What Oscar's is
Oscar's Steakhouse is named for Oscar Goodman, the defence lawyer who represented Meyer Lansky, Tony Spilotro and most of the mob figures who ran Las Vegas in the 1970s, and who then served three terms as the city's mayor. The restaurant opened in 2011 in the glass dome of the Plaza Hotel at the top of Fremont Street, with Goodman's blessing and his taste: big steaks, bigger martinis, cocktail waitresses in old-Vegas dresses and dishes named after his former clients. Goodman himself still holds court here on a regular basis, and the "dinner with the mayor" events sell out. It is the Downtown steakhouse — the only one with real ambition — and the room is unlike anything else in the city.
The Plaza is the hotel at the west end of Fremont Street, sitting on the site of the original Union Pacific railway station; the dome was built in the 1970s as a lounge and Oscar's is the first restaurant to make proper use of it.
The room and the view
The dome is a circular, glass-fronted room two floors above the casino, and its window wall looks straight down the length of Fremont Street under the Viva Vision canopy — the whole neon corridor laid out like a runway, with the Golden Nugget and Binion's signs blazing on either side. Window tables are the prize and the room is arranged so that most seats have some view. The decor is retro: leather booths, a curved bar in the centre, a mural of Goodman with his showgirls, and the dresses on the "Oscar's Girls" who serve cocktails. Noise is convivial; there is often live music at the bar on weekends.
The show is best after dark when the canopy runs its light shows every hour; a 7:30 or 8pm reservation gets the sunset and the neon.
What to order
Steaks are named for the clients: the "Fat Herbie" bone-in ribeye, the "Tony the Ant" filet, the "Crazy Phil" and so on, all Prime and cooked plainly. The bone-in filet and the ribeye are the reliable calls; the porterhouse for two is the celebration. Start with the shrimp cocktail, the Oscar's salad or the lobster bisque, and get the lobster mac and cheese and the creamed corn as sides. Seafood options — a lobster tail, a salmon — cover the non-steak eater. Dessert is the bread pudding or a flambéed bananas Foster.
The martini is the drink: a large pour with a sidecar, in the Goodman tradition of Bombay Sapphire and a jalapeño. Happy hour at the bar, when offered, is one of the best deals on Fremont.
Price range
As of 2026 and subject to change: starters $16–30, steaks roughly $55–110 with the porterhouse for two higher, sides $12–18, desserts $12–16, martinis $16–22. Two people with a starter each, two steaks, sides and a couple of martinis will spend about $220–320 before tip — meaningfully less than the Strip equivalents and with a view none of them can offer. The Plaza's parking garage is inexpensive and there is no resort concession fee. Check the Plaza site for the current menu.
Reservations and dress code
Book via OpenTable or the Plaza site, a week or two ahead for a weekend window table and a few days for a weeknight; ask for the window and book earlier seatings for the best odds. Fremont Street event nights and NFR in December fill the room. The bar takes walk-ins. Dress code is smart casual and not aggressively policed — Downtown is more relaxed than the Strip — but no shorts or tank tops. Children are welcome; the neon view keeps them entertained.
Best for
Anyone spending an evening Downtown who wants a proper dinner rather than a food hall. Old-Vegas romantics, ideally after the Mob Museum a few blocks away, which supplies the context for the steak names. Couples who want the neon view without the Fremont Street crowd. Visitors staying at the Plaza, Golden Nugget or the other downtown hotels. It pairs naturally with the Fremont Street Experience afterwards — you are already above it.
Pros and cons
- Pro: the best view on Fremont Street from any restaurant, and a room with genuine character.
- Pro: Strip-quality steak at Downtown prices; great martinis.
- Pro: the Goodman story gives it a sense of place no chain can copy.
- Con: the cooking is solid rather than inspired; it is not the Golden Steer or Bavette's on the plate.
- Con: the retro-cheesecake theme (the Oscar's Girls) is not to every taste.
- Con: the Plaza's casino level between the entrance and the lift is a little tired.
Verdict
Oscar's is the right dinner for a Downtown night: book the window, drink a martini, order a client-named ribeye and watch the canopy light up. It does not beat the best Strip steakhouses for food, but it beats all of them for view and story, and it costs less. For the wider Downtown scene see downtown dining.