What the Golden Steer is
The Golden Steer Steakhouse opened in 1958 on West Sahara Avenue, a block off the Strip, and has been serving steak in the same building ever since, which makes it the oldest restaurant in Las Vegas still operating in its original home. Its guest list is the history of the city: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. had booths, Elvis ate here during his International Hotel years, Marilyn Monroe, Nat King Cole, Muhammad Ali, Joe DiMaggio and a long list of the mob figures who ran the town in the 1960s were regulars. The booths are named after them and you can request one.
Crucially, it is not a museum. The kitchen still cooks a classic mid-century steakhouse menu at a high standard, the bar makes an excellent martini, and the room is full every night with a mix of nostalgic visitors, locals celebrating and people who saw it on television. Its popularity has surged in the last decade, and reservations are now among the hardest in the city outside the big-name Strip rooms.
The room
Inside is a time capsule of red leather, dark wood panelling, brass lamps, oil paintings of Western scenes and tuxedoed servers, many of whom have worked here for decades. The two main dining rooms are lined with the named booths — the Sinatra, the Elvis, the Marilyn — and a small bar at the front serves waiting guests. It is not large, which is why it is hard to book, and the low ceilings and red light make it feel intimate and slightly illicit in the best way. The building itself is unremarkable from outside and sits beside a busy road; the moment you walk in, that stops mattering.
Photographs are welcome; the staff are used to it and will tell you who sat where.
What to order
The rituals first: the tableside Caesar salad, prepared at the trolley with a good deal of ceremony, and bananas Foster or cherries jubilee, flambéed at the table for dessert. Between them, a Prime steak — the bone-in ribeye and the filet are the popular cuts, and the porterhouse for two is the celebratory order — cooked on a broiler and served plainly with a choice of sauce. The escargots, the oysters Rockefeller and the shrimp cocktail are the appropriate starters. Sides are old school: creamed spinach, baked potato, au gratin potatoes. There is a good lobster tail and a rack of lamb for the non-steak table.
Drink a martini or a Manhattan; the bar is a strength, and the wine list is respectable and less marked up than the Strip.
Price range
As of 2026 and subject to change: starters $18–35, steaks roughly $60–120 with the porterhouse for two higher, sides $12–18, desserts $15–25. Two people with a Caesar, two steaks, sides, dessert and a couple of martinis will spend about $250–350 before tip, which is 20–30% under the equivalent Strip steakhouse. There is no resort or concession fee. Parking is free in the restaurant's own lot. Check the Golden Steer's site for the current menu.
Reservations and dress code
Reservations open on OpenTable and the restaurant's own site, and for weekends you need to book several weeks out; prime-time Friday and Saturday tables can be gone two months ahead in busy seasons. Weeknights are easier, and 5pm or 9pm seatings are the realistic way in on short notice. Booth requests are honoured in order of booking, so if you want the Sinatra booth, book the moment the window opens and say so. A card guarantee applies. The dress code is smart casual — most guests dress up a little out of respect for the room, but jeans are fine; no shorts or tank tops. Children are welcome and the flambéed desserts are a hit with them.
Best for
Anyone with any interest in Rat Pack Vegas — it is the single best surviving piece of it. Anniversaries and milestone birthdays. Visitors who have done the Strip steakhouses and want something with a soul. It is a short taxi from the north and centre Strip, a five-minute walk from the Sahara resort, and pairs well with a visit to the Neon Museum or the Mob Museum earlier in the day for the full old-Vegas experience.
Pros and cons
- Pro: authentic 1958 atmosphere that no Strip restaurant can fake, and the booths to prove it.
- Pro: tableside Caesar and flambéed desserts done with real ceremony.
- Pro: cheaper than the Strip, free parking, no fees.
- Con: weekend reservations require weeks of planning.
- Con: the cooking is classic rather than exciting; no wagyu, no innovation.
- Con: the location on Sahara is charmless from outside and requires a taxi from most hotels.
Verdict
The Golden Steer is the restaurant to book the moment your dates are fixed. It is not the best steak in the city, but it is the best steakhouse evening, and there is nothing like it anywhere else. Get a named booth, do the Caesar and the bananas Foster, order a martini and a ribeye, and let a server who has been there since the 1980s tell you the stories. For the modern alternatives, see best steakhouses.