A Las Vegas Powerhouse Duo Goes Off-Strip With a New Italian Restaurant

Pappardelle at Nudo Italiano. | Chris Wessling Nudo Italiano will spotlight wood-fired pizzas and handmade pastas in Southern Highlands Nearly 20 years after debuting the sleek, nightclub-adjacent Nove Italiano high atop the Palms, which closed in 2018, Jenna and Michael Morton of Morton Group are returning to Italian cuisine — this time in a more relaxed, suburban setting. Their newest restaurant, Nudo Italiano, is set to open in late May in Southern Highlands, trading Strip-side sheen for casual dining and Neapolitan-style pizza. Helming the kitchen is William DeMarco, the culinary director behind Morton Group’s Strip staples like La Cave Wine and Food Hideaway at Wynn, Crush at MGM Grand, and One Steakhouse at the off-Strip Virgin Hotels. At Nudo, DeMarco leans into handmade pasta, house-baked breads, and Neapolitan-style pizzas fired in a traditional wood-burning oven, like the diavola with mozzarella, spicy sopressata salami, and Calabrian chili. Chris Wessling Pipe Rigate at Nudo Italiano Chris Wessling Parmigiano di Pollo at Nudo Italiano. The rest of the menu offers classic Italian comfort, with crispy calamari with lemon aioli, a heaping bowl of pappardelle in veal ragu with sheep’s milk ricotta, and pan-roasted branzino over eggplant puree. In contrast to Nove Italiano’s sweeping Las Vegas Strip with views and sleek purple lighting, Nudo Italiano will have a cozy dining room, a bar, and outdoor seating on the patio. It’s not the first time that Morton Group has ventured off-Strip — in 2013, the duo opened the now-closed Mexican restaurant La Comida in the Arts District. The Southern Highlands neighborhood in southwest Las Vegas has seen rapid growth in recent years, with new housing and a surge of businesses along Blue Diamond Road. The Mortons have taken notice. “Southern Highlands has been waiting for something like this,” says Michael Morton. “And we’re proud to bring it to life.” Nudo Italiano (4390 West Cactus Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89141) will be open daily starting at 4 p.m. Chris Wessling Branzino at Nudo Italiano. Chris Wessling Nudo Italiano.