Popular locals bar-and-restaurant hangout, as featured on Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" and specializing in ethnically diverse small-plate dishes (from traditional Spanish tapas to Eastern European and Russian dishes), plus home-infused flavored vodkas. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and features a small outdoor patio and sometimes live entertainment at night. [Note that this restaurant is sometimes closed for private events, so call ahead before making a special trip.)
This restaurant was reviewed in the October 2011 LVA; some of the information contained in this review may no longer be accurate. Almost everything you need to know about Forte is conveyed in the excerpt from Eating Las Vegas. But we’ll add a couple of our own observations based on several good experiences there. One thing not emphasized in the ELV reviews is this restaurant’s affordability. Almost nothing is priced above $10 and nearly 50% of the items are $6 and below. Needless to say, it’s tough to run up a big tab. We’ve had sausages, cheeses, three kinds of soups (cucumber, lentil, and matza ball), stuffed dates, squid, and salads of all sorts and we’ve barely scratched the surface of the diverse menu. The owner is almost always on property and she loves to talk about the intricacies of the cuisine. For example, she explained to Anthony Curtis that if he wanted something akin to the Polish-style pierogi that he’d eaten while growing up in Detroit, then he should opt for the Russian vareniki rather than the pirojki that he ordered because of its name. Finally, Forte is just plain interesting, and a recent move to push back hours to a 3 am closing every day should make it even more so. Go during normal dining hours for a relaxed atmosphere or catch the eclectic after-shift Vegas crowd late-night.