julian serrano.

Not counting cafes and buffets and generally uninteresting things, there are 11 new restaurants inside Aria, the centerpiece of CityCenter. Some are truly new in that they represent the debut Las Vegas appearance of some high-profile chefs, but many are new offerings from chefs and restaurateurs who already have a strong presence on the Strip. Julian Serrano is one of those chefs, but his eponymous restaurant just a few feet away from Aria's lobby check-in is something else. Why? Because he is Spanish, and here at Aria he is serving Spanish food, a comfortable menu of hot and cold tapas, paella and more. These other familiar faces and dishes (Michael Mina doing fish, Jean-Georges Vongerichten doing steak) are just that -- familiar. Serrano's other Vegas restaurant is the acclaimed Picasso at Bellagio, where classic French is the focus. So now you know why there would be such excitement when a powerfully talented and proven chef gets to work on his native eats, not to mention the fact that Vegas has few Spanish restaurants.

Julian Serrano the restaurant is a lively, colorful, upscale space, highlighted by a rainbow mosaic of tile behind the bar and several cozy nooks throughout the dining room perfect for a group meal. The menu is two pages but the wine and cocktail list is a novel, full of what is likely the best selection of Spanish wine in the city. We sampled four different, brilliant drinks during our first meal and each was deliciously unique, including a spicy, sweet and fresh-tasting bloody mary, and red sangria with a complex cinnamon aftertaste. 

  

The vast majority of the menu are the small plates we have seen before at local restaurants like Firefly and Cafe Ba Ba Reeba. But they are executed with much more sophistication at Serrano. The stuffed date, everyone's favorite, is fried with a crunchy coating we could do without but full of smoky bacon flavor. Chicken croquetas, also fried crispy, are rich and cheesy, and the simple Patatas Bravas, fried diced potatoes with a spicy tomato sauce, don't seem all that simple anymore. All flavors are magnified at Serrano; this is tapas on a level Vegas hasn't seen. This is most evident in the most modest accompaniment to our meal, a small glass filled with a sweet and savory red pepper puree. It was the first thing I tasted and I couldn't decide whether to down it like a shot of vodka or pour it on everything else I'd be eating. It was a blast of pure, clean, vegetably wonder.

Elsewhere, a tenderloin of beef on toasted bread is topped with a melting slab of Brie and a nutty, caramel sauce. Sweet, roasted piquillo peppers are stuffed with creamy cheese and given a generous dose of that spicy tomato sauce. A single seared scallop floats on a rich island of garlicky romesco. When was the last time you wanted to order everything on the menu? There truly is no going wrong here.

Whether or not Aria and the rest of CityCenter will save our city, this resort is a terrific restaurant destination, and the urban/artsy theme is an enjoyable complement to these fresh culinary experiences. Everyone was wondering what CityCenter would feel and taste like, and the early impressions are nothing but positive. It's going to take that much longer to try all these new restaurants, because it will be difficult to choose any of them over the food at Julian Serrano.