Pioneering off-Strip restaurant Ferraro’s Ristorante turns 40 this year. In its four decades in business—an eternity for most Las Vegas restaurants—what started as a six-table pizzeria and deli has grown into an internationally award-winning fine-dining restaurant.
How did they do it? Second-generation executive chef Mimmo Ferraro credits consistently good food, quality service and the “family feeling” you experience when you walk through the doors.
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Family has always been integral to Ferraro’s. In Ferraro’s infancy, the pizzeria that doubled as an Italian grocer, a young Mimmo and his sister worked pricing groceries. His father Gino’s early cooking, in the form of sauce and meatballs, were inspired by his own mother. And when their success as a restaurant convinced the family to replace shelves with tables and Gino began to see himself as a restauranteur, he returned to his childhood home in Italy to find inspiration.
“Once I knew that I had to learn how to cook, I went to my [home]town, Satriani, which is a beach resort,” the elder Ferraro explains. Gino spent the summer of 1990 in the Italian town. A childhood friend who had opened a restaurant allowed the aspiring chef to train in its kitchen. He spent nights learning the basics, catered weddings every weekend, and read cookbooks by top Italian chefs.
Ferraro’s has employed many talented Italian chefs over the decades. But it was always Gino’s vision—at least until 2003, when Mimmo graduated from the California Culinary Academy. “He graduated from CCA in San Francisco,” Gino says. “Then he went to Italy for six months and then came back and started working for me. And then he finally took over the kitchen.” Today, Ferraro’s is still a family affair. Walk into their current location on Paradise road any night of the week, and you’ll probably meet at least one family member.
“The owners are present: Mimmo, myself, my nephew,” says Gino. “My brother is there. My wife walks in, and she knows a lot of the people.” It’s a combination that resonates with locals and visitors alike.
OFF-STRIP PIONEERS
In 1992 Ferraro’s moved into a location on West Flamingo Road and rebranded itself as a fine-dining restaurant. Gino realized that his high-end wines and elevated cuisine might not resonate with the local community. So he began to court visitors.
Quality off-Strip restaurants were few and far between in the early ’90s, and Strip casinos were just starting to experiment with celebrity chefs. Casino hosts didn’t have many options for feeding their high rollers. So Ferraro’s fine wines, and chefs trained in Italy, filled that niche.
“Caesars used to call me, and The Sands and The Dunes,” Gino Ferraro recalls. “They would call me, and send their players over and we would bill them back.” Before long, a visit to Ferraro’s became part of many visitors’ itineraries.
HONORED IN ITALY
When Ferraro’s moved to its current location on Paradise Road, the larger space allowed Gino to pursue his dream of assembling the best Italian wine list possible. (It currently boasts over 1,700 labels.) And in 2023, the prestigious Italian media group Gambero Rosso took notice, awarding that list its coveted Tre Biccheiri (Three Glasses) award.
In 2024, the culinary powerhouse followed that honor with a Tre Forchette (Three Forks) award for Ferraro’s menu—an honor bestowed on just 39 restaurants last year, only 11 of which are in the US.
THE PERFECT MEAL
Today, Ferraro’s offers an experience for just about everyone. They’re open for lunch, offer a fantastically priced Happy Hour menu in the lounge, and have a four-course pre-theater prix fixe designed to get you to your show on time. Dinner includes a la carte options and full tasting menus. There’s even a vegan menu. And afterward, you can purchase a cigar to enjoy on the large outdoor patio.
So how does Mimmo Ferraro recommend experiencing Ferraro’s? He shared with us his perfect Ferraro’s dinner: first course, Yellowtail Crudo and Vitello Tonatto; second course, Gamberoni Genovese & Cacio de Peppe Arancini; third course, Papardelle Mimmo (with scallops, lobster, asparagus, butter, sage, truffle); fourth course, Lamb Chop & Branzino. It’s a menu that can’t really be improved upon—which says something, too, about the restaurant’s staying power.