What a giant disappointment. We saved Scarpetta for our final night in Vegas because it was my first choice of a new place to try. We won't ever return.\n\nWe had reservations at 6:30. We arrived at 6:24. I know this because the hostess pointed to the clock and noted that she would seat us in 6 minutes, since our reservation was for 6:30 pm. They were not busy -- no one else was waiting to be seated and only two people were sitting at the bar. We had to ask twice to check a coat, even though they have a clearly marked coat check.\n\nAt this point, we just figured the hostess was inexperienced or having a rough day. Once we were seated, we were promptly greeted and placed our cocktail orders. Our drinks took almost 20 minutes to arrive -- although we could see there were fewer than 20 people in the entire restaurant and there were at least 5 servers standing around chatting. The rest of the night, the service remained scattered, at best. We were rushed through our first course, but had to flag down the server to order dessert. \n\nOn top of this, the server was constantly pushing us to \"upgrade,\" after telling us that most of the plates, as is, are pretty minimal and that most people end up having to add to them with a second round of orders. For example, I ordered the fritto misto salad, which runs $18. The server warned me I should order a second primi, as well. He wasn't kidding -- I got two bites of greens with a dusting of lemon and seasoning. In short, the portions are small even for an upscale, trendy restaurant.\n\nThis place has one saving grace: the tomato and basil spaghetti. I admit I'm pretty picky about Italian food after I lived in Italy for a summer. I understand that it's rarely as good in the States. Although it's not as good as you'd get in Italy, the tomato and basil spaghetti is done well here. It has a nice light sauce (it's not arrabbiata -- it's a pureed sauce), and the pasta was cooked perfectly al dente.\n\nI had the strawberry souffle for dessert. It was adequate, although it was fairly cool by the time they got it to the table. The coffee was fine, but the server forgot the extra shot of Frangelico I requested.\n\nOn the plus side, it's really beautiful. If you can get a seat in the windows, they overlook the Bellagio fountains (unfortunately, the window seats also overlook the Bellagio gardening sheds and dumpsters...so don't look down!). Overall, the decor fits in well with the contemporary vibe at the Cosmo. It's urban, beautifully designed, and hip. It's fresh, upscale, and open without being fussy or stuffy.\n\nAs beautiful as it is and as great as that pasta plate was -- I won't be back.