Sierra Gold — Restaurant in North Las Vegas

I'm honestly perplexed by this place. My husband and I went for the first time last weekend to watch a football game. We sat at the nearly empty bar and were greeted by a very friendly bartender. She asked if we would both be playing and we said we were just playing together (we picked a machine with empty counter space next to it so I wouldn't take up a game seat.) She then went into a comp speech that we had to bet a minimum of a $1/spin and at least 5 Spins a minute to get one of our drinks comped every 30 minutes or something to that effect and we were like, no problem, were gonna be here, watching the game for like 3 hours so we're expecting to pay for some beers and snacks! We ordered a Southwestern salad and some pierogis (both delicious) and settled in. About 30 minutes into our visit, a friend stopped in to catch some of the game with us. He was standing next to me, talking and catching up, when we were told he wasn't allowed to stand at the bar if he wasn't gambling. Keep in mind, we had already put $60 thru the machine, had a first round of food (letting them know we intended to order more) and had no problem paying for beers. Our friend and I were literally sitting/standing at the area of the bar with no machines. It was not busy, in fact it was nearly empty and we were not impeding the use of a machine, yet we were told that we'd (the 2 of us only since my husband was gaming) needed to move to a table 2 feet behind the space we were currently occupying. I've never heard of anything more ridiculous in my life! The bartender said this is the only location that does this, so if you plan on enjoying some drinks at the bar with friends, you're out of luck here. We closed out and went somewhere else on principle. Truly a shame as it's a nice...

The good: I had several things, all of them were good and fairly priced. The bad: The bar is organized with a gaming bar up close with the bar tenders. All of the seating there has a gaming machine and the large empty areas have no chairs, I don't even know if I am allowed to stand there, but who wants to stand? Surrounding the bar are some strange tables that have I-beams coming through them to support the ceiling. So, even though they have four seats, only the center two seem to be used by everyone that's here on a Saturday night. The two outside seats face an I-beam and can't see the TVs. That even sounds unpleasant. So, if you only want to eat or drink, you have to go to the outer tables in the bar area, or even further into the dining room. This is disappointing if you came to the bar alone hoping to socialize. The ugly: Maybe it's just me, but I find it very odd that there is a massive translucent wall that lets half of the establishment see inside the women's restroom. Even more odd, the line of countertop seating near the pool table that faces into the translucent wall of the restroom. To be fair, you can't see anyone once they enter a stall, but it's odd that after women enter the restroom door, they don't have privacy until they're actually in a stall. Maybe we're just supposed to judge whether people are washing their hands? It's not normal...

This review is written during the limited capacity, pandemic opening period. Went for lunch with a friend who also just moved to the area and neither of us has been to Sierra Gold. There were just a few people in the building and social distance markings were visible everywhere. We were seated in an area that we had pretty much all to ourselves, which is fine especially now.

There was a QR code on a coaster in the middle of the table indicating the menu would be found there but it wouldn't download for me. The waitress brought a paper menu when she noticed us having issues. By the way, paper menu aren't reused here, they're tossed out. Drinks are presented in plastic cups and are not refilled. A new drink is brought out if you want more. Again, good practice in this day and age. The menu was limited which is so often the case due to the pandemic and the closures that have accompanied it.

My companion had a Turkey Rachel sandwich with twister fries and I had a cheese steak sandwich with onion rings ($1 upcharge). We both had iced tea for drinks. No desserts were available. Both meals were fresh and tasty. Both of us would recommend you give Sierra Gold a try. Once all the restrictions are over, this might be an interesting local place to explore for their gaming too! Wasn't aware they offered it until we walked...