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+1 702-731-7267
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Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel & Casino 3570 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, NV, 89109
The Strip
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0.2 miFlamingo
0.3 miMirage
0.3 miRTC Bus Stop
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| Dinner | |
| Valet, Garage | |
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| Casual | |
| Classy | |
| Average | |
| Full Bar | |
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Specialties
Because of Rao’s out-of-the-way location, when a customer walks down the four steps, the scene looks more like a stage set than a normal restaurant. On the left is the view of the bustling open kitchen, but once you enter the dining area, the mood changes. The low stamped-tin ceiling, the soft wattage of the overhead lamps and wall sconces, the darkly varnished booths, the canopied bar with its tinsel lights and perpetual Christmas decorations, are all very relaxing. Since every chair at every table for the night has been assigned, there is no anxiety at the bar about jockeying for a next «available» table. The background music is provided by Rao’s jukebox (New York magazine declared it one of the ten best in the city), and it’s stocked with hours of Sinatra, Dinah Washington, the Ink Spots, and Tony Bennett.
History
Established in 1896.
Over the years, Rao’s has probably survived because its owners have refused to change. They did not expand by filling the floors above the kitchen with additional tables, as they were advised. In the late sixties and early seventies, when East Harlem neighborhood began its decline, Rao’s did not move downtown, as was suggested by many of its customers. As a result, Rao’s has become a sort of time-capsule restaurant that allows its customers to dip back into an earlier period and experience a neighborhood restaurant as it was.
So after dozens of glowing reviews, and even after the addition of movie stars, corporate moguls, politicians, and sports figures (who are usually brought as guests of Rao’s regulars), it is the original Rao’s customers who fill the limited number of tables every night.
