The Palazzo has a plethora of coffee options – pretty unusual for a casino in Vegas, surprisingly (you’d think the casinos would want to keep the caffeine going!).  There’s a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which was fairly unremarkable, and another shop upstairs that I didn’t get to try, and then there is the showcase coffee store- the Illy Espresso Cafe.

Illy Espressamente

This place looks fantastic – modern, sleek, and coffee-centric.  And they made a great latte, and the next day, mocha latte.  They also clearly served a lot of straight shots of espresso, and I was tempted to try that but just never made it back for a third dose.  I was in Las Vegas for a convention, and this place did a great business as a result.

What was the downside? The cost.  A large mocha (3 shots of espresso) was $8.75.  That makes Starbucks look like a bargain.  Ok fine, you could argue the Illy mocha was better, but I think most of that price was going to the high priced rent. At least the high prices came with a good ambiance, a lot of European clientele lending authenticity to the coffee experience, and a friendly staff that remembered you even though you’ve only been there once before.

Yelp reviews were generally positive, most of the negativity focusing on the price.  I should have mentioned this place has a million varieties of gelato as well.