They say travel is food for the soul. Even more satisfying, we would submit, is to travel the easy hour to a place whose name means “soul,” where the food is superb, the wine sublime, and the atmosphere relaxed and unhurried.
Allow us to introduce you to Anima by EDO in Las Vegas.
Team Let’s Go Eat has always roughly defined our area of operation as the places you can get to by car in an hour or so from Santa Barbara.
If we expand that definition slightly to include places one can get to in an hour’s travel (meaning, also by air), how much more of the world opens up?
Anima, at 9205 Russell Road in west Las Vegas (an 18-minute Uber ride from the Strip) is co-owned by Las Vegas native Joe Mikulich and his business partner, Roberto Liendo.
“We love offering high-quality cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere,” Mikulich told us.
Anima, which means “soul” in both Italian and Spanish, offers a fusion of those two cuisines, complimented by an exceptional wine list, served in a relaxed and lively ambience.
Anima by EDO owner Joe Mikulich gets the party started in Las Vegas. Credit: Anima photo 
Pan-Roasted Cod confit with potato and stewed cabbage. Credit: Rob Raede / Noozhawk photo 
Braised Short Rib is a delicious choice. Credit: Rob Raede / Noozhawk photo 
Anima is well-known for its Serrano Iberico Jamón. Credit: Anima photo 
The Rigatoni Amatriciana at Anima by EDO will get you to join the Clean Plate Club. Credit: Rob Raede / Noozhawk photo 
The incomparable sommelier Paolo Uccellatori is both knowledgeable and entertaining. Credit: Rob Raede / Noozhawk photo 
Atlantic octopus is the highlight of this dish. Credit: Anima photo 
Truffle Cavatelli with salchichon bone marrow and English peas. Credit: Anima photo
“The population of people who want the suit-and-tie formal dinners is shrinking,” Mikulich said, “We offer the guests a place that’s fun, inviting.
“We take good care of you, but we can still joke and laugh with people.”
Mikulich and Liendo, along with chef Oscar Amador have built a small but expanding empire that now includes Anima, EDO, Braseria (opening soon), and La Loba in Seattle.
We look forward to trying their other concepts, but for us Anima is very hard to get away from. In fact, Team LGE often travels to Las Vegas expressly for the purpose of eating there.
Mikulich was born and raised in Las Vegas, and his family — on both sides — has been in the area since 1909.
After getting his degree in hospitality/hotel administration from UNLV, he started a 10-year stint working for famed restaurateur José Andrés at Bazaar Meat in Las Vegas.
“We take good care of you, but we can still joke and laugh with people.”
Joe Mikulich
“José Andrés is an insanely creative culinary guy,” Mikulich recalled. “Working personally for him was amazing.”
It was there he met Liendo, his future business partner.
Together with Amador, they began with a tapas-style restaurant called EDO (Extra Day Off in restaurant parlance).
And they’ve made quite a splash with their second project, Anima by EDO, winning both the 2023 Las Vegas Restaurant of the Year and the 2023 Yelp Best New Restaurant in the USA, in only their second year of operation.
“Our food ideas initially came from chef Oscar,” Mikulich told us, “but now that we’ve expanded we give our other chefs more autonomy to try new things.”
New menu items often get their test run at the wine-maker dinners Anima hosts.
“If we get great feedback from the guests,” Mikulich said, “we may move that item to the main menu.”
Speaking of which, during our recent visit we both ordered the Chef’s Tasting Menu, which featured among other things, a fantastic version of Rigatoni Amatriciana (pair that with the Cantine San Marzano “Edda” white), and their well-known Green Tartar (zucchini, avocado, bell peppers with pistachio vinaigrette).
Our meal finished with main courses of Pan-Roasted Black Cod and Braised Short Rib, both exceptional.
One could be forgiven for thinking seafood in Las Vegas might not be great, there being no body of water of any regard near by.
“It’s the opposite,” Mikulich said. “The Strip has these heavy-hitter big-name chefs, and the distributors know they have to supply these guys with the best of the best.
“If we want the same fish that Nobu uses for its miso cod, we just ask the distributor to add a couple more orders of that for us.”
No description of Anima is complete without mentioning its bigger-than-life sommelier, Paolo Uccellatori.
Originally from Italy, Uccelatori has been around the Las Vegas food and wine scene for years, and not only has detailed knowledge of each wine on the extensive list, he is also immensely entertaining.
“Paolo is an incredible asset to Anima,” Mikulich told us. “Great story teller, very enthusiastic.
“I knew Spanish wines, but Paolo knew Italian wine much better. He has this wealth of knowledge.”
Winemaker dinners at Anima, featuring well-known names from Italy and the United States, have become quite a big thing.
“The winemakers come to us now because they know we sell out every single dinner we do,” Mikulich said.
“The guests love it, in part, because we offer these dinners at a reasonable price point. Approximately half of what the same experience would cost on the Strip.”
Anima is about to host its 50th winemaker dinner, from a standing start just three years ago.
Anima is a place favored by sophisticated visitors and locals alike, and regulars know the best way to experience the restaurant is to bring friends, share lots of dishes, and get Paolo to do a wine pairing for you.
If you don’t want to drive all that 18 minutes from the Strip, consider staying at the Red Rock Resort in Summerlin.
Or for a bit of a splurge, take the 5 p.m. flight from Santa Barbara to Las Vegas. It arrives in plenty of time to make a 7 p.m. dinner rez, then take the 10:55 p.m. flight back.
Great dinner, sleep in your own bed. Extravagant? Yes. Worth it? Also yes.
And try the Bravas Potatoes.
When You Go
Anima by EDO is located at 9205 Russel Road in Las Vegas. Click here for reservations, which are strongly recommended.
