After 1999, when the Green Shack closed, El Sombrero was the oldest restaurant in Las Vegas until it closed on Saturday. Located on Main Street a few blocks north of Charleston Blvd., El Sombrero opened in 1951 and operated in the same location, and under the same ownership, for 61 years. Though it looked like a Tijuana jail, a squat plain stucco building with bars on its front windows, a small and very old neon sign, six booths and six tables, and an all-Mexican jukebox, it was a local favorite for its great inexpensive food prepared by the same family throughout its run. We're sorry to see it go. (Look out for a tribute from veteran Las Vegas observer John L. Smith in today's issue of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.)
To answer your question, the newest oldest restaurant in Las Vegas is now Bob Taylor's Original Ranch House and Supper Club, which opened in the same location in 1955. It's located at 6250 Rio Vista Street, way up on the northwest side of the city, a little west of Rainbow and a little north of Azure. It's a good, though a little dated, steakhouse that specializes in mesquite-grilled meats. You won't believe you're in Vegas if you eat there. Bob Taylor, by the way, sold the place in 1980 and died in 2010 at the age of 87. John Curtas, co-author of Eating Las Vegas, says he ate dinner at a table next to Tony "the Ant" Spilotro in 1985 at Bob Taylor's.
Similar to El Sombrero, you'd never know it from the unremarkable exterior, but the second-oldest is now the Golden Steer, on W. Sahara just west of the Strip. It opened in 1958 as a small restaurant and bar. Over the years, the GS expanded by swallowing the neighboring stores -- it now has an extensive bar and three dining areas. It was remodeled once in the '70s and again in the '90s. But two things haven't changed: the quality of the beef served and the big-ass golden cow that stands proudly below the sign out front (Anthony Curtis was just there and says the food was excellent and the joint was packed on a Friday night).
The third-oldest restaurant is Macayo's Mexican Kitchen at 1741 E. Charleston, between Maryland Parkway and Eastern Avenue. It was opened in 1960 by Woody and Victoria Johnson, who'd owned a Mexican restaurant in Phoenix for 10 years previously. The Johnson family still owns this one, plus two more in Vegas and 14 in the Phoenix area; the Las Vegas branches are run by the daughter, Sharisse, and sons Gary and Stephen. Macayo's is well-known for growing its own chiles and its proprietary family recipes.
