Todd English's Olives (Las Vegas Strip)

Located in the Bellagio, I've passed this restaurant on more than one occasion. It is ALWAYS crowded. Being an olive lover, I heard about the complimentary olive/olive tapenade that comes with the bread, and surely had to make a reservation ASAP!

Beware, just like all the 5 star restaurants on the strip, Olives was just as expensive. You'll need to spare some of that gambling money for your meal here.

What also left me sour was how the hostess made me feel while making our reservation. We were walking through Bellagio earlier that day, and my BFF, Nick and I decided to make a reservation for that night. Having just hopped off the plane a couple hours before, I didn't think I had dressed that poorly. Apparently the hostess thought I did, and looked me up and down to her dismay. I had read many reviews on Yelp stating how the restaurant was rude or very highfalutin, and understood immediately what these Yelpers were talking about.

I was relieved though, when we went back for dinner, and our waitress was very pleasant and checked on us often.

While I did enjoy the food and the service was decent, I expected a lot more for the price. Having just dined at Arancino in Honolulu, I expected this place to WOW me. After ordering a bottle of Silverado Merlot, we ordered their signature items- Fig and Prosciutto Flatbread, Butternut Squash Tortelli and their Ricotta Ravioli.

The flatbread was crispy and light, but the figs and the fruit jam that was lathered on made the whole pizza just way too sweet for me. I ended up eating the prosciutto off the last 3 pieces that were left. As for their Butternut Squash Tortelli, here's another sweet, sweet dish, that almost seemed like it should be made for dessert! Nick only had one piece, and declared it way too sweet for his liking. I did enjoy the fact that it was stuffed with lots of butternut squash, though. And lastly, Nick's Ricotta Ravioli; another mediocre dish.

What really stood out to me was their bread basket filled with a variety of different breads- cheese lavosh, focaccia, and this bread roll filled with what seemed like raisins (who knows, it was so dark in there I could hardly tell what I was eating!), which was my absolute favorite.

All in all, we had a fun time drinking that whole bottle of Merlot, and walked out happy campers. REALLY HAPPY. haha ;)

Complimentary Olives and Olive Tapenade

A selection of different breads for the Olives

Fig and Prosciutto Flatbread

Ricotta Ravioli

Butternut Squash Tortelli

Filled with a hefty amount of butternut squash