By Scott Cronick
Tropicana Atlantic City had a good problem to solve. Its longtime Italian restaurant Il Verdi was so popular that it simply didn’t have enough seats.
About four years ago, Il Verdi went through a massive transformation and renovation to bring the iconic restaurant into modern times with a sleek look, the addition of a bar and – for the first time – a true entrance that opened to the casino floor.
The idea was to transform the 30-plus-year-old restaurant from being the casino’s – and Atlantic City’s – best-kept secret into a tourist destination.
The plan worked. But it also backfired.
“Il Verdi is one of Atlantic City’s longest standing restaurants,” said Senior Vice President and General Manager Joe Giunta. “After the renovations, it didn’t take long to figure out that we needed to showcase the fantastic food and great service to more customers. The restaurant was only 100 seats, so on Fridays and Saturdays, many players and loyal customers couldn’t get in. So, we thought, ‘What a perfect opportunity to expose that fantastic experience to a lot more guests.’ It has always been one of the top restaurants on Open Table in the city, and that kind of demand required more capacity. So, we took the leap.”
And what a leap it was.
The new Il Verdi, which opened last weekend, is a breathtakingly stunning space that overlooks the ocean and boardwalk with a multi-million-dollar investment to secure the Italian restaurant as Tropicana’s signature restaurant.
Il Verdi is located in the space previously occupied by Jose Garces’ Olon, which fell victim to COVID, and before that, it housed the popular seafood destination Fin.
Like its previous incarnation, Il Verdi features its own bar – this one more massive, elegant and modern thanks to a complete renovation of the Olon bar.
“We wanted the bar experience to be different than the dining room experience,” Giunta said. “In the bar, it feels more relaxed and comfortable and casual. It’s a great space to start the night off in and to get that small plate, nosh and drink a glass of wine or cocktail. We are going to get the best of both worlds between the dining room and the bar.”
Designer Olivia Jane, who also oversaw the multi-million-dollar makeover of Amalfi by Bobby Flay at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, was wise enough to incorporate some of the Olon dining room’s existing elements – particularly its four cabana-like private booths that are raised off the main floor and transforming a former ceviche bar to a charcuterie station – while bringing her own unique and creative elements, colors and textures to the space to make it one of the most beautiful restaurants in the city.
“The ambiance was fantastic already,” Giunta said. “We had an open spot that used to have Spanish tapas with an ocean view, and we just couldn’t pass that up for Il Verdi. It’s a very large space – more than 300 dining seats counting the bar – that is more than double and almost triple what we had in the former Il Verdi, which we knew was a perfect match. It hearkened Italian coastal, and we thought it was a perfect fit. The footprint was the easy part. Every single seat in the dining room has a view of the ocean.”
The dining room can be reduced in size with partitions – depending on the reservation load – and it also features a private dining area that can accommodate about 20 people for that mid-size party looking for some intimacy.
Unparalleled view
One question I always get asked is, “What good restaurants have amazing views of the ocean and boardwalk where I can sit outside?”
The sad truth is, there aren’t many. Aside from the beach bars – which don’t have a view of the boardwalk – and some boardwalk-level restaurants – which don’t offer an ocean view because of the dunes – the only restaurant I could ever recommend was Capriccio at Resorts Casino Hotel, which added a stunning terrace option during COVID.
Now there are two.
One of the major upgrades the new Il Verdi offers is patio seating, which should debut around July 4th weekend. Olon and Fin didn’t previously offer al fresco dining because of structural barriers, including support pillars on the balcony.
“That was one of those good-news, bad-news scenarios,” Giunta said. “When we were working on the restaurant, we ran into some challenges with the pillars, and at the end of the day, we decided to take them out. It was very costly to do that, but it now gives us an unbelievable patio space that will offer superb dining in great weather conditions. Not only will it be great for everyday dining, but it will be great for patio receptions and private parties. It’s now a big, uncluttered space with unlimited opportunities.”
Dining at Il Verdi
Of course, all of those renovations and all of that money wouldn’t matter one bit if the food didn’t match the ambiance.
And trust me when I say it does … big time.
“The beauty of all of this is that we can offer this new experience in a beautiful, new space, but longtime guests will still be waited on by the great servers they know … some who have been with us for decades,” Giunta said. “And those longtime servers – and some newer to our crew – are as excited about the changes as our customers are.”
Giunta and Director of Culinary Operations Demetrios Haronis, along with former Vice President of Food and Beverage Chris Rippy, put Il Verdi in the more-than-capable hands of Chef Michael Buckley, who was already overseeing Il Verdi in the former location and has helped Tropicana transform many of its restaurants over the years, including Ossu, the Japanese experience located right next to Il Verdi that is one of my favorite restaurants in the city.
“We had to not only change the vibe of the restaurant aesthetically, but we also had to do so culinarily,” Giunta said. “We wanted to capitalize on the great reputation of Il Verdi and bring it to the ocean and introduce a coastal feel to it. Let’s bring this brand up to date and into the 2000s. And Michael’s fresh approach to the cuisine really works.”
Longtime Il Verdi fans don’t have to stress: The new Il Verdi menu is much larger than its predecessor and features about 60 percent returning items – or variations of those familiar dishes – and 40 percent new. All of it will remain authentic, cooked-from-scratch Italian cuisine, including a good portion of the pasta made in house.
Fans will still be able to devour the signature rigatoni Bolognese ($29.99) with house-made beef and pork ragu with whipped ricotta; linguine with littleneck clams ($32.99), white wine butter, garlic, Italian parsley and basil; ricotta-stuffed gnocchi alla vodka ($26.99), light, melt-in-your-mouth pasta pillows stuffed with ricotta cheese with peas in a tomato-vodka cream sauce; steamed littleneck clams or mussels ($21.99) with fennel, garlic, basil and white wine butter with ’Nduja crostini; and fried calamari ($20.99) with hot cherry peppers, San Marzano marinara and Meyer lemon aioli.
Other heartier dishes that have survived the move include a 16-ounce ribeye ($59.99) with herb gremolata, fried artichokes and roasted garlic butter; wood-grilled filet mignon ($55.99) with truffle parmesan crust and wild mushroom sugo; chicken or veal parmesan ($39.99) with herb breadcrumbs, San Marzano marinara, fresh basil and spaghetti alla chitarra; chicken or veal Bianco ($45.99) with asparagus, jumbo lump crab, fresh basil, fontina cheese and lemon butter; and chicken Scarpelli ($31.99) with sauteed French chicken breast, sweet sausage, peppers, mushrooms, onions, broccoli rabe and natural jus.
The aforementioned charcuterie bar, located right near the entrance of the dining room, is worth the visit alone. The menu features a raw bar section with oysters, shrimp, jumbo crab, Maine lobster – all which can be assembled in a seafood tower – along with a gorgeous crudo ($21.99) featuring cucumber and fennel agrodolce, Calabrian chile, blood orange, jalapeno and extra virgin olive oil. The “formaggi” section – one for $13.99, three for $25.99 – offers Sicilian whipped ricotta, parmigiano Reggiano, gorgonzola Montagna, Caciocavallo and mozzarella served with semolina baguette and sliced apple. And the “salumi” section, priced the same as the cheese section, features imported meats such as prosciutto di Parma, salami from Emilia-Romagna, mortadella from Bologna, soppresata Romana and ’Nduja from Calabria served with grissini, taralli and giardinera.
Other antipasti include mini arancini ($15.99) with pomodoro; wood-grilled octopus ($21.99) with crispy potato, tomato conserva and olive tapenade; beef and pork meatballs ($16.99) with fresh mozzarella and wood-roasted long hots in a pomodoro sauce; and crispy squash blossoms ($16.99) with mozzarella in a bagna cauda sauce.
Pasta creations include frutti di mare ($49.99), a seafood stew served over spaghetti alla chitarra with lobster, shrimp, mussels, littleneck clams, calamari and San Marzano marinara; jumbo shrimp piccata ($36.99) with garlic, heirloom tomatoes, capers, white wine lemon butter and cavatelli pasta; butter-poached lobster ravioli ($39.99) with ricotta, garlic, lemon and a saffron sherry cream sauce; and pesto primavera ($24.99) with cipollini onions, roasted tomatoes, wild mushrooms, baby bell peppers and scialatielli pasta.
There’s also a beautiful, wood-fired, 16-ounce double-cut pork chop ($35.99) with cherry balsamic agrodolce and pickled mustard seed that will undoubtedly be one of the most popular menu items.
If you haven’t noticed, Buckley is making good use of the restaurant’s wood-fired oven, something new for Il Verdi. But in addition to the meats, Giunta is most excited about the oven-roasted fish section, where diners can choose from whole-roasted fish, salmon, flounder, sea bass, jumbo shrimp and langostines, then choose a sauce – salsa verdi, Romesco and salsa Susanna with jumbo lump crab, lemon butter and tarragon – and then choose a side including herb-roasted fingerling potatoes, spinach and garlic, wood-grilled asparagus, truffled mushrooms, broccoli rabe and garlic and wild mushroom risotto.
“I tend to eat light when I go out, so the grilled fish dishes are what I would order,” Giunta said. “The wood-burning oven is so great for everything from charred octopus to the pork chops to the steaks, but I love what that oven does with the fish. It’s really hot and comes out with a nice char, and when you finish it with those homemade sauces that we will change out every season … they are just dynamite.”
All of the desserts ($11.99) are homemade including pistachio ricotta cheesecake with a cherry sauce; chocolate hazelnut cake with white-chocolate vanilla sauce and candied hazelnuts; crème brulee with whipped Nutella ganache and mixed berries; and warm apple crostata with vanilla mascarpone gelato and salted caramel sauce.
Have a cocktail
The cocktail list is equally impressive. Created by Executive Director of Fine Dining Patrick Sterr, the standouts include the Tuscan sour ($16.99) with Patron Silver tequila, orange liqueur, fresh lemon and lime, agave and red wine; the Caffe de Mattio ($14.99) with Borghetti Coffee Liqueur, vodka, vanilla bean and espresso; the Negroni Blanco ($15.99) with Italicus Bergamont Liqueur, Carmano Dry Vermouth and Peach Pallini; and the Fig Cosmo ($15.99) with Figenza Fig Vodka, orange liqueur, fresh lime juice and cranberry.
There are also eight beers on draught, including Peroni, another eight in bottles and cans, and a massive wine list that includes more than two dozen by the glass. And the impressive Il Verdi bottle list even expanded.
“Patrick did a wonderful job with the cocktails,” Giunta said. “From old-style Negronis to the fig cosmo, there’s something for everyone, and our diners already have favorites like the espresso martini. And we already had a nice wine list, and we elevated that, too. We added about 100 different selections to an already nice-sized list. We really dug into the Italian wines, adding three or four Barolos, some Super Tuscans, and we also focused on whites that will go great with the coastal fish. I think the wine list is absolutely fantastic.”
Secret no longer
The Tropicana team is happy Il Verdi will no longer be that secret restaurant where you had to know someone to get in on weekends.
After more than 35 years, they are ready for prime time.
“It was almost criminal not to take advantage of what we believe to be one of the top oceanfront locations in Atlantic City,” Giunta said. “Not too many have ocean views like we have, but this is another level because it’s just above the boardwalk level, and you can see right past the boardwalk on to the beach. To watch the waves crashing at sunset while you enjoy an incredible meal is going to be special. The idea is to not only give our longtime customers a new, heightened experience with their favorite servers, but to also introduce Il Verdi to a whole new group of customers. We finally have the capacity and seats to do that, and we think it’s going to be an overwhelming success.
Il Verdi inside the Tropicana Atlantic City is open 5 to 10 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays, and 5 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Go to Tropicana.net
Scott Cronick is an award-winning journalist who has written about entertainment, food, news and more in South Jersey for nearly three decades. He hosts a daily radio show – “Off The Press with Scott Cronick” – 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays on Newstalk WOND 1400-AM, 92.3-FM, and WONDRadio.com, and he also co-owns Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall in Atlantic City, while working on various projects, including charitable efforts, throughout the area. He can be reached at scronick@comcast.net.
