The latest restaurant offering from the family behind the Lindo Michoacan empire was a massive undertaking that became more challenging over the past two years. But Il Toro E La Capra came to life in January, a unique blend of Italian and Mexican cuisines in the family-friendly format familiar to Las Vegas at Lindo since 1990.
Lindo Michoacan owner Javier Barajas spent millions acquiring the gigantic former Rhythm Kitchen space in the southwest Valley in 2020, setting it up as the site of his dream-come-true Italian restaurant. As if the pandemic wasn’t obstacle enough, the original Lindo on East Desert Inn Road was forced to close for months later that year due to a sinkhole.
But the double drain on resources couldn’t derail the dream. Lindo reopened last summer, and work continued on Il Toro E La Capra—named after Barajas’ youngest children Javier (“the Bull”) and Jimena (“the Goat”).
“It was a big challenge, but now we’ve turned it around, and we’re getting busier by the week,” says general manager Carlos Villaseñor, who worked for more than a decade at Lindo’s West Flamingo location. “It looks completely different, nothing like the other restaurant [Rhythm Kitchen].”
Villaseñor likes to say Il Toro E La Capra offers three menus under one roof: Mexican dishes the community knows and loves, authentic Italian favorites and some fun fusion blending the seemingly disparate cuisines. The restaurant is open every day for lunch and dinner, with a brunch buffet on the weekends from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., so there’s a lot of time to try all those different dishes.
The actual menu isn’t divided into those three categories, but that just makes it more entertaining to sift through the offerings and discover something different. Taquitos D’oro ($11)—deep-fried corn tortillas filled with chicken, beef or cheese and topped with pomodoro sauce, guacamole, feta cheese and pico de gallo—are listed under “antipasti,” and that’s a great example of how things work. Flavor combinations that might seem strange turn out quite nicely, including pizza topped with salsa verde, carnitas and chicharron crumbles ($18), or veal osso bucco fajitas ($38), which find Burgundy-braised meat mingling with grilled peppers, onions, tomatoes and cilantro.
Pollo con rajas y crema pasta ($23) is a top seller, an upgrade on Alfredo. Chicken, pasilla peppers, corn and shallots are sauteed and tossed in cream sauce before joining house-made spaghetti, Parmesan cheese and cilantro. Osso Bucco Michelangelo ($42) with porcini mushrooms and saffron risotto and Lamb Shank Frank Sinatra ($36), are among other popular entrees, and families can fill up on pizzas ($14-$18), chicken parm ($23) and pastas like penne with pesto ($19).
Combination dinners ($16-$23) with tacos, enchiladas, tostadas and more will satisfy the Lindo Michoacan loyalists at your table. And this might be the only spot in town where the tough dessert choice is between tiramisu or flan (both $10). It’s a win-win.
IL TORO E LA CAPRA 6435 S. Decatur Blvd., 702-331-6090, toroelacapra.com. Daily, 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
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