Neighborhood tapas spot closes after 15 years in Vegas

Forte Tapas, which developed a loyal following for its tapas, Eastern European comfort food and neighborhood feel, closed Wednesday, owner Nina Manchev confirmed for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The restaurant, on South Rainbow Boulevard, opened in August 2009, with the menu drawing on Manchev’s Bulgarian heritage. Manchev cited the economy as the reason for the closing.

“It’s just been very hard to keep up. It’s not working out financially. Food prices are up. Everything is going up, up, up.”

Manchev thanked her customers for dining at Forte for almost 15 years.

“We had close relationships with the customers; everybody felt like family. Even if there were just a few tables in the restaurant, I was grateful. I’m grateful for everybody.”

The closing was especially difficult, Manchev said, because the restaurant survived the Great Recession and the pandemic. Manchev said she’s going “to take a little break and get myself together and find another way to be impactful in the industry.”

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram and @ItsJLW on X.