Is There Still a Place for 'Old-School' Italian Restaurants in 2025?

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June 12, 2025 • 25 mins

Classic red sauce Italian food goes right back to the mobster days of Las Vegas — and we've got a long list of old school Italian-American restaurants that thrive in the halo of nostalgia. But the recent closure of Battista's Hole in the Wall got us wondering: How well do they hold up with the new wave of chef-driven, ingredient-forward Italian cuisine taking over our fine dining scene? Co-hosts Sarah Lohman and Dayvid Figler chat with food critic John Curtas to discuss the best and the worst of Las Vegas' Italian food scene. Mentioned in this episode: Capo’s Restaurant and Speakeasy Piero’s Italian Cuisine Battista’s Hole in the Wall (temporarily closed) Chicago Joe’s Italian American Club The Bootlegger Italian Bistro Casa Di Amore Ferraro’s Ristorante Nora’s Italian Cuisine Monzú Italian Oven + Bar Vetri Cucina Matteo’s Ristorante Italiano Brezza Basilico Esther’s Kitchen Azzurra Cucina Roma Deli Mother Wolf Learn more about the sponsors of this June 12th episode: Slater's 50/50 - From Friday, June 13 through Father’s Day Sunday, every dad who dines in gets a FREE bottle of our signature Bacon Salt to take home Southern Nevada Water Authority Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram, or email us at lasvegas@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. For more Las Vegas news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, Hey Las Vegas. Looking to advertise on City Cast Las Vegas? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Is There Still a Place for 'Old-School' Italian Restaurants in 2025?