I Visited This Giada De Laurentiis Restaurant And Haven't Been The Same Since

Whether or not you're a super fan of Giada De Laurentiis like myself, I highly recommend taking a trip to the Las Vegas Strip and dining at her restaurant, "Giada." If you do as I did and go on your birthday, expect your experience to be extra special.

The restaurant is located inside The Cromwell, a boutique-style hotel and casino on the Strip that has less rooms than Giada has seats. By the look of the hotel, you'd never expect it to hold a restaurant as large as Giada. A ceiling-to-floor bow window spans across the entire back of the restaurant overlooking the strip (it costs extra to be seated by this view). The space is open and airy, with warm yet elegant decorum, and what I felt like were touches of vintage Italian cinema vibes that may have been a nod to De Laurentiis' late grandfather, the famed Italian film producer Dino De Laurentiis.

When making reservations, I opted to skip the extra fee for window seating, but did mention that I was celebrating my birthday. Upon arriving, a grand white staircase led my partner and I directly to the restaurant. The hostess thoughtfully wished me a happy birthday, adding, "We have you by the window for your birthday dinner tonight — is that okay?" 

"Absolutely!" I exclaimed, trying to contain my excitement. From that moment on, the impeccable service continued and the food was beyond expectation.

Multiple waitstaff, dressed in black slacks, crisp white button shirts, gray suit vests, and ties, attended each table. Our main server greeted us with a warm "Happy birthday. Haley," as she set down a complimentary glass of prosecco. At that moment, my face likely resembled the wide-eyed emoji: Our server knew my name, a $20 drink was on the house, and oh, and we had the best view. The evening was off to a great start.

We weren't messing around when it came to our order we wanted to try as many dishes as possible. Each menu option featured simple ingredients, yet they tasted incredibly fresh and flavorful. The oyster crudo was substantial in size, tender, and had a well-balanced, briny pop with a creamy finish. The wood-fired-oven-roasted artichokes were perfectly charred and slightly sweet from caramelization, and complemented by a delicate tomato pesto sauce that lent a hint of acidity. The broccolini was cooked to perfection — the long, fibrous stems can become tough when cooked, but here were tender and buttery, and the florets crisp.

The pièce de resistance was "Giada's Signature Lemon Spaghetti" — one of the recipes that launched De Laurentiis's career over two decades ago on her Food Network series "Everyday Italian." Of course, the version at her restaurant was Signature Lemon Spaghetti 2.0. The mascarpone lemon cream sauce was bright, rich, salty, and the perfect complement to the meaty shrimp and buttery pan-seared scallops, while shreds of Parmigiana Reggiano clung perfectly to the handmade al dente pasta.

And of course, we weren't leaving without dessert.

Dessert was tiramisu and I've been dreaming about it for over a year now. It was a work of art, with all the traditional layers — espresso-soaked ladyfinger cookies, mascarpone cream, and a dusting of cocoa powder — but each was molded and delicately stacked on top of one another, then garnished with coffee beans, cocoa powder, and a thin dark chocolate disc. Every bite exuded deep, rich chocolate flavors balanced with light, creamy textures, and the chocolate disc added a subtle crunch.

There was also sorbetti (Italian for sorbet) — strawberry limoncello and chocolate. If I could have shipped myself 365 pints of both flavors back to Colorado, I would have done so (I'll have to stick with my go-to 2-ingredient frozen fruit sorbet instead). They were light but also vibrantly flavored, and garnished with a chocolate baton that read, "Happy birthday." And unlike typical sorbet, they're weren't icy; my spoon glided easily through each one as if it were made with cream.

The only thing that would have made my life complete that evening was meeting Giada De Laurentiis herself. But the possibility just gives me a reason to return again and again (and again!).

This experience set such a high bar that it almost seems impossible for any other subsequent dining experience to even approach in terms of atmosphere and taste. I've dined at several other renowned up-scale restaurants, including other restaurants owned by Food Network celebrity chefs, but none of them delivered the entire package as Giada did.