Gina’s Bistro

Love local small business that deliver. This restaurant is quiet, quaint, and authentic. I believe the chef is the mother of the family and the server is the son. We had the Osso Buco and a homemade pasta dish, and it was delicious. The homemade deserts that we tried, the Tiramasu and «Chocolate Salami» were equally delectable. As others have said, this is certainly a «hidden gem,» on a side street, and next to a Salvation Army. Thankful that such tiny eateries exist near my home.

I was researching (on Unilocal of course) places to host my birthday dinner and I came across Gina’s Bistro. I checked out the website, the menu and the bio of the owner. I was excited to try an authentic Italian restaurant off the strip.
We ate early because we had plans for the evening, there were 17 of us total, so a bit of a large party. The outside of the restaurant does not do the inside justice. It is definitely a hole in the wall with a very welcoming interior.
The waiter/​owner was very friendly and prompt with the service. He was able to make suggestions and the food came out relatively quickly considering the party size. I was thoroughly pleased with the fresh pasta, amazing flavors and big portions. The pasta is made in-​house and really makes all the difference.
I went to Italy as a teen and felt like this restaurant did a great job to mirror the homey feel of eateries in Italy.
The only negative about this place is not being able to split checks. I completely understand as it is a small restaurant. But I felt like it was a hassle for the gentleman ringing up the bills and for us as well.

The food here is delicious and the owners are such wonderful people. We haven’t had service like that in a really long time. They took every opportunity to check on us and make sure we were enjoying ourselves. I love that everything is homemade and fresh and how cozy the restaurant is. We will definitely be back!

Service was phenomenal! The food was stellar, we ordered the antipasto, penne shrimp ala vodka, fettuccine bolognese, lasagna bolognese, and the veal. All of it was absolute delicioso! So happy to have found a place in Vegas that has great Italian food. We will definitely be back again.

We had a delightful time last evening taking our Mom out to dinner here. The atmosphere and food were delightful. We did find the owner’s accent a bit difficult to understand… And when mom and I stated we would share the eggplant — just plating it that way in the kitchen would have been a lovely touch… The serving was very adequate and we enjoyed our food and the special on the wine. the Tiramisu was quite good. Thank you.

Amazing meal, with great friends and food. The four of us went here for dinner and near years eve. The staff was friendly and fun:) we each had four different dishes to share. Everything from the cheese to the veggies was perfect. The waiter was Italian, with his Italian mother in the kitchen cooking amazing meals. I would recommend this restaurant to any of my friends.

For all the great reviews, it was a bit disappointing. The butter was super salty & has been sitting in the fridge too long so it had an aftertaste, the tomatoes on the caprese were fairly poor quality, the alfredo sauce didn’t have enough parmesan in it & the chicken pieces in the alfredo were overcooked with some pieces hard as a rock.
I bumped it to a 3 for the very attentive staff & the ambience which is super cute, quaint & intimate. Very deceiving from the outside. I’d go back & try it again based on prior reviews.

Superb, small, authentic, family-​owned restaurant where a real gem of restaurant hides beneath an unassuming exterior. Great food, great service, great everything.
We started with a suggested special the peperonata, a stew of bell peppers and potatoes cooked for over six hours and into which we were advised to dunk the freshly made bread. Super. Another of us had the Caesar salad, which was great.
For the mains, the veal parmigiana was stellar, the ravioli were homemade, fresh, and amazing, and the Pappardelle 3 Bocconi which was also fantastic.
If you’re tired of huge portions of average industrial food and would prefer, fresh, authentic homemade food in perfect portions, then you should come here.
Meraviglioso!

I absolutely love this place! Third time here and I figured it was time for a review. Started with the bruschetta which was fabulous. I had the pollo Piedmontese and it was amazing. Seriously the sauce was addictive and I finished my whole plate then used bread to sop up what was left. He had the veal parmigiana and loved it. I will be coming back soon. And the service is amazing. Like others said don’t be deterred by the strip mall location. Best Italian in Vegas and it is so cute. Also side note Wednesday they have half priced bottles of wine

Very friendly staff always with a smile and check on me frequently. I ordered their lasagna there it was amazing best I had in town. Considering that I was raised in Las Vegas it’s one of the best Italian restaurants I’ll recommend to family and friends.

Wonderful!
The food was great.
Went here for my birthday and it was my first time here.
My mom had the special which was the sole. She said it was very moist and delicious. My husband had the lasagna. He didn’t leave any on the plate. My father has cheese ravioli, his only complaint was he wanted more. My son is 6 and a pasta lover. He almost ate the whole bowl. And I had the chicken parmigiana with a side of meatballs. Just the right amount of breading and cheese. Incredible flavor.
Every Italian restaurant I go to must pass the meatball test and this place did with flying colors.
The food reminded me of my step-​fathers. He was a big Italian that made great food.
It doesn’t look like much on the outside but it’s real nice on the inside. Good intimate place for a date.
I will be eating here again.

We just love Gina’s. The food is so well prepared and flavorful. The people that serve just could not be any nicer. This place is a gem. People should be lined up around the building. Nice décor, great service and scrumptious food. All at very reasonable prices. Just an awesome intimate Italian restaurant. Highly recommend.

As I sit here and eat amongst family, I am glad that a bistro in Vegas serves a delicious pasta and wonderful tender meatballs, a little burnt on the bottom, but nothing a little pasta sauce couldn’t fix.
The bread that comes complementary to the meal, is good as well. I would have liked a little flavoured oil instead of the plain table oil.
The wine choice, is alright. I would rather have a sweet Merlot than a bitter cab.
I am grateful for the accommodating staff available to tend to my family members.
The main courses included a lemon dipping sauce for the fish part. The fish comes deep fried and battered with a non grainy, non flaky, non crunchy coating. In other words it was like the Tyson fish animal shaped, but tasted pretty good. Not like Tyson at all after tasting the fish.
But I wanted to try his fried chicken but I was out voted, and vetoed. So. .no one got fried chicken.
Now we are waiting for dessert.. .
No dessert after all.
Kinda bummed right now.

My review really is 4.5−4.75 stars. This place is a hidden gem and I want to get the word out to everyone on how great this authentic, intimate Italian restaurant is!
Located in an unattractive strip mall, the restaurant is nothing short of unimpressive from the parking lot. However, upon walking in you are immediately transported to a quaint restaurant in Italy. There is probably only 12 tables in the entire joint with enough seating for 30 – 40 people. The tables are romantically lit and there are many framed photographs of Italy all over the walls. Having been to Italy multiple times, it is literally a copy of a restaurant you would find in Italy. The owner is also Italian with a heavy Italian accent. Can’t get more Italian that that!
We were sat and quickly received bread and wine. There is a good wine selection of only Italian wines, authenticity people! The bread was fine (could have used a little warmer) with olive oil and vinegar for the table, love it! I ordered the Chianti and for $ 6 and a large pour, it can’t be beat,
We ordered a bruschetta appetizer which was made with fresh tomatoes and garlicky (don’t recommend if on a first date). It was also very messy to eat (reason #2 not to order on a first date). However, it was very good although, I could have used a little more oil on the crostini itself. Its also only $ 5.95 which is very inexpensive for the amount of appetizer you get.
For our entrees we ordered the eggplant parm and the chicken parm (really branching out, I know!). Seriously, 5++ stars on the entrees! The eggplant parm was layered and delicious with a TON of sauce. Their sauce is the best ever. Authentic Italian sauce made by grandma in the kitchen-​level good. I like my pasta and eggplant parm super saucy too so it was perfect. If you don’t like a lot of sauce, I would recommend asking them to go light on it. The entrée was paired with some of the best angel hair pasta I have ever had. Once again covered in their delicious sauce! I tried my husband’s chicken parm and it was equally as good.
Honestly, this place is amazing and it was sad to see so many tables empty on a Saturday night. This is SUCH a great place. Service is so attentive, my mouth is watering while writing this review because of the amazing food, and the ambiance transports you to Italy. Can’t wait to go back!

Items Selected:
Bread, Butter, Olive Oil, Balsamic
Arancini — Arborio rice filled with bolognese sauce, peas, and mozzarella, breaded, fried and served hot w/​marinara sauce
Antipasto Italiano (for 2) — Prosciutto Parma, salame, cheeses, and olives
Melanzane alla Parmigiana — Oven baked, breaded eggplant w/​marinara sauce and mozzarella served w/​side of angelhair spaghetti in marinara
Pollo alla Parmigiana — Breaded chicken baked w/​marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese served w/​side of angelhair spaghetti in marinara
Gnocchi ai 4 Formaggi — Potatoes & flour dumpling in a four cheeses sauce
Strozzapreti alla Norcina — Priest choker’ elongated hand rolled pasta, fresh sausage ragu in a tomato cream & truffle oil
Ziti alla Salsiccia e Mozzarella — Hand Rolled Ziti w/​Italian Sausage, Baked with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese
Double Espresso on Ice
Tiramisu
Cannoli
Tucked away on South Durango in a small shopping complex, just like many local gems that those merely visiting Sin City will never even know to exist, Gina’s Bistro is one of those mom n’ pop places I’d passed by a hundred times before finally deciding to stop in and touting «authentic Italian recipes» amidst a setting that vibes of an older couple’s home the experience is one of well crafted food at a good price, while service ranks amongst the very best in Vegas… and bearing mind the city in which we live, not in a ‘damned by faint praise’ way.
Truly the sort of place where ‘dining out’ feels much more like ‘eating dinner in the house of an old friend,’ a visit to Gina’s Bistro first sees the glint of a small kitchen tucked behind the hostess stand and quickly seated at a cozy four-​top flanked in old photos and paintings it was mere moments before water was poured and perusing the menu while chewing crusty bread served alongside butter, olive oil, and balsamic a list of several specials was recited, a simply grilled fish atop orzo tempting though the housemade pasta inevitably got the nod.
Treated to soft Italian opera, the volume appropriate to shroud conversation without ever trending loud, it was not long before a duo of appetizers would arrive and although I personally would have not ordered the $ 19 Antipasto given the unexciting options, both the prosciutto and olives proved pleasant and sharable while a somewhat undersized duo of arancini proved far more interesting, though a bit more melted cheese and less ground meat would have certainly been preferred.
Moving on to entrees, an order of five proving a bit aggressive for just three diners when taking into account bowls of angelhair served with both plates of parm, it was with share-​plates replenished and bread relinquished that a vast tasting began, the hand formed gnocchi a bit overcooked and sticky beneath rich cheese sauce while both ziti and priest-​choker pasta were prepared perfectly al dente with no lack of flavor from housemade Italian sausage to be found.
Having already noted the duo of plates served ‘alla Parmigiana,’ it was perhaps an unfortunate choice to do both items on the same day alongside so much other food, for as good as the baked eggplant iteration was with a light breading overlying the baked vegetable and bold tomato sauce draped in cheese, the thinly pounded chicken was almost entirely flavorless beneath the same accoutrements, a slight oiliness reserving me to only a few bites, though by the end of the meal the plate — like all the others — was clean.
Limited in sweets, the options comprising small, conservative classics with $ 5 prices perhaps a bit much when compared to other similar spots in the city, it was a single cannoli with surprisingly delicate filling that joined an equally light tiramisu alongside coffee, and chatting with friends as a few more locals filtered in to half-​fill the seating one really couldn’t help but see the pride in both the maitre d’ and waiter’s faces as they circulated the room warmly welcoming each guest, water refilled for the umpteenth time without request as lit candles were placed at the center of each table.
Setting aside the fact that many of the classic plates are made using store bought dried pasta, and focusing mostly on what the mother and nephew team is doing in house, Gina’s Bistro is the sort of restaurant unlikely to wow but happy to please, the service and setting «Un-​Vegasy» in the best of ways while the food is often times quite good, particularly considering the price.

Even with as long as this place has been around, I have never heard of it. We were up in the Boca Park area craving Italian food and decided to do a quick search. Gina’s popped up just a bit away, and luckily it was at a time we could go eat there since they have such limited hours. Open only 5 or 6 hours per day throughout the week for dinner, this restaurant has fairly limited seating and per the website suggests reservations. When we walked in on a Sunday around 7pm, there were only a few tables taken and we got seated right away. There’s not much in the restaurant besides tables and a small waiting area, but it’s a dark and intimate setting that would make for a great date night. About the only downside to the location is that their bathroom is «outside». You have to walk out of the restaurant into a separated bathroom area, similar to how some gas stations are set up.
After being sat, we were greeted by Riccardo, who I believe is also a part owner. If you can’t tell by his accent, he is from Italy and has a lot of experience in Italian cuisine. He explained some things on the menu and when I questioned him on a few choices I was considering, he suggested my secondary choice of the Strozzapreti alla Norcina. The dish which he said is extremely popular in his hometown features hand rolled pasta with a sausage ragu in a cream based sauce. Similar to a dumpling like texture, the strozzapreti noodles are thick and were cooked perfectly. Being that they’re hand rolled, there’s a small section in the middle that acts almost like a bowl for the sauce. Their cream sauce is light, but has great flavor and has a hint of truffle oil in it as well. With the sausage mixed in, it’s makes a perfect combination for a very meaty and flavorful pasta dish.
We also ordered a piece of their NY style cheesecake to share, and were pleasantly surprised. Sticking with the same theme as the rest of their menu, the cheesecake is made in house and was extremely tasty. The crust was a nice thick and buttery graham cracker that wasn’t too hard and added perfect texture. The cheesecake itself was rich and it didn’t have that chalky or pasty type of texture you find at a lot of restaurants. Drizzled lightly with chocolate sauce and fresh whipped cream, I’d highly recommend a slice to finish out your meal.
Alongside excellent service and food, the prices here aren’t one bit questionable for the quality. I noticed some other reviews suggest that you’ll be spending a big chunk of change, which might be true if you’re ordering apps, drinks, desserts, etc. But we walked out of there for just a little over $ 60 including tip. Not even taking into consideration the area, that’s a price I wouldn’t hesitate paying over and over again.
Personally, I’m nowhere near finishing off my long list of Italian restaurant bookmarks, but if you’re looking for a solid and authentic Italian meal, check out Gina’s Bistro… you won’t be disappointed.

A true Italian loving Las Vegas living the American Dream. Riccardo is the owner of this quaint little traditional Italian restaurant. From my experience in Europe, this is almost atypical of the family dining experience in an Italian restaurant. Family recipes, cooked by (or at least supervised by) the owner represent the ballast and hallmark of this restaurant. Riccardo bought this restaurant (From Gina) in 2012 and brought his third-​generation restaurant experience with him from his birth-​home of Genoa, Italy on the coast in Northern Italy near the border of Switzerland and France.
This restaurant and the owner of this restaurant are a significant contribution to the Las Vegas culinary scene. This is a unique offering amongst copies of copies. The food is as authentic as the air you breathe, being recipes handed down from generations.
There are few independent restaurateurs in Las Vegas who can offer such a wonderful dining experience. This is one of them at the very top of the quality scale. A superb wine list accompanies the superb dishes. A white tablecloth red wine pink sauce experience.
Expect to spend $ 80 – 100 per person, order appetizers and soup and salad plus the entrée and get to-​go for the leftovers.
Ask about the «7 day discount».
«Io sono affimatto» (John Pinette)

Having driven by this locally owned spot on Durango countless times, I finally decided to check it out while family was in town for the holidays. The menu has plenty of Italian American classics — perfect for those more accustomed to dining at chain restaurants. The consensus from the table was that the food was decent, not stellar. After sifting through a heavy layer of mozzarella, the lasagna was a nice blend of well seasoned ground meat and ricotta. It was really unfortunate that the flavors were drowned out by the top layers of cheese. Others at the table were satisfied with a mussels and clams dish and the chicken parmigiana — two decent sized breaded chicken breasts accompanied with a side of spaghetti. The most disappointing dish was a veal dish with only slivers of meat in a white sauce that was also accompanied by a side of spaghetti in marinara sauce, an odd combination of sauces for one dish. Other restaurant oddities include employees with Italian accents that will have you wondering if they’re real or not and a restroom located outside of the restaurant, towards the end of the building.
2.5 Stars

This is a small and cute little restaurant. The outside does not give it any justice.
The owner is very involved in the service, which makes you feel welcomed. However, there were only two people serving all of the tables which made the service a bit slow. The food was just ok. We ordered meatballs with angel hair and lasagna. Unfortunately, they both lacked flavor, we were not impressed with the food. We also ordered the muscle and clam soup which was amazing! The soup had a very rich flavor and for $ 12 you get at least a dozen muscles and clams which was not too bad!
Overall, a decent restaurant with a good selection of wines, but nothing to go crazy over.

This time a star was lost – by partly burned Bruschetta with fresh diced tomato. Being told by our server that charring the Bruschetta somewhat was intentional in order to make the dish authentic was unconvincing and not at all believable – especially since I have not encountered blackened or partly burned Bruschetta anywhere else before or since.
A cool Chopped Caesar Salad with tasty and crunchy homemade croutons, on the other hand, was very good. And, a hot bowl of Minestrone Soup was a superior rendition of this Italian mainstay, with carrots, spinach, carrots, tomato, peas, celery, onions, and Cavitappi in a tomato-​based broth. Fettuccine Alfredo was creamy and great in texture and taste. But, although Veal Piemonte featured well-​pounded veal, it was warm rather than hot, and had a slightly stringy consistency to it. Service was very good, but bread plates were inexplicably removed early from the table.