Carson City Nugget launching Angelina’s Italian Bistro

The Carson City Nugget’s makeover of its restaurant line-up is complete with the official launch of Angelina’s Italian Bistro.

Located in the old steakhouse, the Italian dining room opened in February, but is hosting its grand opening April 28-May 1.

Angelina’s joins the Eatery, the Nugget’s redone and now smaller coffee shop open seven days a week, and Alatte Coffee, Wine & Deli, its coffee and wine bar which also serves fresh sandwiches and salads for lunch.

To that, the casino has added two small private dining rooms: the Barrel Room, which seats 18 and can be reserved through the banquet facilities department for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and La Familia, a private dining room for eight inside Angelina’s.

Carrying on Nugget tradition, Angelina’s serves steak and ribs as well as a menu of southern Italian dishes and 100 different wines.

The restaurant is named for General Manager Dean DiLullo’s grandmother, Angelina DiLullo, born in 1909 near Naples, Italy. At least one dish — gnocchi and meatballs covered in red sauce — is based on her recipe.

“Angelina’s has been very well received,” said Debra Bolton, marketing manager at the Nugget. “Everything is homemade except the pasta.”

The restaurant is open for dinner Thursday through Sunday, but Bolton said plans are eventually to expand the schedule to seven days and to serve lunch, too.

The special each Sunday evening is a bottomless bowl of pasta for $3.99.

The restaurant seats 150 people in two rooms, the dining room and a space once called the Corral, plus the La Familia room.

“In the private dining room, you can order off Angelina’s menu or the La Familia menu, which is served in big bowls passed around family style,” said Bolton.

To transform the steakhouse into Angelina’s, the casino added new lighting, new wood tabletops and three wall murals painted by local artist Eric Burke.

The casino also removed its snack bar and cut its former coffee shop in half to turn it into the new Eatery, which seats 125 patrons, Alatte and the Barrel Room.

The Barrel Room also offers monthly winemaker dinners, in which a winery brings in its wines and Executive Chef David Sellers creates a menu to complement the wine.

Both the Eatery and Alatte can be entered from a patio off Telegraph Street without walking through the casino.

The patio was the site last summer for live bands on Friday nights and plans are to do the same this summer, said Bolton.

In April, the casino is bringing back local live bands every Saturday night to its Sports Bar, including Escalade, Mimic, Lady and the Tramps, Trippin’ King Snakes and Boogie Daddys.

For more information, call 775-882-1626.