The story could begin and end with the bread. The artisanal bakery at 1228 Main is an absolute winner, offering everything from crème brûlée croissants to loaves of buckwheat olive ciabatta with panache. On a recent visit, we spotted the owner of another popular Main Street restaurant sitting down with a basket of 1228’s fresh-baked bread and fresh-made butter, his expression altogether blissful. Don’t underestimate a good slice of bread.

That said, 1228’s ambitions go well beyond baked deliciousness and breakfast time grab-and-go. The recently opened restaurant, bakery and bar—brainchild of longtime Wolfgang Puck executive David Robins—lands in the Arts District among Downtown dining favorites as Esther’s Kitchen, Main St. Provisions and Yu-Or-Mi, and this handsomely appointed, brick-and-hardwood neighborhood spot meets the challenge handily. Virtually everything that comes out of the kitchen or from the bar impresses.

You should begin, naturally, with the “Built for Bread” spreads at the top of the menu. The sheep’s milk ricotta with Tuscan olive oil ($6) and organic chicken foie mousse with port wine and tart cherries ($12) come paired with their perfect slices. (Example: The foie mousse and cherry walnut bread went together beautifully.)

The spreads arrived at the same moment as the cocktails. We enjoyed the Mysterious Ways ($13), a variation on the Pimm’s Cup composed of apricot Carpano Antica, Lazzaroni amaro, cucumber, ginger, lemon and grapefruit, and 1228’s take on the negroni ($17), a savory and bittersweet knockout made with Botanist gin, Campari, Amaro Nonino, Carpano Antica, house-made brine and marinated olives.

We could have just had bread, spreads and cocktails and gone home happy, and someday we might. But we succumbed to the lure of 1228’s salads and small plates, and it’s a good thing we did.

The marinated heirloom tomato salad, with whipped burrata, olive oil and crisped basil ($16), is a cool delight well-suited to hot summer days, as is the sugar snap pea salad ($16), with arugula, treviso, shaved radish, pecorino and a Champagne vinaigrette. We were tempted by the steak tartar ($19), with its garlic-chili-almond salsa matcha, but the grilled California squid, served with gigante beans ragu and Castelvetrano olives ($15), was also an excellent choice, tender and buttery in the extreme.

The large plates are, perhaps predictably, also wonderful. The Snake River Farms zabuton steak ($52) stands strong in a city that boasts many exceptional cuts of beef, and the potato-bacon terrine that accompanies it is a star in its own right. And it’s saying something that, in this season of triple-digit scorchers, we strongly recommend the truffle chicken pot pie ($28)—a puff pastry filled with juicy chicken bites, flavorful market veggies and a silken thyme velouté.

When we return, we might try the San Marzano tomato spaghetti with crispy guanciale ($24) or the sauteed Pacific snapper with summer squash ($35). And we’ll save more room for dessert, which includes a creamy Basque cheesecake with strawberry coulis ($9) and a market berry crostata ($11). That’s assuming that we don’t fill up on bread first—which, at 1228 Main, isn’t at all a bad way to go.

1228 MAIN 1228 S. Main Street, 702-602-0531, 1228mainlv.com. Tuesday-Friday, 7 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m.-10-p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

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