Question of the Day - 01 August 2012

That's a useful dining question that we hadn't been posed before, so we're happy to oblige.

First up, as you surmised, Casa di Amore ceased offering its family-style options several years ago, contrary to the menus that you'll still find on the restaurant's website. For those unfamiliar with this dining concept, by the way, "family-style" refers to the option of being able to cater for larger parties with one or two dishes, served in sufficient quantities to feed the whole group as you would do at home, as opposed to having everyone order their own meal. It's often an economical way to feed a big party, so long as your guests aren't too fussy.

Traditionally, both Italian and Asian meals are often served family-style, so it came as no surprise that these two genres yielded the best options in Las Vegas, plus we thought of some barbecue restaurants that also cater to large parties. Here are some suggestions we found for venues that can accommodate you, at various price points:

• If you don't mind going with a chain, Buca di Beppo, which has three Las Vegas locations, including one in Excalibur on the Strip and one around the corner from the Hard Rock, specializes in family-style dining and has menus for two people, or groups of four or more.
• Nora's Cuisine, one of our favorite neighborhood Italian joints, offers family-style menus of three or more courses, starting at $12.50/person for lunch and $27/person for dinner, which also comes with an optional $22 wine pairing.
• If you fancy Italian but want to stay on the Strip, Magianno's in the Fashion Show Mall also offers family-style set menus for groups of four or more, starting at $23.95/person.
• A surprising find was the family-style options at Shibuya Japanese restaurant at MGM Grand, where parties of 10 or more guests in Teppanyaki and 13 or more in the Traditional dining space are actually required to preselect a menu through Large Party reservations. These menus start at $65/person.
• China Grill at Mandalay Bay prides itself on "the art of sharing" and impresses on guests that "to best enjoy your experience, consider it a journey taken together." Hence, group ordering is even more encouraged than in a typical Chinese restaurant, and a couple of special "Grand Plates" are available, starting at $58.
• BBQ-wise, we'd recommend either Buzz BBQ, which has locations in the southwest and northwast valley, or Famous Dave's, which serves "Feasts," family-style, for two to three people, or more.
• Last, but by no means least, we can recommend Herbs & Rye, the bar and restaurant on W. Sahara, renowned particularly for its cocktail program. In addition to offering a couple of monster food challenges, the menu includes a "Family-Style" pasta section with a variety of preparations, including linguine and clams available with the 50%-off happy hour discount. (LVA members can enjoy an extended happy hour, valid during all business hours at Herbs & Rye, using the new "Member Rewards Online" offer posted at couponsinvegas.com.

We hope that gives you some food for thought, so to speak; if anyone knows of any other restaurants in Las Vegas that serve family-style meals, please drop us a line.

China Grill at Mandalay Bay has closed. 08/01/2012 We would like to apologize to Casa di Amore for a misunderstanding in today's QoD. While the restaurant no longer features classic "family-style" dining per se, there are new Party Packages available, which give groups of any size the opportunity to order from a range of set menus, with limited number of options per course, for a fixed price per person. Click the link for more details or to make a reservation for your party.