For more than 30 years, The Steak House at Circus Circus has been a perennial favorite. Las Vegas visitors make it a regular stop during their Sin City adventures, an institution beloved for its old Vegas style. And locals love it just as much, making the trip to the Strip to celebrate special occasions.
With so many cutting-edge steak specialists serving up the good stuff from the glitzy casinos on Las Vegas Boulevard, it might be easy to overlook this quiet sanctuary at the iconic 45-year-old casino. But savvy eaters know this is the place to find ultimate satisfaction with all the trimmings. Enter a short but regal hall plastered with photos from Vegas’ past and get ready for a memorable meal. Take a peek inside the dry-aging room, where flavor is brewing. Maybe you’ll make a pit stop at the intimate bar, a time machine in its own right, but still ready to serve up a dry martini or splash of whiskey on the rocks to whet your appetite.
Since it served its first meal, The Steak House has maintained its exhibition kitchen in the center of the dining room, the charcoal-broiling headquarters where the freshest steak and seafood get the final finishing touches. The atmosphere hasn’t changed a bit through the decades, a masculine mélange of leather booths, taxidermy, more way-back-when photos, and the feature that truly sets this restaurant apart—top-notch service from a staff that’s been around as long as the steakhouse itself.
A proper experience begins with the Seafood Sensation, an iced platter of giant, juicy oysters on the half shell, succulent and sweet crab meat easily lifted from its cracked shell, and the biggest cocktail shrimp you’ve ever drooled over. The accoutrements are almost as good as the seafood: fresh horseradish, spicy mayonnaise, cocktail sauce, squeezable lemons and The Steak House’s signature “goombah sauce” (essentially horseradish-laden cocktail sauce). If this is old Vegas eating, forget the future.
Twin lobster tails
Salads of fresh spinach, crunchy romaine with Caesar dressing, or tomato, mozzarella and basil will ready you for the monumental meat choices, a greatest hits of favorite cuts. A mighty bone-in ribeye and a plate-size porterhouse are the most popular options, but a velvety petite filet mignon is yours for the taking as well. Prime rib could be bone-in or a smaller boneless cut, both dripping with flavor, and grilled lamb chops are a tasty alternative. From the ocean, there’s grilled garlic shrimp, lobster tails, king crab legs, salmon or halibut.
While you can add sautéed mushrooms or crispy fried potatoes as a side dish, you won’t need to: this steakhouse doesn’t do a la carte. Each of those tantalizing steaks or seafood dishes comes with soup or salad, fresh baked bread, vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes, wild rice or a big baked potato with all the classic toppings. This impressive value is one of the reasons why The Steak House at Circus Circus is one of Las Vegas’ best kept dining secrets. The raspberry chocolate cake is pretty good, too.
Circus Circus 4-10 p.m. Sun.-Fri., 4-11 p.m. Sat. 702.794.3767
