El Cortez Opens Two Restaurants Before 85th Birthday

Two new El Cortez restaurants open in mid-October, ahead of the hotel’s 85th anniversary

Published October 2, 2026

El Cortez Hotel and Casino opens two restaurants in mid-October, taking over the dining space that had anchored its casino floor at 600 E. Fremont St. Alex Prime Steakhouse and Siegel’s 1941 share a redesigned dining room that seats more than 150 guests, steps from the casino’s main entrance. Both arrive weeks before the property marks its 85th anniversary on November 7.

What Alex Prime And Siegel’s 1941 Are Serving

Alex Prime is the dinner play, anchored by USDA Prime cuts plus slow-roasted prime rib, seafood and shellfish, and Italian-rooted pasta. It runs 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 5 p.m. to midnight on weekends. The wine list leans New World, and the cocktail side stays close to martinis and old fashioneds. Kenneth Ussenko Design handled the room, with architecture by Jive Architecture, and the casino’s main entrance offers complimentary valet.

Siegel’s 1941, named for early El Cortez owner Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and the year the hotel opened, covers the earlier hours with scratch-made comfort food: breakfast daily from 7 to 11 a.m., a martini lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and a limited takeout menu from 2:30 to 5 p.m. The lunch side runs to a patty melt, a French dip and steak frites, with a New York cheesecake closing out the dessert list.

How Two Restaurants Fit Into El Cortez’s 85th Year

The timing is deliberate. El Cortez opened on Fremont Street on November 7, 1941, and turns 85 this year. Owner Kenny Epstein bought the property in 2008 from Jackie Gaughan, who had run it for 45 years. Trading a cafe for a steakhouse is a statement about where the property thinks downtown dining is heading. It also gives downtown a full sit-down dinner room a short walk from the Fremont Street Experience.

Building A Downtown Night Around Fremont Street

Dinner at El Cortez puts you a short walk from the Neonopolis cluster at 450 Fremont St, where several small rooms run shows most nights. Comedy is the easy fit after a steakhouse meal, and the tickets there are cheap enough to treat as a second stop rather than the main event.

Las Vegas comedy clubs list what is running downtown and on the Strip.

Vinnie Favorito tickets run $34 at Neonopolis, a few minutes on foot from the El Cortez front door.

If you would rather end the night with a tribute act than a punchline, Elvis Spirit of the King tickets run $39 in the same complex.

Book Your Downtown Vegas Night

Mid-October openings at a downtown casino rarely take reservations far in advance, so plan the show first and treat dinner as the flexible piece. Check what is playing the week you land and lock your seats early, then walk to dinner from there.