Wolfgang Puck and Barbara Lazaroff Bring Their Acclaimed San Francisco Restaurant to Las Vegas

Celebrated restaurateurs Wolfgang Puck and Barbara Lazaroff, along with partners Tom Kaplan and David Robins, opened Postrio, their award-winning restaurant from San Francisco, in late December. Postrio, which serves contemporary American cuisine with Mediterranean influences, is located in the Grand Canal Shoppes on St. Marks Square at the Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino.

Postrio has been consistently ranked as one of San Francisco's premier restaurants for more than a decade. With its transplant to what has become the country's next great culinary city, Postrio in Las Vegas utilizes the same key ingredients that shaped the reputation of the original: a talented team of inventive chefs and a spectacular dining room serviced by an excellent staff.

Executive Chef John LaGrone, a culinary prodigy and a member of Puck's staff for almost ten years, including Postrio in San Francisco, and Las Vegas Corporate Chef and Partner David Robins, a foundation in the city's explosive dining scene since its inception in 1992 as the executive chef of Spago, combined their talents to create an exciting menu.

"Using only the finest and freshest ingredients available, we have developed a unique combination of entrees for our menu," says LaGrone. Menu selections include sauteed striped bass with braised rapini and tomato vinaigrette, grilled cote de boeuf with French fries, crisp onions and red wine-shallot sauce, shellfish platters with Pacific and Atlantic oysters, lobster, stone crab claws, cracked Dungeness crab served with a trio of sauces, and a smoked lobster club sandwich with apple smoked bacon and arugula on grilled country. Postrio features spit-roasted meats and Puck's famous pizzas.

As the master sommelier at the Wolfgang Puck restaurants in Las Vegas, Wine Director Greg Harrington developed a wine list with unique selections to complement Postrio's menu. Wines from America, France, Italy, Spain and Austria are featured. One of just 40 master sommeliers in the country, Harrington earned the prestigious title when he was just 26-years-old, making him one of the youngest Americans in history to earn that distinction.

Postrio was designed by Jennifer Johanson, A.I.A. and Susan Snow of the Engstrom Design Group in San Rafael, California, to combine an intriguing mixture of San Franciscan and Venetian antecedents. "The restaurant is filled with colorful jewel tones that creates an eclectic atmosphere," says Johanson. Postrio features an informal bistro-style cafe located on St. Marks Square and an artistically designed formal dining room and a dynamic San Francisco-style bar. For private gatherings, Postrio has an intimate 60-seat private banquet

Postrio in San Francisco, located at 545 Post Street in the Prescott Hotel, first opened in 1989. Through the effort of three chefs, brothers Mitchell and Steven Rosenthai along with Wolfgang Puck, Postrio remains one of Northern California's most popular dining destinations.

Puck is widely credited for bringing fine dining to Las Vegas when he opened Spago in the Forum Shops at Caesars in 1992. Since that time, Puck has followed Spago's success with three more Las Vegas restaurants: Chinois, also in the Forum Shops, which opened in January of 1998, Trattoria del Lupo at Mandalay Bay and Casino which opened in April of 1999 and now with Postrio at the Venetian.

Postrio in Las Vegas is open daily for both lunch and dinner and has accommodations for both casual and formal dining. Appetizers range from $6 through $14 and entrees range from $19 through $34 in the dining room. For reservations, please call (702) 796-1110 or for banquet and catering information, please call Catering Director Kimberly Gora at (702) 369-0558.