Aloha❤️
This past weekend I went to Las Vegas for a mini-vacation. Las Vegas is known for its flamboyant restaurants and culinary acclaimed cuisine. At my stay , I dined at several amazing restaurants but none compared to the Cleo . This restaurant truly captivated me from the minute I walked in. I felt as though I had walked into an ancient wonderland. The ambiance had a rustic look with a book shelf lining the walls which was filled with an array of vintage images in black and white and numerous books stacked almost messily. To make things feel even more picturesque, there was a massive wood fire oven and open kitchen in the center of the restaurant . It felt as though I was dining with Cleopatra herself.

Aside from the ambiance, the food was divine . Cleo is known for its Mediterranean inspired cuisine, and it lives up to that. All of the dishes have a sublime flavor from the use of traditional spices and cooking techniques . My favorite dish was the Branzino Tagine , which is cooked in a ceramic dish in the wood oven . A tagine is a Morrocan layered pilaf with a meat and rice or cous cous and cooked in spices. I requested the chef to make it with fish instead of meat or chicken ( fish tagine is not on the menu but they were kind to make it for me) but my parents ordered the chicken tagine and that too was spectacular.

This is the branzino tagine.

We also ordered a grilled haloumi salad with heirloom kale, hazeulnuts, tarragon, and citrus. This salad had a refreshing flavor and the grilled haloumi was perfect. Halloumi cheese has bedouin roots from the middle east and is semi-hard and has a high melting point which allows it to hold its shape when grilled.

We also ordered a shrimp and salmon kabob . Both were well seasoned and had an earthy flavor from the dill. The kabobs were served with a spicy chilli sauce that complemented the kabobs well.

I recommend this restaurant to any one visiting Las Vegas.

Xoxo,
Shiza