Restaurant: Amina

---

Located in the Gramercy Center at 9205 West Russell Road in Las Vegas, telephone 702-202-4291, this popular establishment focuses mostly on creative Italian and Spanish dishes done in their own special way. Most plates are served tapas style, with the concept of shared plates among diners. I would think that for a complete diner, most diners would require about three plates per person, assuming sharing of these items.  

The menu regularly changes with the season to have mood appropriate food. And this makes for unique dining experiences every three months! Menu items reflect a great deal of creativity. For example, on my most recent visit we ordered Eggplant Parmigiana. A few minutes later the server delivered a dish that somewhat resembled a pumpkin pie. Nope; it was the most creative interpretation of Eggplant Parmigiana ever served! Very tasty too, I hasten to add. See attached photo for evidence of culinary creativity! Although we focused on the regular menu, Anima also features a vegetarian and vegan menus for people who need those options.

Our party of three ordered the daily Italian & Spanish Charcuterie board, Mushroom Risotto, Lamb Chops al Ajillo, Andalusian Carrot & Beet Salad, Catalan Olive Oil Bread with fresh tomato topping, and the Eggplant Parm. It was enough food. Total cost was $220.00, and that included a very creative cocktail and a corkage fee of $35 for wine I brought from my cellar.  

All the food items were excellent. Group favorites were the charcuterie board featuring a broad array of meats and cheese, the carrot/beet salad, the toasted olive bread and the eggplant parmigiana. My only complaint was that the order of lamb chops included four of the smallest chops in culinary history. However, the sauce for the dish was superb, as well as the bite size chops. 

Some of the other intriguing items on the menu that we did not get around to ordering included a duck and foie gras agnolotti pasta, truffle cavatelli, home made sausage with porcini mushroom ragu, branzino with coconut rice, lobster crostini, oven roasted celery root, crispy layered potatoes, and croquettes with eggplant, pumpkin, olives, mint basal and Bechamel sauce. You get the idea; extremely creative!  

And the creativity does not end with the food. Anima also features an extremely innovative list of cocktails, and a fairly comprehensive wine list with a nice array of wines ranging from affordable bottles (under $100) to more elegant bottles (over $300). They have a heavy emphasis on Italian and Spanish wines in keeping with the establishment’s theme, but also have a decent selection of French and new world wines to supplement the list. The list offers a good selection of white, red and sparkling wines. Wines by the glass are somewhat limited, as in most restaurants.  

The corkage fee for bringing in your own bottle is $35, which is somewhat middle of the road for this privilege here in the Las Vegas area. Note the Strip restaurants usually charge $50 for this service. I believe there is a limit of two bottles per table, but call ahead on this issue if you have a large party. I believe they could make an exception to that limit. 

I would describe the ambience as open and modern, with walls adorned with creative modern style art, which, for me at least, seemed very pleasing. The restaurant has an open feel about it, and tables are not so much jammed right on top of one another. In keeping with the trend of almost all newer restaurants, the floor is hard-surfaced, so there is noise, but the spacing of the tables allows for private conversation and not an over abundance of surrounding sound as you’re enjoying your dining experience. The tiny bar is stylish, cute and intimate. It only seats about six people. 

One the most recent night we dined there, the service was impeccable. We had several servers, who all did a fine job. Autumn gets special kudos for her attentiveness. The on site wine expert is Joe Mikulich, partner owner and wine director. He’s very friendly and quite knowledgable about wine, especially the ones offered on the wine list. Say hello for me if you drop by for a bite, which I highly recommend.