Dining Review: THE Steak House at Circus Circus

Michael James and friends dig in at The Steak House at Circus Circus…

This is the seventh time that our Poker Group headed to Las Vegas for a weekend of playing poker tournaments. In those times, we’ve developed some traditions (like Sunday evening craps downtown, or Pai Gow Poker and Cap’n & Coke in the middle of our last night, etc.) But one thing we’d always discussed but never pulled off was a full group dinner.

So to keep the trip fresh, I decided to coordinate the dinner. It was harder than you’d expect because we didn’t know which poker tournaments we’d play before or after, so I couldn’t pin down a time. Another issue was the cost, as the best day for dinner would be the last night we were all in town. Sometimes bankrolls on the last day aren’t as wide as one would hope, so I needed to deal with that variable, too.

I had been to THE Steak House at Circus Circus in 2005 and didn’t really remember it. Since then, I’ve been to numerous others (Gordon Ramsay Steak at Paris, Andiamo’s at The D, Vic & Anthony’s at the Golden Nugget, Ruth’s Chris at Harrahs, and The Palm at Caesars Palace). To be honest, every single one of them would rate as a Do-It-Againer. But THE Steak House stuck out in my mind because it is the only one where the salad and potato are included with the meal, and that might help any of our bankroll-challenged group members. I made the reservation on Open Table but was a little concerned that I couldn’t find any pricing on on-line menus. I assumed that it would be equal to or less than the others, but that remained a mystery until we arrived.

We dropped off the car at the valet (Side note about paid parking; they should be paying ME to park at Circus Circus, not the other way around) and as per usual in casinos, we were hit with the piped-in fragrance as soon as we walked in. I am not one to beat up on Circus Circus as is customary, but please allow me to say that the chosen fragrance appeared to be Vomited Cotton Candy. This was noted by everyone in the group and had me concerned about my dinner choice.

But I didn’t need to. Once we got to THE Steak House and opened the heavy wooden door, all we could smell was the mesquite wafting through the air. Their grill pit is just off the dining floor, and the exhaust is good enough to allow just enough of the mesquite to let you know that great vittles were in the near future.

(Another side note; the last time I posted a menu with pricing, the pricing had changed before my article went live, and there was some consternation that I had posted an incorrect menu. Luckily I had my ducks in a row that at the time, and a small editor’s note clarified the issue. I had considered not posting THE Steak House menus, but I thought to myself “What the heck? Life is a gamble anyway!” So enjoy this menu as it appeared on November 7, 2016.)

All seven of us live in Wisconsin, though one of us is from Chicago and lives right on the state line. It was a pleasure to learn that our waiter, Mike, was not only from Wisconsin, but was a huge Brett Favre fan, and showed us all sorts of photos of his shrine to Favre… including signed jerseys of all four of Favre’s NFL teams and a significant amount of memorabilia. Mike also mentioned that they make a fantastic Old Fashioned (which is a big deal in Wisconsin), and though I am on a weight reduction plan that doesn’t include alcohol, I did have to try it, and it was dynamite.

We began trying to figure out which appetizers to order, and Mike suggested the Seafood Sensation, which included crab legs, oysters, and shrimp. “Bring us two!” said one of us. Apparently, we weren’t too concerned with pricing.

The seafood was wonderful. The shrimp were three-biters, the oyster tasted fresh, and the crab leg was as sweet as you’d want it to be. Sometimes there’s the “You can have the last piece. / No, you take it. I insist” debate. Well, this went the other direction “You already had two crab legs, I want that one. / But you had three shrimp.” I was a little surprised that we didn’t order a third platter, but out came the salads.

Six of us had the salad, and one had the Navy bean soup. All of us enjoyed this course, as well as the bread course that was devoured before photo evidence could be gathered.

Properly paced, the steaks came out…

When all was said and done, most of us were stuffed… those that had the seafood, at least. The two non-seafoodies shared a dessert.

And the best part? Not one complaint about anything… prices, pace, taste, doneness, nothing at all. That’s almost impossible with a group of seven, but THE Steak House at Circus Circus pulled it off.

One of us that had had a hot streak at the poker table bought all of the booze, but the total food bill with tax and tip was only $700 which dropped my jaw. We ate whatever we wanted – and as much of it as we wanted – for a C-note per guy.

Dinner was such a big hit among my group of friends that we almost didn’t notice the Vomited Cotton Candy smell as we headed back to our car two hours later.

Author’s Note – I spent five days in Las Vegas in early-November and wrote a complete trip report on the Vegas Message Board. If you are interested in reviewing my entire trip, click this link and enjoy!

[Photos: Michael James]

Michael James

Michael James is a true Vegas Nerd. First falling in love after hearing details of an aunt’s visit in the ’70s, and nurtured when the gambling bug hit as casinos started opening on every street corner across the country in the ’90s. When not reading Vegas blogs and message boards, he’s a metals buyer by day and a competitive bowler by night in Milwaukee.