For quite a few years, maybe a decade, I have been patronizing THE steakhouse at Circus Circus. I have always liked the restaurant. I have always thought it was cool to wind through the old, dirty casino and down the nasty, crowded walkway and through a doorway only to be teleported to a very nice, oldschool steakhouse.
The room is very nice. Dark oak and red leather abound. Prize winning cattle portraits on the walls. Deep booths surrounding a central Mesquite grill kitchen. Luxurious and intimate, what a great steakhouse should be.
Prime beef, dry aged on premises. Fresh seafood in season. And it's not just the food. Impeccable service by great servers, many of whom have been there for years. The bartender who had been there for 10+ years could make any called drink to perfection.
And best of all, LOW PRICES. For the quality of the steaks and ambiance it was the best value anywhere.
There have always been a few negatives. As mentioned, it is in the middle of Circus Circus. Also, the wine list was always lacking.
But negatives can be turned positive. It's cool to go slumming and they were always very relaxed with charging their $20 corkage fee. I would always bring a couple of good bottles of wine and seeing as most of the servers are vinophiles themselves I always offer a taste to the waiter. Of all the many times I had visited I was only charged a corkage 2 or 3 times.
In the not to distant past you could get a table on a weeknight by walking in. Weekends were easy enough to get a table a day in advance.
Well, times they are a changing. If you plan on eating there get your reservations in a couple of days ahead. The word is out and THE steakhouse has gotten popular. I noticed a visit or two ago that prices were slightly higher. This past weekend's visit was higher prices still. A positive change is the addition of a decent wine list.....or IS that a good change. I was told there would no longer be a waiver of the corkage fee no matter what I brought in.
The dress code seems to be ignored recently as well. It was never a coat and tie kind of place but shorts and t-shirts seem to be normal now and a wifebeater was seen this past weekend.
As to the title of this thread. It seems to me that when a hidden gem gets popular the first thing to change is that the prices get raised. Well, I can understand that. Supply and demand, what the market will bear and all that. But in almost all instances quality starts to suffer. Service begins to taper off. Changes are made to "make things better" usually ignoring what made the place great in the first place. Next thing you know it is no longer the gem that it was.
I sincerely hope this does not happen to THE steakhouse and as of this past weekend it is still a great place with only slight decline in my rating from previous years enjoyment.
The room is very nice. Dark oak and red leather abound. Prize winning cattle portraits on the walls. Deep booths surrounding a central Mesquite grill kitchen. Luxurious and intimate, what a great steakhouse should be.
Prime beef, dry aged on premises. Fresh seafood in season. And it's not just the food. Impeccable service by great servers, many of whom have been there for years. The bartender who had been there for 10+ years could make any called drink to perfection.
And best of all, LOW PRICES. For the quality of the steaks and ambiance it was the best value anywhere.
There have always been a few negatives. As mentioned, it is in the middle of Circus Circus. Also, the wine list was always lacking.
But negatives can be turned positive. It's cool to go slumming and they were always very relaxed with charging their $20 corkage fee. I would always bring a couple of good bottles of wine and seeing as most of the servers are vinophiles themselves I always offer a taste to the waiter. Of all the many times I had visited I was only charged a corkage 2 or 3 times.
In the not to distant past you could get a table on a weeknight by walking in. Weekends were easy enough to get a table a day in advance.
Well, times they are a changing. If you plan on eating there get your reservations in a couple of days ahead. The word is out and THE steakhouse has gotten popular. I noticed a visit or two ago that prices were slightly higher. This past weekend's visit was higher prices still. A positive change is the addition of a decent wine list.....or IS that a good change. I was told there would no longer be a waiver of the corkage fee no matter what I brought in.
The dress code seems to be ignored recently as well. It was never a coat and tie kind of place but shorts and t-shirts seem to be normal now and a wifebeater was seen this past weekend.
As to the title of this thread. It seems to me that when a hidden gem gets popular the first thing to change is that the prices get raised. Well, I can understand that. Supply and demand, what the market will bear and all that. But in almost all instances quality starts to suffer. Service begins to taper off. Changes are made to "make things better" usually ignoring what made the place great in the first place. Next thing you know it is no longer the gem that it was.
I sincerely hope this does not happen to THE steakhouse and as of this past weekend it is still a great place with only slight decline in my rating from previous years enjoyment.
