THE Steak House at Circus Circus

November 12, 2011

Las Vegas, Nevada – I was in town for a weekend event and decided to treat myself to one of Las Vegas’ famed steak houses. After several Internet searches and about a dozen consistent results, I narrowed it down to four. The deciding factor was proximity to my hotel.

THE Steak House has ranked as Best of Las Vegas for 20 years, one of Las Vegas’ 10 best steak houses, and was at the top of Zagat’s for several years. If that isn’t convincing enough, THE Steak House was also voted best steak house for the money. These creds made me feel very good about my dining choice tonight. But for all that research, I forgot what turned out to be an important item: I walked over from my hotel, into Circus Circus and into the restaurant where the hostess told me that there would be a two-hour wait. Yep, I should have checked first to see if reservations were needed. Fortunately I had no other plans for the evening and decided to walk up and down the strip until I my newly revised dinnertime. Curiously, the place did not look crowded enough to warrant a two-hour wait time.

When I was finally able to be seated, it was like walking through a time warp; from the musty, smoky smell and noise of the casino, you walk into the different world of this restaurant. The smoky smell of the casino was gradually replaced by the mouth-watering aroma of cooking beef.

Letting my eyes adjust to the darkened room, I noticed there was lots of wood paneling. Booths were red leather. Tables were covered with crisp, white tablecloths. Ceiling lamps had green shades. The décor put me in mind of the Rat Pack days. On the way to my table I passed the glass-enclosed aging room. Which one will be my steak?

My server came to take my order. After a bit of contemplation, I decided to go with the bone-in Rib-eye ($47) along with a glass of wine. Dessert was a possibility but the final decision would have to be made after the main course was finished. While my meal was being prepared, I did a bit of people watching.

This is supposed to be a high-end restaurant but I saw many diners in jeans, a couple in untucked polo shirts, some with tennis shoes, and two guys come in with T-shirts. (By the way, I wore a shirt and tie.) I don’t know their situation; maybe they decided to splurge on this one meal and these were the best clothes they had. Or, maybe it’s indicative of a trend where nobody dresses up for dinner out anymore. But I did notice it…and wondered if THE Steak House had a dress code.

Meanwhile, bread and salad arrived at the table. There were two kinds of bread, freshly baked. The first one tasted like a salted pretzel. I have no idea what the second one was. My green salad came with waffle-cut carrots, celery, bleu cheese crumbles and bleu cheese dressing. Nothing really stood out about the salad itself or the dressing but I did like the fact that they used waffle-cut carrots.

Tonight’s wine choice was an Alamos Malbec ($8) from Argentina. I’ve really been enjoying Malbecs with steak lately. This one had an earthy tone. It was full-bodied with a great nose and not bitter at all. And it did pair deliciously with the steak.

Ah, yes. The steak. The reason I came here. I ordered the rib-eye medium rare. It arrived both under and over-cooked. Closer to the bone, it needed to be cooked a little more. On the other hand, away from the bone there was too much char. I guess that’s the drawback of cooking thick steaks over very high heat. Still, I’d expect a better-cooked steak from a restaurant of this caliber.

Aside from its split personality doneness, the steak was very tender and had a nice flavor.

I guess my busy day left me hungrier than I thought; I still had plenty of room for dessert. I ordered the Key Lime Pie ($7). It was a typical Key Lime pie with real Graham cracker crust. It delivered a big lime flavor and left a very present tart lime aftertaste. A good choice to end the meal.

This is the part of the review where you find the rating I gave. As with most of my ratings, it is based on this visit, the meal I had, and my experience there today. With that said, I had to drop a full point because my steak was too charred. It wasn’t quite bad enough to send back but it was pretty close to it.

To me, THE Steak House has seen its heyday and is hanging on by a memory kept alive by those who enjoyed that magical period. The younger set doesn’t seem to appreciate that era. Sad, because I really like steak houses like this. And as for the high accolades? I’ve only eaten in two steak houses here in Las Vegas so I can’t really judge. But based solely on the steak, this one wouldn’t make my list. I would like to give THE Steak House another chance to redeem itself; hopefully with a different cook.

THE Steak House – 3.5 forks. Recommended. Reservations suggested.