Favorite neighborhood Italian spot Gaetano’s now does brunch

It’s common in any family business for the younger generation to add its own touch of modern style to the operation when the torch is eventually passed. At longtime neighborhood favorite Gaetano’s Ristorante, sustained success means finding the perfect blend of familiar tradition and new, exciting offerings.

Patriarch Gaetano Palmeri, who passed in 2019, moved his decades-old Italian restaurant from Calabasas, California, to Henderson in June 2002. It’s been one of the southeast valley’s most beloved eateries ever since, and maintaining that reputation has been the mission of Nick Palmeri and his wife Sarah well before the couple purchased Gaetano’s from Nick’s mother in 2021. “My dad’s ethos has always been focused on service, on food quality, and making sure everybody feels at home,” he says. “All we’ve done is elevated that a bit.”

When it comes to expanding the long-running special-event wine dinners and other culinary programming, “we offer the best of what we do in town, so why not offer a little more of what people want?” Palmeri says. Another collaboration with their friends at Frank Family Vineyards is set for February 29.

But brunch is the latest addition at Gaetano’s, a Sunday smorgasbord of bruschetta toasts, eggs benedict with braised wild boar ragu ($28), pasta, panini and more. It took the team a full year of planning to curate the perfect brunch experience that would meet regulars’ expectations as well as tempt other diners to stay in the neighborhood instead of heading to the Strip for the weekend escape.

Nick loves the Panettone French toast ($20), prepared in cinnamon-vanilla batter with candied fruit and finished with marsala wine-laced maple syrup. And Sarah says customers adore the Nutella-filled puff pastry ($18) with hazelnuts and bananas, and the Fiori di Sicilia panna cotta ($16), “which has this citrusy vanilla flavor, very soft and pretty, not like a creamsicle,” she says.

GAETANO’S RISTORANTE 10271 S. Eastern Ave. #111, 702-361-1661, gaetanoslasvegas.com. Daily, 5-9 p.m.; Sunday brunch, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

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