Onda is anything but a run-of-the-mill hotel restaurant. Chef Todd English, whose Olives cafe over at Bellagio is also well worth your dining time, offers a Mediterranean slant on Italian cooking, coming up with a menu that's full of pleasant thrills, putting most other Italian joints in town to shame. Vegetables are flown in especially for Onda, so we encourage you toward menu choices that feature them. The restaurant itself is pretty and comfortable (dress is casual chic), with a particularly good vibe later in the evening (after 9pm, say) -- for some reason, the staff doesn't tire but is still ready to take care of your every wish, allowing you to linger as much as you like.

Begin with that basket of varied breads, making sure that the Gorgonzola-laced breadsticks are among them. Move on to antipasti with polenta, truffles, fresh mozzarella, onions, stuffed zucchini, roasted peppers, and goodness knows what else. Soup is good food, in particular the fine baby-sweet-spring-pea purée with a dollop of mascarpone cheese. A foil-wrapped veggie packet (slit at the table for you) includes porcini mushrooms good enough to make even non-mushroom fans fall to their knees, reconsidering their previous conviction. Gnocchi in sauce are light and wonderful. By now you don't need a heavy dessert, but the chocolate-mousse cake is highly recommended if you can handle it, as is the sorbet sampler (featuring flavors such as champagne grape and caramelized grape) if you can't.