Cactus Creek Prime Steakhouse

Great place to dine bring business associates; with the staff, is very friendly. And a great wine selection that’s a lot lower than other find dining steakhouses in town and it’s the first of a few Prime Steak houses in town.

Not impressed with food
They are only open dinner hour & they were out of ny steak; really a steak house out of steak?
Décor nice, when we arrived the place was pretty empty, we were seated, I mentioned to the hostess when she asked where we wanted to sit that I wanted a quite spot. She stated not a problem it was slow… 6 minutes later she sits a loud party of 4 at the next table. Simple hostess 101 says when you have over a dozen empty tables space out the partys you sit so they can enjoy.
Average food– high prices.

The service was outstanding, the ambiance within the restaurant is very nice, but for a high-​end restaurant, just that, is unacceptable. Being that they are the only game in the area they need to make it possible for us to want to go there. The food needs a lot of help. Serving steak a la cart with trimmings separately makes them look cheap. The food needs to be on point for the prices they charge, they try to be fancy, but they need to do more homework on how to do that. Go visit other places, and see how is done before you attempt it. Also, buy a better air filtration system so the smell of cigarette smoke does dot permeate the fancy-​looking restaurant and its patrons there in.

This was my 3^rd time going there and it was still for the most part a wonderful experience. We ordered an appetizer and it came out at the same time another couple who arrived 20min after us. It was delicious but felt that the wait was a little long. My husband and I both ordered the rib eye, medium rare. His was perfect, mine had quite a bit of fat on it and it was cooked too long. The steaks were both delicious but I was disappointed at how much fat mine had were as my husband’s had none. If they are going to charge those prices for steak that should make sure they give the customers what they ordered and a nice cut.

First time we ate there? A little pricey, but we got the special.
Blackened prime rib with prawns.
It was so rich and delicious.
We just moved here from California and have been looking for a really good prime rib place.
We have gone out twice for prime rib, it’s always a small and dry cut!
This place hit the spot.
The manager came by and we gave rave reviews, so he compted our dessert.
Gave us free dessert for a friend too.
I have to say, it was worth every nickel.
I almost forgot the scallop appetizer! Was 12.00 for 3 huge scallops with a bacon apple sauce, I could of had it for dinner. It was so good.
We had their cheesecake for dessert. Which was free.
We took it home, we were stuffed.
Needless to say 32.00 for ala carte seems expensive. It puts the three other places we tried to shame.
When you see a special 19.00 for prime rib, be aware it’s maybe not as good as it could be.
You get what you pay for. Lol
Will be returning, soon. Hope they have the rack and f lamb by the end of April. Can’t wait to try them.

I haven’t been here for about a year but it has gone down significantly since the last time. Used to be a great value as far as steakhouses go, off the beaten path, good service, good food, decent prices.
Food: in general the food quality was still good. I think they have changed the seasoning on their steaks since the last time I ate there, I think it’s a little overkill, a good steak should stand on its own with maybe just a little butter, salt, and pepper but they have a really salty blend of something they put on there. You could probably ask for it without but I don’t know. Everyone seemed pretty happy with theirs though. Lamb chops were highly rated as was the prime rib by others I ate with. I seem to remember them having a selection of bread, but this time we just got some chewy, marginal dinner rolls.
Service: This is where it has imploded. We didn’t see our appetizers for almost 30 minutes, and our main course took almost an hour and fifteen. During this time the server was largely absent. At one point we had to flag down the manager just to get refills on our water glasses. The restaurant was not busy. One steak was grossly overcooked and it took probably 20 minutes for a replacement that arrived undercooked. If you’re a «steakhouse» you should have steak cooking down to a literal science.
All in all it wasn’t terrible, but it used to be great. I don’t know if there was a big shakeup in management or what but they need to step up their game. We won’t be back in the near future.
A funny bit: there’s several misspelled words on their menu and dessert menu, the most comical being a «Peanut Butter Mouse Bar».

Fantastic. The shrimp pasta dish is now my fiancé’ favorite. Steak was perfect and our server Alexa was great!

This will be my second time coming here, but first time with a big party. Usually it’s a different experience with larger parties and I’m glad to say it was a good one.
Service — there was a couple hiccups in the beginning because he was new, but he kept the ball rolling and did a good job. A little confusing with the 2 servers helping us though as they did different jobs but overlapped on other duties.
Food — Meat! This is what they’re known for. I got the 12 oz prime rib and it was delicious. The price is decent and there was no way I could finish the 12 oz unless I gave up all the sides/​appetizers and any possible filling drink. Half of my party got the prime rib and enjoyed it as much as I did. The other half got rib eye. Man, that was super tender too. It’s not 12 oz prime rib big, but it’s huge still. Probably a little bigger than 2 of my palms side by side. The spinach salad was good with the bacon. I really enjoyed the side of root vegetables. Shout out to T he chef who made them, they were so delicious!
All in all, it wasn’t that expensive for 8 people with all the prime meat with sides, couple appetizers, coffees, one dessert and 2 bottles of white wine. I would go here again :)
Side note — if you’re getting your prime rib to go, remember to ask for the Au jus and horseradish or else you come to eat your prime rib the next day without it. I’m surprised it’s not automatically known you’ll want those when you take it home.

I came here with my boyfriend for our one year anniversary. We had been here before but this time Dave took care of us and he was an absolute delight. Everything from the wine to the food was absolutely amazing and we never felt rushed and were able to really enjoy our night and celebrate. We both had rib eye steaks with lobster tails and they both were delicious, the lobster being outstanding! Thank you cactus creek, we will be sure to come back soon!

I hesitate to give this place one star. Rude hostess. Had to ask twice to receive our drinks. Tiny salad. Tough, tasteless bread. Ordered new York steak with lobster tail. Could barely cut the steak it was so tough. No vegetables, no potato. Waiter failed to inform us everything is alacarte. Tasteless lobster. How the heck do you cook the taste out of a lobster tail? Waiter said I should have ordered the rib eye if I wanted a tender steak. What?
$ 35 for a tough steak? Well, $ 118 later my husband and I left to go find some dinner somewhere.

I really hate to write this review, as Cactus Creek has always been one of our very favorite go-​to places, especially for special occasions, but with the changes they’ve made, I think they’ve really shot themselves in the foot.
We attended their «Tasteful Thursday» event last night. We haven’t been in a very long time, so long in fact, that our favorite server, Alexa, was worried about us. One look at the menu, and we knew why we hadn’t been back in so long. The prices are absolutely outrageous! We usually ordered the large cut of prime rib, so we’d have enough left over for at least another meal, and maybe two. That cut came with soup or salad, and a side. Now, that cut is $ 39, and is ala carte! We were shocked at how much an entire dinner would round out to!
Even the «Tasteful Thursday» was as much as we used to spend for an entire dinner, when we added wine and cocktails to the mix, and the portions were much smaller than you’d expect from a steakhouse. Don’t get me wrong, the food was delicious, and we did bring home some of our entrée, because the special Thursday offering consisted of four courses. But this was far different from our usual experience, and we can say we won’t be going back any time soon at these exhorbinant prices. We saw at least one table come in, sit down, look at the menu, then get up and leave.
That’s not the only changes Cactus Creek is undergoing. Chef Adam is no longer there, so the menu is not only exceedingly overpriced, it’s far different from when Chef Adam was in charge. There are far less choices available, and everything is ala carte.
Also, Alain, the maitre d, is no longer there, so there are no table side preparations. While we didn’t usually dine with these, it was nice to see him prepare them, and he always remembered us, chatted with us, and remembered our favorite wine, and had it waiting for us. They haven’t replaced him, and it was a huge hole in the dining room.
All in all, the experience wasn’t the same, although Alexa was her usual professional and delightful self. It will be a very long time before we visit Cactus Creek again, I’m sad to say, because they’ve priced themselves far, far beyond our means.

New Chef from Charlie Palmer but this place still rocks. Had another scallop appetizer not on the menu and was even better than before. Went for the blackened prime rib special this time and came with a giant prawn on top with bearnaise sauce. Wife loved her halibut entrée. Still the best fine dining for the price that you will find anywhere.

Thank you for the reply. However, the referral to the Texas Roadhouse was not needed. It appears to be a tad snarky. I have been a patron of the Bimini Steakhouse for years and it appears I shall be returning. I have yet to have a bad experience there.
I did request my beef medium and not medium well. I am not one to have a meal overcooked. The other patrons in your establishment appeared very happy. In fairness to the establishment, I did not notify my server of my displeasure at the time.

By far my favorite Steak House in Reno. The food is amazing.
The service can be slow sometimes, but when you’re out fine dine it’s worth it to take your time. The menu is frequently changing — allowing for new experiences each time I go. I love this place!

If you’re the jealous type this may not be the review for you.
This is a review of a very special dinner held at the restaurant. Chef Adam Ornellas, a CIA trained chef is the house chef. But for this one evening of culinary adventure he invited his mentor Master Chef Almir Da Fonseca to prepare a special menu. Keep in mind there are 191 Master French chefs and 140 Master American chefs. This gentleman is one of six in the world that has both titles. A chef beyond what this town has seen, and we have some phenomenal chefs in Reno.
The evening starts with a reception meeting the Chef and a glass of Lampo Prosecco and music. This glass was a nice prosecco, not as dry as some can be. We are then seated in the Cactus Creek dinning room at tables with more silverware and wine glasses than even I own.
Amuse– fresh raw oyster and a baked oyster with (get this) bacon soufflé paired with more prosecco.
Soup & Salad– the most incredible pea and asparagus soup with a watercress, pickled carrot and pea shoot salad. Paired with Chappellet Chenin Blanc 2013
Fish– scallops, mussels and shrimp with fennel saffron espuma, caviar and red pepper rouille. Paired with Blackbird Vineyard Arrivistes Rose 2012. Not my favorite wine of the evening, not a rose fan.
Poultry– a rich wonderful duck terrine nestled on confit young potatoes, petite pan squash, with a berry infused natural reduction. Paired with my fav of the night– Bouchaine Vineyards Pinot Noir 2010. It’s light spice and not dry finish was a fabulous selection with the rich fatty duck. Mmmm
Meat– for the men in the group. Generous portion of dry aged grass fed local beef stop loin. So tender, cut like a hot knife cutting room temp butter. Dreamy. Prepared with fennel, forest mushrooms, and a killer delightful Gorgonzola fondue. Paired with Hartwell Estate Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2013. It was a wonderful match with its hint of blackberry, dry peppery finish enhanced the steak.
Cheese– Carmody, black pepper poached pear and crispy pain perdu with another unbelievable concoction– blue cheese ice cream. Wow. It worked and was paired with Darioush Signature Cab Franc 2011. I have just died and gone to heaven. I’m completely happy, satisfied. But wait…
Dessert– right another one? Berry and lemon tart with a macaroon and ruby grapefruit sorbet. Paired with Sandeman Port. I enjoyed two bites of this dish and actually had it boxed to take home for breakfast. It was quite tart and sweet. The port was also a little on the sweet side for me and lacked the warm caramel tone.
This chef was Chef Adam’s mentor, so you know his food will be of the same high standards, I really recommend you give Cactus Creek a try any time. But just a heads up– Chef Almir will be returning next year for another dinner.
Bön appetite!

This place started off good. We had reservations and got seated immediately. Hostess was good, our server was really good (David).
The décor was theme park-​ish. Like Disneyland. Which isn’t a bad thing. It was neat, southwestern theme.
The salad was good but the steaks weren’t so great. Both our steaks were fatty, it was disappointing. The baked potato was great, I’ll give them that. I had the NY steak and my husband had the ribeye. Both cuts of meat weren’t good.
Overall, I’ll give this place a 2 out of 5 stars.
They need to step up their meat game.

Had a wonderful dinner with friends. We all had the awesome 10oz prime rib, it was fork tender. The sides with it were not the greatest tho.
Dinner did include a salad or soup.
I was impressed with the $ 10.00 corkage fee.
They are the only restaurant in this area that has PRIME meat. It is so good
A bit on the slow side.

This rating is unfortunately based on price but when you’re paying upwards of twenty and thirty dollars for a meal (yes per person) you expect great food. I’ll also qualify this review by saying we are total foodies, good cooks in our own right, and not always the easiest to please; that said even our fifteen year old son was not overly impressed. Shall we proceed?
The duck, at first bite, was pretty good; a real tribute to the sauce. Time passes though and when you carve meat, pork, or poultry too soon it does have a tendency to dry out as was the case with this particular dish. It became dry, curled at the edges, and completely ordinary. The sides were okay, but most definitely not at the level I would expect from the hype.
Tasting the bacon wrapped meatloaf (from my son) it wasn’t so much over cooked as it was flame blasted! First of all, being that it is bacon wrapped, I get that one needs to ensure the bacon is cooked, but when done correctly the fat would moisten the meat (meatloaf in this case) and still contribute to the flavor; secondly, abandon the concept altogether if you can’t figure out step one. Moreover, when a fifteen year old doesn’t want to finish his meal, cordially (for a moment) agrees to take it home, then agrees he wouldn’t eat it (even at home) that speaks volumes.
Commenting briefly on the macaroni and cheese, the pasta by itself was completely over cooked and mush. The cheese sauce was overcooked so that the cheese had actually broke down and become grainy. The salad was a well chilled but otherwise ordinary iceberg lettuce.
The service was very polite and gracious, though the hostess was wearing a hoodie and sitting at the bar when we arrived. I think it must be time for a menu revamp or some management intervention, but I won’t be returning unless something changes.

What a disappointment. We’ve heard great things about this place and wanted to try it out. We called to get reservations for 5 and 8pm was the earliest they could seat us. When we arrived to a restaurant that wasn’t even half full I was a little frustrated.
One of my friends described the décor as Alice in Wonderland Santa Fe style with a side of Beetlejuice. It kinda feels like Disneyland to me. Odd, but clean and well kept.
The hostess was sitting at the bar chatting when we arrived but immediately got up to greet us. All of us were a little surprised she was the hostess because she was wearing a XXL men’s hooded grey sweatshirt over what looked like a nice dress. Again, odd, since it was super warm in the restaurant.
So the food… our salads were not the wedge salads people have complained about they were cold plates of chopped up iceberg lettuce (which was browning) drizzled with dressing. The champagne vinaigrette is good, the salad was not.
My filet was ok. I got it with the Stilton cheese sauce which must have very little cheese in it because it was just a runny butter topping. I ordered my steak «medium rare but closer to rare» and when I cut into the steak there was a soft grey strip across the top. It seemed to me almost like the steak was defrosted in a microwave.
Do not order the Mac and cheese. The pasta was so over boiled it was mush and without a creamy cheese sauce to mask it.
My husband’s duck was so over cooked it was like rubber. It was obvious too that they had not allowed the meat to rest before carving it because it was super dry and actually started to curl up. It was presented beautifully but I don’t think they thought about what it would look like after you started to eat it. It became a bowl of off purple goop that was not appetizing at all.
The prime rib was really fatty and didn’t have that delicious crust you long for.
In the end, I wonder if this place is just suffering an identity crisis. It feels like it’s trying to be a high end steakhouse with fancy chef creations but it really falls flat. Maybe they should run with the Alice in Wonderland/​Beetlejuice theme…

Still A++! We procrastinated in making reservations for thanksgiving so we ended up calling around 3:30 today and they had one left at 7 pm, perfect.
They offered a special thanksgiving menu of two items with a natural, free range turkey meal as one ($ 28), and a filet medallion meal with Dungeness crab and Maine lobster for $ 40. Both included dessert choice of apple or pumpkin pie.
I also noticed the regular menu has been changed and updated (mainly the apps), which I appreciate and assume is because they try to be somewhat seasonal in what they offer.
But neither my fiancé or I are turkey aficionados and we love Cactus Creek for their prime rib. So I got the 10 oz prime rib with seared scallops for $ 39 and my fiancé got the 16 oz size for $ 33 with their Mac and fondue cheese gratin with bacon crumbles ($ 3).
I’m not sure if they have permanently changed things or if it was because it was a holiday but try updated their salad (forgot a pic) to a nice lettuce hunk wrapped in a butter lettuce leaf with some fricassee lettuce sprigs and chives. It was presently so beautifully and I loved the modern take on a simple salad. We chose their house vinaigrette made with shallots, it was sweeter than we expected but still good.
The entrees were as usual, spectacular. The prime rib just has so much flavor and melts in your mouth, we can’t think of a place we’ve had better. The baked potato is gigantic and has all the fixings (butter, sour cream, real bacon and chives). We noticed that they changed out the old fried onion pile for a fresher looking, grilled red bell pepper and radish sprout garnish. I received 3 giant scallops in a cutesy scallop shells shaped dish with a dollop of foam and a twig of dill for presentation. And they were perfectly cooked and tasty. The Mac and fondue gratin was rich and plenty. It came in its own mini skillet!
We ended with coffee, they have the best bitter, roasted perfect coffee here. Even I, who normally has sugar with coffee barely needs any sugar, I appreciate the robust flavor, not a burnt flavor either. And though I told myself I would get a flambé’d dessert next time, i went with old faithful of Crème brûlée. Robert our server, brought us a dish of maple whipped cream to add to our coffee, it was so good I ate it plain.
Thanks for a memorable and delicious meal. Worth every penny! Thank you Robert and Salvador and the rest of the crew for taking care of us on a holiday!