Authentic Italian cuisine. Countless bottles of wine. Superb customer service.

In a few sentences, that’s how I would describe Terra Verde, one of the finest restaurants located at Green Valley Ranch in Henderson, about a 10-minute drive from the Las Vegas Strip.

My husband and I made reservations to eat at Terra Verde for our sixth anniversary, but there was no reason to. On a Thursday night there were only a few tables with patrons. A couple tables had larger groups of people sitting at them—friends gathered for a drink to celebrate the holiday season, or so I gathered—and there were a few more tables of two or three folks each.

The dining room at Terra Verde is large, and there is an outside veranda overlooking the pedestrian mall at Green Valley Ranch, which they open when it is warm out. To start out our meal, we were given a plate of complimentary appetizers (I’m not sure if this is common practice or something they did for our anniversary), which consisted of three varieties of olives, pickled bell peppers, shaved Parmesan cheese, artichoke hearts and zucchini chips. It was a flavorful selection that wasn’t too dense but did get my appetite stirred up for the main course.

Terra Verde has a large selection of Italian cuisine including from wood-fired pizzas and pastas with a variety of sauces and toppings. There are also many seafood dishes, including salmon, swordfish and seabass. Meal dishes include countless veal plates and a few chicken selections, many of which are topped with wine sauces. (Check out the full menu here.)

On Monday through Thursdays nights, there is also a prix fixe menu, which both my husband and I ordered from. For $35, patrons receive an appetizer, main course and dessert as well as a $10 wine card, which is a heck of a deal considering the main courses on this menu range from $18 to $24 when ordered on their own. We chose the bruschetta and caprese as our appetizers. The vegetables were crisp and fresh, and I loved the flavor of the mozzarella.

For the main course, my husband had the chicken marsala. Though I didn’t try any of it, he said it was cooked just right and the flavor was ideal. I enjoyed the linguine and clam sauce, which was served with the clams still in their shells. The sauce wasn’t overpowering or too greasy, and the serving size was more than sufficient (I boxed up my leftovers, and the meal was just as good the second day).

We shared the chocolate decadence and panna cotta for dessert. The chocolate decadence was plated beautifully, with a sprig of mint and a few cherries. It was very rich, but very tasty. I liked the idea of the panna cotta—which was topped with an edible foil doily—but didn’t care for the layer of gelatin they used for the top in order to keep the fruit in place. Once I got beyond that, I thought the custard was amazing.

Though the meal was fabulous—we’d go again in a heartbeat—the most interesting and funnest part of the evening was using our wine cards. Terra Verde claims to have 1,500 bottles of Italian and Californian bottles of wine available. About thirty of these are available for wine card use. The wine station is essentially a grown-up version of a pop machine. For a certain amount of money, you can choose to get two, four or six ounces of a wine by inserting the card and choosing the wine you’d like to try. With ten dollars, I had the opportunity to taste three different blushes. The entire wait staff is knowledgeable about the wines available, and patrons can ask for recommendations based on their taste preferences.

This attention to the product is just a taste of the stellar customer service here. In addition to being knowledgeable about the food and wine selections at the restaurant, I witnessed two other instances of extreme customer service. In one case, a woman who didn’t care for her main dish was asked if she’d like to substitute the dish by two different staff members. When she chose just to pass on the course, they removed it from her bill altogether. In another instance, a woman came in who wasn’t interested in eating anything available on the menu. The waiter explained that the chef could cook anything she wanted—on the menu or not.

Terra Verde has delicious dinner food and a very welcoming atmosphere, and the staff is one of the best I’ve encountered in the Las Vegas area. If you are looking for top-notch service and a great meal but don’t mind putting a (small) dent in your wallet, I highly recommend you check it out next time you’re in town.

Terra Verde | Main dinner courses $15-$42 | Dinner hours Sunday-Thursday 5:00-10:00 | Friday and Saturday 5:00-11:00

Green Valley Ranch | 2300 Paseo Verde Parkway | Henderson, Nevada 89052 | 702.617.7075

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

• I Love Las Vegas – Brunch at Simon | Palms Place
• I Love Las Vegas – Shuck’s Tavern
• I Love Las Vegas – Le Reve at the Wynn