The Golden Steer Steakhouse is a Las Vegas Landmark, that in my opinion, should face the same consequence that most things old in Las Vegas do……implosion.
The Golden Steer
This is one of those places in Las Vegas that has been around forever and as a local you feel like you just have to go there at least once. It’s like living in New York and not visiting the Statue of Liberty. It’s almost a duty to go try it. So, I tried it.
The Meal
I had Clams Casino for appetizer, 8oz Filet Mignon, Twice Baked Potato and my husband had the New York Strip with side of Peppercorn Sauce. We had a glass of wine and a beer. The Clams Casino were NOT Clams Casino. They were baked stuffed clams with chopped bacon on top and they were barely warm. The Italian bread was completely forgettable. Our steaks were good but they put Au Jus (like you get with Prime Rib) on the plate. I don’t get that. Are the steaks dry? The Peppercorn Sauce was gelatinous muck. We asked for a wine list and were very surprised that a steakhouse would have such a small limited selection of wine. It had one page to be exact. Despite all of the above the food tasted good, not great, just good.
The Service
Seriously, I have never had such horrific service in a fine dining establishment. The guys that took care of us don’t deserve to work at Denny’s. Just because you put a tuxedo on doesn’t give you class or skills. We didn’t even get the most basic of server etiquette; the “check back”. Not once did either server (it’s team service) check back during our meal to see if we were enjoying everything, or needed another drink, NOTHING and there were only two other tables being served. I NEVER go to dinner and leave without having a dessert. I love dessert. Sometimes I order two. I didn’t have dessert at the Golden Steer. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. I was damned if I was going to spend another dollar.
Old Time Vegas
I’ve read some other reviews of the Golden Steer Steakhouse that go on and on about how the Steer is “Old Time Vegas”; about how interesting and cool they think it is because Frank Sinatra and other celebrities have dined there in the past. Wake up people. The fact is they ate there because it was the nicest thing around at the time. Believe me, if those celebrities were alive today they sure as hell wouldn’t be dining there. Today Las Vegas is a dining mecca, with restaurants created by some of the most famous chefs in the world and the chef at the Golden Steer isn’t one of them. The Golden Steer Steakhouse isn’t Old Time Vegas. It’s just old period. By the way, they’re not cheap either. Less than a 3 minute drive from the Golden Steer is Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse downtown at the Golden Nugget. For the same money you’d spend at the Steer you’ll get a much better steak, an award-winning wine list, skilled knowledgeable servers and bartenders, a warm inviting atmosphere with real “Old Vegas” charm and background music by all the great ones (Sammy, Frank, Dino, Nat King Cole, Billy Holiday etc) on a much better sound system. Now that’s a class act. As a matter of fact, that’s where we went for an after dinner drink and dessert.
