illy Caffé

Espresso in the Palazzo atrium

Cappuccino is the order that fits this counter best. illy Caffè, the illy-branded café inside The Palazzo, works the Italian format straight: espresso and cappuccino first, brewed coffee alongside, hot and cold versions of both, and baristas trained through illy’s University of Coffee. The brand behind it began in Trieste in 1933, when Francesco Illy set out to take Italian coffee to a wider audience, and it is still family owned and independent. What lands in Las Vegas is that house style transplanted into a resort shopping corridor beside the Waterfall Atrium, where the traffic is shoppers and hotel guests rather than neighbourhood regulars. Beans, cups and espresso machines are sold alongside the drinks, so the café doubles as a shop.

A designed room built for a moving crowd

The room is more considered than a standard mall counter. White marble floor, dark wood panelling, chrome display cases and a central tower of illy’s artist-series espresso cups give it the brand’s visual language, laid out by the architect behind illy’s FrancisFrancis machine line. It works as a quick-bite stop: order, take a seat if the room gives one back, or carry the cup out into the shopping flow. Seating faces the passing crowd, which is most of the entertainment. The pace is set by the resort rather than by the coffee, so it suits a pause between other things rather than a long sit.

Cappuccino first, then decide how far into dessert to go

Order the cappuccino for the classic version of this café, or a straight espresso if the stop is short. Drip coffee is there for anyone who wants volume, and the cold side covers the Nevada afternoon. Then decide whether this is a coffee stop or a dessert one, because the case pushes hard in the second direction: more than fifty gelato flavours, dessert crêpes, sundaes and chocolate-dipped strawberries from a chocolate fountain. For something savoury, panini, wraps and bagel or croissant sandwiches with eggs and ham cover breakfast and lunch from the same counter. The simplest route through it is cappuccino or espresso first, then gelato or a pastry depending on how much of the afternoon is left. Tea is on the board as well, and the retail side sits within reach of the counter if the blend is worth taking home.