The Strip's Newest Trend Is the Italian Steakhouse, and Two Big Openings Prove It

A pair of high profile 2026 debuts, one at Wynn and one at Caesars Palace, are blending old school chophouse cuts with Italian comfort food, and it says a lot about where Las Vegas dining is headed.

Two Strip Heavyweights, One New Idea

Las Vegas has never lacked for steakhouses or for Italian rooms, but this year two of the Strip's most talked about openings decided diners no longer want to pick a lane. At Wynn Las Vegas, restaurateur Scott Sartiano opened Sartiano's Italian Steakhouse on March 4, with culinary director Alfred Portale and executive chef Michael Rubinstein running a kitchen that plates a Snake River Farms New York strip and a Double R Ranch bistecca Fiorentina alongside tableside fettuccine Alfredo and a Maine lobster bucatini finished with Calabrian chili butter.

Over at Caesars Palace, Tao Group Hospitality took its existing Stanton Social Prime steakhouse from chef Chris Santos, the Food Network Chopped judge, and rebuilt it earlier this year as Stanton Social Italian. The bones of a modern chophouse are still there, including a 24 ounce bone in ribeye and a super tomahawk built to feed a table of four, but the rest of the menu now leans hard into Italian comfort food, from crispy chicken Parmigiana to spaghetti carbonara and a limoncello tiramisu for dessert.

Why Two Kitchens Landed on the Same Idea at Once

Neither restaurant is calling itself a novelty act, and that is the point. Sartiano's frames its steaks and its pasta program as two halves of one serious kitchen rather than a compromise, and Portale has noted the room's setting overlooking the Sphere and the resort's golf course as part of what makes the concept feel like its own destination rather than a hedge between categories. Santos has talked about the Stanton Social Italian rebuild in similar terms, saying a menu gets stronger when it respects where it came from while still leaving room to try new ideas.

It also reflects something restaurant groups keep learning about big spending Strip visitors, that a night out increasingly needs to deliver a showstopper cut for the table and a comforting, familiar pasta course in the same seating, so nobody has to choose which craving wins.

The Details That Set Each Room Apart

Sartiano's runs roughly 140 seats spread across a main dining room, a bar and lounge, a private dining area and a terrace, all currently open for dinner only with lunch and brunch service planned for later. The steak lineup ranges from a 10 ounce New York strip up to a 40 ounce Fiorentina meant for sharing, and the Italian side of the menu includes a caviar cannoli built with mascarpone and Osetra caviar, a dish that leans into indulgence rather than tradition alone.

Stanton Social Italian keeps its predecessor's Art Deco inspired room, all bold color and dramatic detail, while widening the menu well beyond steak. Starters like Chef Grandma's meatballs and Italian cheesesteak sliders sit next to shareable mains such as grilled branzino and cavatelli Bolognese, with sides like truffle whipped potatoes and Parmigiano crusted shoestring fries rounding things out.

• Sartiano's Italian Steakhouse, Wynn Las Vegas: opened March 4, 2026, roughly 140 seats, dinner only for now
• Stanton Social Italian, Caesars Palace: rebranded from Stanton Social Prime earlier in 2026 by Tao Group Hospitality
• Both menus pair a marquee steak cut with a full Italian pasta and entree program rather than treating pasta as a side note

What This Means Beyond the Strip

You do not need a Wynn or Caesars budget to feel where this is heading. The same instinct that is filling those dining rooms, wanting a proper cut of meat and a proper plate of pasta without settling for a lesser version of either, shows up just as much in neighborhood dining decisions. It is part of why hybrid menus that treat Italian cooking and hearty proteins as equal partners keep gaining ground everywhere from the Strip to the local corners of the valley.

We have always believed a great Italian kitchen should be able to hold its own next to a serious steak, whether that steak is the centerpiece or the pasta is. It is one more sign that Las Vegas diners want depth on a menu, not a single trick, and that is exactly the kind of table we try to set every night.

What to Order If You Try the Italian Steakhouse Trend Yourself

Whether you make it to one of these Strip rooms or just want the idea at home, here is the kind of pairing that captures why chophouse and Italian menus are merging.

1. A shareable cut for the table: Something meant for two or more, like a Fiorentina or a big bone in ribeye, sets the tone as the meal's centerpiece.
2. A tableside or hand finished pasta: A fettuccine Alfredo or carbonara finished in front of you turns pasta from a side dish into its own event.
3. A rich seafood pasta with heat: Pairings like lobster bucatini with Calabrian chili butter show how spice and richness now share the same plate.
4. A crispy, familiar starter: Dishes like chicken Parmigiana or Italian cheesesteak sliders keep the menu approachable next to the bigger steaks.
5. A vegetable side with real technique: Creamed kale with guanciale or truffle whipped potatoes prove the sides deserve as much attention as the main cut.
6. A classic Italian dessert to close: A limoncello tiramisu is a fitting finish after a meal built around big flavors and bigger cuts.

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