TV Restaurants

What Happened to Rao's (Caesars Palace) After Best Thing I Ever Ate?

Closed verified

As of September 2026, Rao's (Caesars Palace) has closed — confirmed via neon.reviewjournal.com, October 7, 2021.

Primary source
neon.reviewjournal.com ·
Secondary source
news3lv.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: The Las Vegas Review-Journal's Neon section reported Rao's would permanently close on November 28, 2021, after a nearly 15-year run at Caesars Palace.

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What happened after Best Thing I Ever Ate?

Rao's at Caesars Palace was a Las Vegas outpost of the famously exclusive East Harlem, New York, Italian-American restaurant, serving red-sauce classics such as meatballs and lemon chicken in a Strip setting styled after the original Manhattan dining room. The Las Vegas location opened at Caesars Palace in December 2006 under co-owners Frank Pellegrino Jr. and Ron Straci. According to a Las Vegas Review-Journal Neon report published October 7, 2021, Rao's was set to permanently close on November 28, 2021, ending a nearly 15-year run on the Strip. The same report said the owners gave no reason for the closing but indicated a future Las Vegas restaurant could be in the works, without naming a location or date. No 2026-dated source was located describing a new restaurant occupying the former Rao's space or confirming whether Pellegrino and Straci opened another Las Vegas venue.

The Food Paradise episode "Viva Las Vegas" (S16E9) featured Rao's, the Caesars Palace outpost of the century-old East Harlem, New York City restaurant. Rao's built its reputation on family-recipe Italian-American dishes served in a small, clubby dining room, with meatballs, marinara, and lemon chicken among its signature plates. The Las Vegas location opened inside Caesars Palace in 2006, bringing the same recipes and reservation-only exclusivity that made the original famous, and it operated for years as one of the resort's marquee Italian dining rooms on the Strip.

Featured on Best Thing I Ever Ate

Season / episode
Season 5, Episode 5
Original air date
Not confirmed
Episode title
Las Vegas
What was featured
Rao's East Harlem-born Italian-American classics inside Caesars Palace
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Rao's (Caesars Palace)
Season / episode
Season 16, Episode 9
Original air date
Not confirmed
Episode title
Viva Las Vegas
What was featured
Signature meatballs, marinara, and lemon chicken at Rao's Caesars Palace
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Rao's (Caesars Palace)

Frequently asked questions

Is Rao's (Caesars Palace) still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Rao's (Caesars Palace) has closed — confirmed via neon.reviewjournal.com, October 7, 2021.

What happened to Rao's (Caesars Palace) after Best Thing I Ever Ate?

Rao's at Caesars Palace was a Las Vegas outpost of the famously exclusive East Harlem, New York, Italian-American restaurant, serving red-sauce classics such as meatballs and lemon chicken in a Strip setting styled after the original Manhattan dining room. As of September 2026, Rao's (Caesars Palace) has closed — confirmed via neon.reviewjournal.com, October 7, 2021.

Is Rao's (Caesars Palace) permanently closed?

As of September 2026, Rao's (Caesars Palace) has closed — confirmed via neon.reviewjournal.com, October 7, 2021. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.

Where is Rao's (Caesars Palace) located?

3570 Jay Sarno Way, Las Vegas, NV 89109. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate featured Rao's (Caesars Palace)?

Season 5, Episode 5 of Best Thing I Ever Ate. The episode is titled “Las Vegas”.

What do reviews say since Best Thing I Ever Ate?

According to a Las Vegas Review-Journal Neon report published October 7, 2021, Rao's was set to permanently close on November 28, 2021, ending a nearly 15-year run on the Strip. We summarise what dated sources report; we do not publish our own rating.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
3570 Jay Sarno Way, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
caesars.com

Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources

  • neon.reviewjournal.com — https://neon.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/food/iconic-italian-restaurant-closing-strip-location-2455034/
  • news3lv.com — https://news3lv.com/news/local/raos-caesars-palace-las-vegas-closing-november
  • Yelp — https://www.yelp.com/biz/raos-las-vegas-5
  • cheapovegas.com — https://www.cheapovegas.com/raos

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Record btiea-0434 · last verified .