Las Vegas has plenty of room for dining pleasure

Max Jacobson

Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2000 | 9:03 a.m.

Simply picking up and spontaneously going to one of our top restaurants is generally rewarding, but when there is a special event or group involved, it is necessary to plan.

Many restaurants have event coordinators who do just that. Several even have private function rooms ideal for timely celebrations:

Andre's French Restaurant Monte Carlo

Most people gasp in awe when they discover the beauty of Andre's ornate private dining room, which is located at the head of a sweeping staircase.

Andre Rochat and Mary Jane Jarvis, the owners, call it their Louis XIII Room. It's filled with classical oils and red-backed velvet chairs. Tables are set with first rate stemware, Versace service plates, fabric tablecloths and fresh floral sprays.

This room holds 30, but thanks to a clever series of curtains and panels, it's a modular room that can be subdivided into a series of three intimate spaces.

A large percentage of the business is conventioneers, Jarvis says, but locals book the rooms, too, and so do celebrities. A while back actor James Spade had a bachelor party with Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks in tow.

Two sample menus, one $74, the other $79 per person, are luxurious and inviting. The lower-priced menu includes a trio of hot appetizers, goat cheese salad, a sorbet, either fish, filet of beef or rack of lamb, chocolate ganache cake and coffee.

Rosemary's Restaurant

8125 W. Sahara Ave.

Talented local chefs Michael and Wendy Jordan are on a roll. They were featured on a nationally televised episode of "Emeril Live," and they have recently completed the expansion of their restaurant. The latter fact makes private dining at Rosemary's easier and more comfortable than ever.

The new room adjacent to the main dining room has a capacity of 45. It's an autumn-colored room decorated with paintings by artist Wendy Kveck (the wife of Rosemary's general manager, Mike Shetler), and the rear of the room is a large glass window, behind which wine is stored in floor-to-ceiling racks.

The flatware, stemware and crockery, at present, are fine, though no different from what is in the main dining room. But the Jordans plan to, ahem, kick it up a notch or two very soon. In the meantime it's elegant enough, and the price for menus range from around $35 to $65 per person, without wine. That includes an appetizer, soup or salad, a choice between three entrees and a dessert.

Because the Jordans have a catering company, however, they will prepare virtually any menu a party requests. The only rule to remember is that because of limited space, small groups will probably pay a higher price for the room. That's because the restaurant is often fully booked, and the private room is needed for potential overflow.

Canaletto

the Venetian

Perhaps no other in the city is better equipped for private functions than this Venetian-style restaurant, where the kitchen is headed up by capable chef Luigi Bomparola, himself a native of Venice.

The entire mezzanine level of the restaurant, much of which overlooks the casino's grand St. Mark's Square, is reserved for private groups. It's a series of five colorful dining rooms, each of which has a different theme and a different name.

One is Rialto, with room for 70 and views of the gondoliers below. Another is Murano, with a private balcony and room for 50. There is Il Moro, an arched room with a capacity of 26, and the intimate, mahogany-paneled San Marco, equipped with a hardwood table. Finally, there is Campanile, a cozy little room for six.

Make reservations early, because the restaurant is already heavily booked for the holidays, restaurant Event Director Teresa Colter says. The prices here are very reasonable. Sample menus range from $38 to $70 per person, but when the restaurant isn't fully booked, a small party can grab a room and order off the regular menu.

Sonoma Cellar Steakhouse

Sunset Station

This gorgeous brick, wrought-iron and stucco restaurant is one of the city's great surprises. All the beef is dry-aged prime, cooked over mesquite coals. The side dishes are wonderful as well, and the price point is at least $5 per person lower than in a premium steakhouse and includes many extras.

The Vintner Room, which has a capacity of 24, is an elegant room entered through a huge wrought-iron gate. There are two grand tables of 12, each with ivory tablecloths, gold-tasseled napkins and beautiful table settings. The room has a rustic Old World elegance, the sort that an English nobleman would be right at home in. Bocelli, Sinatra and classical concerti are piped in through private sound system.

The menu here is limited, according to Sunset Station food and beverage director Dawn LaGuardia, "to ensure quality and timelessness." The menus average between $30 and $50 per person, and the hotel prefers groups of at least 14. Mirage headliner Danny Gans was a recent guest here. So was rock star Rick Springfield.

Piero Selvaggio's Valentino

the Venetian

Piero Selvaggio has built a national reputation with his Los Angeles Valentino, precisely because he has hosted so many private parties. Selvaggio says, "Because of our commitment to groups, we can subdivide the restaurant into almost any configuration, and we almost never refuse a reasonable request." He will even convert the grill portion of his restaurant to accommodate a large party.

That means that any group from four to 100 can book a private function room, starting with the Barolo Room, a working wine cellar, which is generally used by four to six guests. Behind the main dining room is the larger San Giorgio Room, seating 50. There are also two medium-sized rooms, the California, seating 12, and the Cantina, seating 20.

This is an upscale restaurant -- way upscale -- and Selvaggio showed a menu for $175 per person that he just used for an indulgent birthday party. But special events coordinator Kathleen Douglas will show you a brochure of menus beginning at $60 per guest. And Chef Luciano Pellegrini is a whiz; he can do almost anything imaginable if it is within the realm of Italian cuisine.

Well, what are you waiting for? The holiday season is just inches away.