Is the steakhouse at Circus Circus as good as they say

I have seen many "best of" lists of steakhouses in Vegas and the one at Circus Circus is consistently included along with some of my personal favorites... i.e. Cut, Carnevino, SW, Delmonico...

I just can't make myself believe that it can be the same caliber as these fine establishments and be located in Circus Circus.

Convince me... or not!!!

 

Go and convince yourself.

 

^^^^^^ +1

 

Thats the rumor, but still too far out of the way to even give it a try.

 

Here's my assessment. At Circus Circus, you pay for the cut instead of paying for the room. Meaning, you pay for the food and not because it's some sexy atmosphere or a gorgeous 21 year old woman is going to walk by or there are pictures of celebrities on the wall. You pay a fair price for a square meal: the cost, while seemingly on par with other steakhouses on the Strip, includes so much more. Salad, bread, potato, veggies. If you pay the same amount at many Strip steakhouses, you'll get a big ol' slab of beef on a plate and not a damned thing else (well, maybe some bread).

So in my view, the Steakhouse at Circus Circus is probably a 7 on a scale of 10 for sheer quality. It's not spectacular, but it is above average and you don't have to part with asinine amounts of money to enjoy a true, full meal. So to me, that turns the 7 into an 8 (one extra point for value). Conversely, many Strip steakhouses lose a point for the lack of value. At Circus Circus, you sit, deal with a competent and experienced waiter, and get a very good meal at a very decent cost. So that's the appeal to the place for me. Take it out of Vegas, and put it into a town whose steakhouses aren't putting up Vegas-y pretenses anyway, and I wouldn't go out of my way. But personally I think it's worth a visit.

Just my two cents that bordered on three cents or even a nickel.

 

I love your response. Just what I would like to hear. I'm looking for a great steak, period. If the steak at Circus Circus is better than one of the others I mentioned I would gladly go there. It's about the steak after all. What I'm getting from your post is that it is a pretty good steak AND you also get more for your $$ as sides are included.

So let me rephrase a bit... based on quality of steak alone, how does CC compare to the others I mentioned or any others that you feel are better then my picks.

 

Well I bet I get lit right up for saying this, but I'm willing to put Circus Circus only a fraction below those. I LOVE that Circus Circus allows me to order my steak medium rare plus, so that they take it off just at medium rare, then it cooks a bit on the plate, and then it hits your mouth halfway between medium rare and medium, or an optimal shade of pink (to my way of thinking, anyway). And that customization makes the steak punch a bit above its weight class. A ribeye, medium rare plus...yum, man. Just flat YUM.

So yeah...the places you mention probably age their steaks longer and have fancier chefs preparing them. But for an honest cut that isn't glorified with rare and exotic seasonings, I'd put Circus Circus just a small notch below the others. I'll allow that your other options are just better/more expensive restaurants, but I guess I'm really pitching this as The Little Steakhouse That Could. If budget isn't an issue, I can't really begrudge your alternatives or criticize your decision. Candidly, I ride the Deuce bus up from my inevitable comp at Bally's, eat my feisty little underdog steak, and then continue on to Fremont. If you haven't plans of that nature, I could see you simply eating at a higher caliber establishment, such as those you've already noted.

 

This is a good response.

(FWIW we enjoy it)

 

After reading so many great things about it on the board, I went there on my last trip in December.

I can't recall which steak I had, but I didn't think it was anything special. bdautch certainly makes great points on what you get for the cost (a lot less at other places).

The primary place in Vegas where I've had steak is Cut. The "atmosphere" @ Cut is a little too much for me though (and the prices seem to be rising faster than my paycheck), so that's why I branched out this time/

 

My bill was $700 and we hardly ordered that much at CUT (two people). I feel like these restaurants are getting out of hand. Then again, you're essentially paying for an experience...a meal at CUT will be at least two hours long.

 

You don't pay a 25% markup (at least) for having a "name" on the sign.

 

It's dry aged USDA Prime. It's not aged 240 days like Carnevino. It's not Kobe or wagyu. It's corn fed prime. In my opinion better than every place you mentioned except possibly Carnevino.

Thicker, better marbled and more tasteful. Classic environment, good service. Steaks are aged on site. They cook it right there, so it can get a bit beef smokey in there.

 

Steak Angst, VMB-style!!

I love this place!

 

I liked it. Very much so.

Bob Z liked it, too.

 

Thanks for all your thoughts. Keep em coming. I think I'm convinced but I love to hear what you think.

 

Maybe CC could hire Bieber as their celebrity endorser?

"Well if you're not...quite sure....how that steak will taste
Oh baby you should go convince yourself"

 

After many, many years of avoiding it in spite of the good reviews, went there my last trip and really enjoyed it. As did my wife. Steaks were excellent, cooked to perfection, service was fine, ambience was Old School Vegas, quiet and distinguished.

I highly recommend it.

TFK

 

Buddy, I think the term fish or cut bait comes to mind.

For what it's worth, you may want to check and see if they still have happy hour. A small bar in the front with about 10 stools and a couple tables. If you like martinis or manhattans, the bartender makes them big and they were half price when I was there about a year and a half ago. Damn near made an ass of myself after my third one plus two glasses of wine. Good thing I went up to my room for an hour in between happy hour and dinner.

 

I know someone who worked in the casino industry in Vegas for over 30 years and still lives there. He's dined all over town and back. The Steakhouse at CC is his favorite steakhouse in all of Vegas. That has to tell you something. I've been there and had a very enjoyable meal. It's definitely worth the money IMO.

 

Wife and I thought the meal was great. Both steaks and sides were perfectly done. Only complaint, as mentioned by golfer above, is that the smoke from the grill can get a little overpowering. I liked the smell - wife did not.