Carve Prime Rib — Restaurant in North Las Vegas

So we finally left Summerlin and moved north. This area is completely new to us, as in…. I’ve been here only once during my four years in Vegas and only because the best Hawaiian poke place is in NLV.

But somehow, we ended up buying a house up here and have been exploring the neighborhood, discovering lots of little hidden gems.

One night, I felt like prime rib but didn’t feel like heading down to Hugo’s, which I’ve reviewed here. A quick search indicated Carve served prime rib, located inside a (comparatively) small hotel and casino called The Cannery on Craig St. I was REALLY hesitant to even try the place, being a firm believer that if you crave something, you should go for what you KNOW to be the best. But Keith is admittedly more open-minded about food and insisted we try it.

The restaurant itself is….quaint. Not shabby, not fancy — sort of like a diner but nicer… with interesting decor. You could come somewhat dressed up or you could come in shorts….doesn’t much matter like many places in Vegas.

Upon being seated, our server introduced himself, took our drink order and brought out the bread. Like half the country, I’ve taken on bread-baking with a vengeance, so to say I was utterly unimpressed with the bread is an understatement.

(CARVE, YOUR BREAD IS AWFUL. YOUR BUTTER IS AWFUL TOO.)

Now I’m getting a tad anxious about dinner. I mean, if they can’t even get me a good bread basket….

We ordered one appetizers — a shrimp cocktail (how can you do that wrong?), and I had opted for the corn chowder with my prime rib order ($28 — “beef eater cut, 16 ounces). KK ordered the brisket entree ($30 if I recall correctly).

That corn chowder ranks among the best I’ve had!! So wonderfully seasoned with a huge dose of creaminess, corn flavor and decadence. The shrimp cocktail was good - but for $12.49, I expect bigger shrimp.

Then the entrees came out, and my anxiety quickly dissipated.

The prime rib was actually quite good. Now I cook a mean prime rib at home, too, but that’s $250 just for me to go get a prime rib from the butcher and hours of my time. Hugo’s is AWESOME, yes, but that is $70 for a 24 oz. cut. At Carve, you get a good chunk of meat with the fixings, and it’s cooked as you requested. A little salt and it’s absolutely perfect to satisfy your craving if you’re wanting some BEEF. (No doubt the quality of meat at Hugo’s is better — but that’s 30 minutes from our house. Carve is 10 minutes!)

The one thing that Carve couldn’t replicate at all was Hugo’s tableside salad, which is the hit of each meal there. Oh well. Also, serving a prime rib without a baked potato option borders on criminal. The mashed potatoes weren’t bad but they weren’t great either — they were over-boiled and not buttery enough. The vegetables — meh.

The brisket was so soft and tender, and while I am not a BBQ sauce fan, this one was good. (I’d ask for it on the side next time.) This did have a baked potato option and it was DELICIOUS.

Surprisingly, I have to say I really enjoyed this meal. All in, even with two glasses of wine, dinner hovered around $89 before tip. And we had enough leftover to make a whole ‘nother meal for lunch the next day with some rice!

DO NOT SKIP THE...

This place was a huge disappointment. Do not go here and waste your money on disgusting food.

It took over 1 hour to get the entrees and we were one of the only groups there, first of all. My grandfather and I both ordered the September special: filet mignon, lobster tail, and a side for $43. Since the regular filet alone was $47, it seemed like a great deal. Unfortunately, the “filet mignon” served was absolutely not filet. I eat steak often, and I can say with confidence this was a stew meat or low-grade beef tenderloin—tough, pre-cut into chunks, and drowning in bad gravy. Not the rich, buttery smooth filet is known for. I ordered medium but it was medium well because they obviously let it simmer in a stew of gravy to cook rather than grill the steak like a proper filet comes. This was the worst I’ve ever eaten in all of Las Vegas. It actually reminded me of canned dog food. I barely touched it and only ate the lobster. When I mentioned it didn’t taste like filet to either of us to the manager, he insisted it was filet, but I promise you, it wasn’t. It was very deceptive. They obviously save the real filets for the full-priced orders and give sub-par meat with the special. And if this is their real filet, then that is absolutely horrible. Plus, I was polite but was obviously discontent, and he just shrugged and walked away. No offer to make it right.

On top of that, we ordered my grandmother the $55 appetizer, entree, and dessert special. The waitress first asked for any appetizer orders. We ordered calamari. Ate it. She comes back around for the entree orders next. We tell her ok so she’s getting the special, we already got the calamari for her appetizer choice, and want sirloin for her entree choice, etc etc. She says, oh no, I actually put in the “regular” calamari appetizer, not the calamari version from the special. Well, no difference was listed or explained on the menu so we didn’t know we had to specify, plus, she took appetizers first. Why didn’t she ask, do you want the one from the special or the regular? If we had known, we obviously would have wanted the special version, whatever that was. That’s the whole point of ordering it. Instead, we had to scramble and pick another appetizer from the special list so she could get “the deal,” now ending up with 2 appetizers for the table when we were only wanting 1. Again, no offer to honor it on account of their misrepresentation.

At the end, we sang Happy Birthday to my mom. When I said “mom,” the waitress came in my video saying THIS IS YOUR MOM?!! And then through my mom blowing her candle out, was trying to guess our age difference, and pressuring for an explanation on why she is so young….. The waitress was nice and patient overall and one of the only good parts of the experience, but honestly a little too comfortable at desert time, in my opinion.

Overall, the experience was confusing, overpriced, and disappointing. For the cost, I expected quality and transparency. Instead, it felt misleading and gross. It’s no wonder the place was nearly empty. With fair pricing and food that matches what’s advertised, we might have come back for the next family birthday. But after this experience, I...

Played a little blackjack at the casino and decided to get some food. Went to Carve and was not disappointed. Loved the decor and the service was great. I ordered calamari for an app and the bone-in ribeye for an entree. The bread basket that is provided gratis, was excellent. I'm already regretting not eating every single last piece that was offered. Really good. Calamari was decent (a solid 8 of 10) but the sauce (not a marinara, but like) was really good. I would eat that on a bunch of pasta anytime. The ribeye was cooked perfectly and was seasoned perfectly (that to me, is just tasting the steak). The loaded potato was excellent as well and on the large side. I had no drinks as I was recovering from transfusions on the golf course, but the bar looked loaded and had several liquors that I would try on a normal day. No dessert either as I was pleasantly filled from my app and dinner. Service was on point. Is it the best steakhouse I've ever been too? no, but it was extremely enjoyable and would definitely eat here again and...