how we were working on this project, free-flowing,” Trees says. “It takes more time and definitely costs more money, but it’s more thoughtful toward the space.”
Al Solito Posto (“in the usual place”) feels like a place that could be inside a luxury Las Vegas Strip resort. Trees and his collaborators—among them executive chef Emily Brubaker, who cooked in such destinations including Sage at Aria and Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand—have targeted locals who appreciate the city’s fine dining experiences and the high level of service it affords but don’t necessarily want to hit the Strip to get it and aren’t always in the mood for fancy food.
“We have a menu we feel represents the classics done extremely well—not just the greatest hits, but the best of the greatest hits done in a cool way,” Trees says. “There’s a lot of technique hidden in the layers of a chicken Parm. It’s about taking all that care and putting it into the things people already love. These guys made a hundred pans of lasagna to get it right, trying a bunch of stuff, getting a bunch of notes, trying again, over and over.”
That’s a lot of lasagna, and isn’t lasagna always great? This lasagna al forno ($22) features handmade pasta, a rustic Bolognese sauce and herbed ricotta adding a creamy touch. Other must-try classics include crispy eggplant Parm ($20), spaghetti and veal and beef meatballs ($22) and Brubaker’s soulful Sunday gravy ($25), decadent with braised beef short rib, meatballs and tender veal breast. That one’s a centerpiece to remember, too good to make it home for leftovers.
The team playfully created a new rendition of beef carpaccio ($18), one of the most popular dishes at Brio, upgrading it with top-notch ribeye and garlic truffle aioli. When restaurant capacities are permitted to increase, everyone on Solito’s patio will be eating it. You could also start with a simple, savory version of minestrone ($9) or an Italian charcuterie and cheese board ($15), or hot antipasti like fried burrata cheese ($13) or grilled octopus with arrabbiata sauce and grilled sourdough ($16).
Of course, pastas are stellar. Bucatini ($16) gets the caprese treatment and the straightforward cacio e pepe ($16) is a champion, but you’ll want rigatoni alla vodka with Calabrian chili first ($20). Steaks and chops, chicken and fish, and a Kurobuta pork shank ($27) with horseradish and lemon breadcrumbs round out the homey menu.
Al Solito Posto is very different from Esther’s, but Trees says it’s similar in that it’s “that place you can go any day and have a great meal, and you don’t have to spend a lot of money.” It’s still early, but Al Solito Posto seems to have accomplished that mission.
AL SOLITO POSTO Wednesday, Thursday & Sunday, 5-10 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 5-11 p.m. Tivoli Village, 702-463-6781.
