You might say chef Nicole Brisson is back where she was meant to be all along.
In June 2022, word emerged that Brisson and her business partner were opening Amari (now Amari Italian Kitchen & Wine Shop) in the UnCommons development in southwest Las Vegas. By February 2023, Brisson had parted ways with the project, telling Neon in a candid discussion that she wanted to concentrate on Brezza and Bar Zazu, the Resorts World restaurants that she still leads.
Now, the James Beard Award semifinalist and longtime Vegas culinary leader has taken the helm at Amari, returning (so to speak) to guide the team, oversee the kitchen, introduce a new seasonal menu, and renew the Italian-American spirit of the restaurant through housemade pasta, wood-fire pizzas and other Amari favorites.
“It’s the perfect time to be here,” Brisson said, explaining that an investor in the restaurant had contacted her in January about potentially taking over following some management departures. “The new menu is a chance for me to flex my Italian-American roots from upstate New York.
“It’s really been an emotional couple of few weeks. The team has been so open to learning. We are pulling together all the great things we have here to create a stronger identity.”
New dishes, menu mainstays
Pastas flourish among the new dishes, like ricotto agnolotti with garlic confit and espelette pepper and rich savory marsala beef cheek ravioli with roasted mushroom and chive. Skuna Bay salmon, from the glacier-fed waters off Vancouver, British Columbia, is dressed with a mild fruity salsa made from Nardello pepper, an Italian heirloom varietal.
Amari chicken Parm with mozzarella, Parmigiano and house tomato sauce brings a chef’s take on red-sauce cooking. A bone-in ribeye aged for 120 days draws on Brisson’s extensive experience dry aging meat. The chop for two is served with charred lemon and vine tomato.
Signature dishes remain on the menu, though lightened and sharpened. Look for ricotta meatballs, lumache Bolognese with a hum of allspice and a hit of cream (affectionately called Nicolognese), spaghetti pomodoro, and squid ink campanelle with crab, shrimp and a briny caress of uni butter. Wood-fire pizza continues to be a cornerstone: Margherita, spicy Calabrese, mushroom fontina with black truffle béchamel.
“Nicole is one of the most respected chefs in Las Vegas. The fact that she’s bringing her vision and her standards to Amari is a real statement about what UnCommons is becoming.” said Jim Stuart, partner at Matter Real Estate Group, the developer of UnCommons.
Showcasing retail
Brisson has also made additions to the Amari team. Chef Kyle Johnson, a Vegas native with nearly two decades of culinary expertise and the former corporate executive chef Mina Group, has been named director of operations. Luis Gonzalez, most recently with acclaimed Sparrow + Wolf in Chinatown Vegas, is now general manager.
Brisson is also showcasing Amari’s retail offerings: its amaro holdings (90-plus bottles, with several rare releases), wines by the bottle, Italian specialty products like small-batch olive oils and vinegars, and dry-aged steaks from the chef’s Bistecca di Brisson line.
Amari has expanded its hours of operation. Lunch now begins daily at noon; happy hour runs from 3 to 6:30 p.m. daily at the bar, in the lounge and on the terrace. Dinner is served until 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Third-party delivery is available noon to close daily. Call 725-285-0450 or visit amarilv.com.
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at [email protected]. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.