Price range: $$$-$$$$

Open for: Dinner

When star chef Evan Funke opened the second outlet of his popular Hollywood Italian restaurant at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, it made all the sense in the world. In Tinseltown, the restaurant’s grand ceilings, boisterous dining room, and pitch-perfect pastas felt more like Vegas than Los Angeles. In its new home, regal reds give way to mellow orange and olive hues. A massive open kitchen radiates energy into the dining room — where golden brown focaccia rounds, sky-high radicchio salads, and blistered wood-fired thin-crust pizzas are served. Here, Funke’s recipes feel bolder, more generous, and more celebratory. Instead of carb-fearing Angelenos, you get a nice mix of travelers, locals, and conventioneers digging into ample bowls of linguine al limone, rigatoncini alla vaccinara (short rib ragu), and tonnarelli cacio e pepe. His dry pastas are among the best in Vegas, with a substantial al dente bite that complements savory, well-seasoned sauces. Shareable entrees like branzino alla brace, seared and flaky, come with sides of paper-thin fennel or sautéed spinach. A huge 60-ounce costata di manzo (bone-in rib-eye) may not be necessary given the number of steakhouses in Vegas, but it’s there for meatlovers, grilled over wood fire. Desserts are essential — housemade gelato bursts with fresh fruit flavors or rich pistachio, and intense chocolate tarts are laced with red wine cherries. —Matthew Kang, correspondent, Eater

Must try dishes: Sfincione (focaccia), fiori di zucca (squash blossoms), gamberi in salsa verde (grilled prawns in green garlic sauce), branzino, desserts

Eric Wolfinger