I had the pleasure of meeting Executive Chef Pete Scaturro. During that time Chef Scaturro shared some great dishes with me. Before recommending a restaurant I conduct “secret shopper” visits trying different types of meals. Not every restaurant lives up to the hype presented by the staff. Fortunately, each visit to Trevi has been a pleasure. I not only return, but bring my traveling companions with me. They quickly become fans.
Having a husband who refuses to eat outside can sometimes be a challenge. How do you people watch if you are stuck in the corner of a restaurant? Fortunately that's not a problem at Trevi. While having a beautiful two story interior dining area, there is also an open “courtyard.” This area sits next to the replica of the Trevi Fountain. No, its not Rome, but under the cloud painted “sky” you can eat wonderful Italian food and watch the shoppers go by.
One of my main criteria when judging a restaurant is how they treat women eating alone. In a city of couples, families, and other groupings not all restaurants are welcoming to the single diner. I have eaten at Trevi more than once alone. I wasn't immediately hustled to the bar or given a table in a terrible location. While I don't think Trevi has bad tables I was given a couple of options, showing care for my preferences. The usual attentiveness by the wait staff was present and I never felt over looked.
I have eaten at the bar. The Trevi Bites menu is a great option for a light meal. Trevi Bites are served at the beautiful oval bar from 2 – 6 pm, Sunday through Friday. When available I usually order beef carpacio. The beef is thinly sliced, not drowned in vinegar, and served on a cold plate. While there is arugula on the plate, it doesn't cover for a lack of the meat. There is a good selection of wines by the glass and they actually have the wines. Too many restaurants build a large wine menu, but never actually stock the wines. This is not the case at Trevi.
What are my favorite dishes on the menu? Let me start with my husbands. The Fazzoletto Trevi is always on his must list. Fazzoletto is “handkerchief” pasta. Which means it is one large sheet of pasta, served over and under the sauce. The wild mushroom sauce that Chef Scaturro created is magnificent. It's woodsy, earthy, and makes you think that you are in the kitchen of someone's nonna (grandmother).The only time my husband doesn't order this is when the veal with Strega is a special of the day.
My favorite dish is a toss up between the steak (Filletto di Manzo) and Romano Chicken. I don't normally order chicken in a restaurant, but the Gorgonzola cream sauce and wilted spinach rockets this to the top of my list. The sweetness of the blue cheese is perfect with the chicken.
Trevi also has a brick pizza oven, with the type of crust you rarely find in the United States. My recommendation is to go classic and get the Pizza Margherita.
By pass the buffets and over priced, pretentious food and head straight for the Trevi when in Las Vegas.
