Stanton Social Italian: What to Order (and Skip) at Caesars Palace's Supper Club
Travel Home Shenanigans · Las Vegas Edition
A 10-Star Evening with 3-Star Food
Is Stanton Social at Caesars Palace worth it? An honest review of the night the tiramisu saved
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We had been planning this trip for months: a bucket-list show, built out into a whole girls' weekend. For our special dinner, I picked Stanton Social Italian inside Caesars Palace, Chef Chris Santos's supper club formerly known as Stanton Social Prime, and I did my homework. I studied the menu and the reviews like a final exam, booked a 5:30 reservation about thirty minutes after they opened so we could take our time before the show, and arrived dressed up, hungry, and genuinely excited.
A Detour Through Aureus
The Aperitif
Before dinner, we ducked into Aureus, the high-limit lounge, for a cocktail, and let me tell you: it was the best damn drink I had the entire trip, made by the best bartender by far. He built me a Penicillin. If you haven't met one, it's a modern-classic blend of blended Scotch, fresh lemon juice, honey and ginger syrups, finished with a smoky Islay single malt float and a candied ginger garnish. Smoky, bright, spicy, silky. I highly recommend it.
The Penicillin at Aureus. Best damn drink of the trip, on marble no less.
The Penicillin, If You Want One at Home
2 oz blended Scotch · Monkey Shoulder or Famous Grouse
¾ oz fresh lemon juice · squeeze it fresh, always
¾ oz honey-ginger syrup · or ⅜ oz each honey & ginger syrup
¼ oz peated Islay Scotch · Laphroaig 10, floated on top
Garnish · candied ginger or a lemon wheel
Shake the Scotch, lemon, and syrups hard with ice. Strain over one big cube in a rocks glass. Pour the Islay gently over the back of a bar spoon so it floats, then garnish with candied ginger.
Before we headed to dinner, our bartender offered one parting tip: get the chicken parmigiana. He'd heard it was fantastic. We didn't take his advice, and given how the evening unfolded, maybe we should have.
My only warning: that Penicillin set our expectations dangerously high for what came next.
Speakeasy Swagger, Zero Secrets
The Room
They sat us in a corner near the bar entrance with a nice view of the entire restaurant. The seating is bench-style, so there's no privacy, and honestly, that's the point. Communal, social dining is one of the reasons I chose this restaurant in the first place. If you're picturing a hushed table for two, this isn't that and it isn't trying to be (more on our wonderful neighbors later).
The furnishings lean into a wonderful speakeasy feel, all velvet drapes and moody corners, and the chandeliers are the showpiece: ginormous, dripping in glowing stained-glass shades, and very, very pretty. The room was mostly empty when we arrived at 5:30 and filled to about half before we left, with plenty of patrons simply walking in without reservations. Fair warning: the open floor does not make for a quiet dinner. Thankfully, quiet was not what we were after.
The ginormous chandelier in question. Worth a neck cramp.
The real floor show, though, is the Super Tomahawk: a show-stopping steak that parades through the restaurant on a cart strung with fairy lights, then gets flamed tableside for the crowd's entertainment. When it rolled by, the whole room turned to watch.
And the staff started strong. Water glasses never went dry, orders were taken promptly, and appetizers arrived faster than you can say "We're celebrating!" One pleasant surprise: the wine list is solid and moderately priced, especially compared to the cocktails.
The menu I studied like a final exam. Spoiler: the exam had trick questions.
Steak "Chunk-tare"
First Course
About that steak tartare Piemontese I'd been dreaming of, let's call it what it was: steak chunk-tare. The flavor was genuinely delicious, but the meat was gristly and chewy, nothing like the silky classic I'd hoped for. The truffle arancini alongside looked and tasted like tiny boutique McDonald's hash browns that lost their truffle somewhere on the Strip. And the crispy garlic bread? Oh, it earned its name. The roofs of our mouths were left nicely scratched and sore.
Beautiful to look at. My jaw has filed a formal complaint.
Steak Tartare Piemontese ····· chewy, skip it
The Carbonara Heard 'Round the Room
Second Course
My bestie's spaghetti carbonara, a simple dish that's shockingly easy to ruin, was such a showstopper that our table neighbors took one look and ordered it themselves. That, friends, is the highest compliment a pasta can receive.
Spaghetti Carbonara ····· order it, obviously
Scallops That Missed the Boat
Third Course
Now, full confession: one of the main reasons I chose this restaurant at all is a comment Chef Chris Santos once made on a certain cooking show about how scallops should be treated. I have been literally dreaming about that decadent, silky, melt-in-your-mouth morsel with a deep golden crust on both sides ever since that episode. My expectations could not have been higher.
My seared dayboat scallops, sadly, missed the boat entirely. Overcooked to a chew I simply could not conquer, perched atop a truffle risotto that tasted mostly of ambition. And here's the thing I noticed as I looked across our table: our meal was mostly white. Very minimalist. Very avant-garde. Very boring.
Dayboat scallops, docked a little too long.
Seared Dayboat Scallops ····· a burial at sea
Redemption Is Lemon-Flavored
Dessert
But then: the limoncello tiramisu (also white 😉). Fantastic. Redemption in dessert form: bright, silky, wrapped in ladyfingers with a whisper of gold leaf, and generous enough to share with our new friends at the next table: a group of three lovely women from Nova Scotia whom we absolutely adored. Which we happily did. The kitchen even sent out a birthday send-off: a slice of white cake with a scrumptious berry syrup on the side, sparkles and all.
The hero of the evening.
White cake, berry syrup, birthday sparkle.
Limoncello Tiramisu ····· worth the trip
We laughed, we shared dessert with strangers, and I quietly gave my scallops a burial at sea.
Here's the funny part: nobody asked how dinner was as they cleared my still-completely-full plate. And yet, between the lively atmosphere, the friendly management who stopped by our table, and the delightful strangers-turned-friends beside us, we truly had a wonderful time.
Dressed to the nines, grinning through the threes. Girls' weekend, done right.
In fairness, it's true my expectations were extremely high, so my critique is, full stop, stronger than my bestie's. She loved her experience in full, from walking in to walking out.
The Final Tally
| 10⭐ The Evening |
3⭐ The Food |
At these prices, one great tiramisu out of five dishes doesn't earn a second date from me.
Questions Everyone Asks (Answered Honestly)
Before You Go
Is Stanton Social at Caesars Palace worth it?
For the atmosphere, the cocktails, and a round of appetizers before a show? Absolutely. For a full dinner at these prices? The kitchen is hit-or-miss; one great tiramisu out of five dishes doesn't earn a second date from me.
Do you need reservations at Stanton Social?
We booked ahead for an early seating before our show, but plenty of guests walked right in. The room was mostly empty at opening and only about half full by the time we left.
What should you order at Stanton Social?
The spaghetti carbonara and the limoncello tiramisu, full stop. Our Aureus bartender also swears by the chicken parmigiana. The wine list is good and moderately priced compared to the cocktails. Skip the steak tartare and the dayboat scallops.
Is Stanton Social Italian good for a romantic date night in Vegas?
The room is gorgeous, but the communal, social-style bench seating is the whole point: lively floor, zero privacy, neighbors close enough to share dessert with. Perfect for groups and celebrations; save the candlelit tête-à-tête for somewhere else.
Where's the best pre-show cocktail at Caesars Palace?
Aureus, the high-limit lounge. Ask for a Penicillin. Thank me later.
Until the next shenanigan,
Tracee
Travel Home Shenanigans
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