The new seafood-focused restaurant extends Major Food Group’s CARBONE brand into Bellagio, pairing Italian coastal dining with a highly theatrical Las Vegas setting.
MGM Resorts International has opened CARBONE RIVIERA at Bellagio in partnership with Major Food Group, adding a seafood-focused restaurant to one of the Las Vegas Strip’s most recognisable dining destinations. Created by Major Food Group co-founders Mario Carbone, Jeff Zalaznick and Rich Torrisi, the 240-seat venue occupies the former home of Picasso beside the Fountains of Bellagio. Its arrival broadens the CARBONE brand while giving Bellagio a new high-end dining concept built around Italian coastal cuisine and a prominent sense of occasion.
The restaurant is positioned as the first fish concept from CARBONE, with a menu centred on luxury seafood and whole-fish service. Its setting draws on the atmosphere of Lake Como, Capri and the French Riviera, while the design combines Mediterranean references with elements inspired by Picasso’s Vallauris years. Martin Brudnizki collaborated with MGM Resorts and Major Food Group on interiors shaped by terracotta, gold, clay and sea-blue tones.
The menu begins with crudo, antipasti, fritti and salads before moving into pasta, steaks and desserts. Listed dishes include Nantucket Bay scallops with brown butter and white truffles, Scottish langoustines in green acqua pazza, lobster polpette fra diavolo and a two-pound lobster arrabbiata with hand-crafted fettuccine. The nightly whole-fish programme includes sea bream, red snapper, Dover sole, branzino and turbot, prepared through methods including Japanese charcoal grilling, al forno roasting and salt-crust baking.
The experience also extends beyond the plate. CARBONE RIVIERA’s drinks programme highlights Champagne, White Burgundy and coastal Italian whites, alongside cocktails such as the Pistachio Colada and Strawberry Pomodoro. Two terraces overlook Bellagio’s lake and fountains, while the patio houses Fortuna, a custom 33-foot Riva yacht that invited guests can use to view the fountain display. The restaurant is open seven nights a week from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
For MGM Resorts, the restaurant adds another destination-led dining experience to Bellagio’s existing hospitality offer; for Major Food Group, it represents a seafood-oriented extension of a brand already associated with Italian-American classics. The combination of a recognised restaurant name, a waterfront resort setting and table-side whole-fish service places the concept firmly within Las Vegas’s competition for experiential fine dining. CARBONE RIVIERA therefore gives both partners a venue designed to make the location itself part of the meal.
