Six lesser-known Las Vegas steakhouses worth finding

If you’re craving a steak dinner in Las Vegas, consider going off the Strip to find good-quality beef at low prices.

Here are six steakhouses with good reviews that you’ve probably never heard of — and only one is on the city’s famed Strip.

Echo & Rig

Even if you have to pay for a ride to get there, you’ll still be dollars ahead by eating at Echo & Rig [440 S. Rampart Blvd.; (702) 489-3525]. The most-expensive steaks on the menu cost $36.

Owner and executive chef Sam Marvin travels the globe to find the finest cuts of beef. He ordered some a few weeks ago while visiting ranches in Tasmania, Australia. Marvin butchers the meat in his Summerlin restaurant, about 13 miles from the Strip.

“We see a lot of people coming from the hotels,” he said of the steakhouse’s visitors.

His personal favorite is the Spencer, a lean, richly marbled cut from the center of the rib eye. (He first tried the dish years ago at Jocko’s Steak House in Nipomo, Calif.) Marvin serves it with mushroom Rockefeller and homemade potato chips for $29.60.

There’s a reason he keeps prices low.

“All my steaks are between 9 and 10 ounces,” he said. “You don’t really want a steak that weighs 42 ounces.”

Andiron Steak & Sea

Also in Summerlin, Andiron Steak & Sea [1720 Festival Plaza Drive; (702) 685-4015] consistently ranks among southern Nevada’s top steakhouses.

A creation of respected restaurateur Elizabeth Blau and husband/chef Kim Canteenwalla, Andiron is a contemporary neighborhood eatery that continues its namesake tradition of preparing steaks on metal grills over a wood fire.

Prices range from $29 for an 8-ounce skirt steak to $69 for a 20-ounce prime, bone-in cowboy-cut rib eye.

Cleaver

One of the newest entries on the scene, Cleaver [3900 Paradise Road; (702) 538-9888] opened its doors in September.

Calling rib eye the “king of steaks,” chef Mariano Ochoa serves his 16-ounce cut with a balsamic Parmesan crust for $64. A 60-ounce cut intended to feed three to five people costs $210.

Ochoa butchers all of his steaks in-house, which he says allows him to maintain consistency and quality.

Scotch 80 Prime

Scotch 80 Prime

Scotch 80 Prime [4321 W. Flamingo Road; (702) 942-7777], which opened eight months ago at Palms Casino Resort, is getting excellent reviews. Part of the $600-million overhaul of the resort, Scotch 80 Prime occupies the space formerly occupied by Nine steakhouse.

Executive chef Barry Dakake, who oversaw the Nine kitchen for 15 years, has added American Wagyu and Japanese Kobe to his huge selection of steaks.

Chef Barry’s Steak is a lesser-known cut called the rib cap that comes from the top portion of a rib eye.“That’s my signature steak. It’s the spinalis (dorsi) muscle,” he said.

Scotch 80 Prime’s 12-ounce costs $56.

Oscar’s Steakhouse

Head downtown to dine at Oscar’s Steakhouse [1 S. Main St.; (702) 386-7227] while overlooking the Fremont Street Experience.

Named for Vegas’ former mayor — the fun-loving, gin-swilling Oscar Goodman — the restaurant floor sits under a glass dome at the Plaza Hotel-Casino, providing great views of the video canopy covering the pedestrian mall across the street.

Consider roasted bone marrow ($17) as an appetizer before cutting into a 24-ounce, bone-in rib eye ($64). Dishes are named for colorful Las Vegans past and present, including hoteliers, mobsters and the current mayor, Carolyn Goodman (who is Oscar’s wife).

The Steak House

Back on the Strip, the Steak House, tucked away inside Circus Circus since 1982, is one of the city’s oldest restaurants and often overlooked.

General Manager Ron Randazzo has run the vintage Vegas restaurant for 35 years, and many of his servers and busboys have greeted guests for nearly as long. It’s the sort of place that, once discovered, becomes a guest’s favorite.

The New York Strip ($56) is among several cuts on the menu. All dinners include bread, salad or black bean soup, vegetables and potato or rice.

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