So when I heard about the new Charcoal Room steakhouse now open at Santa Fe Station in the northwest part of town I wanted to roll my eyes a little. Enough meat already! But then I got hungry. And then I remembered that the Station hotels chain does a great job with steakhouses, specifically the brilliant Austins at Texas Station and the quite fine Sonoma at Sunset Station. So I decided to give the place a try.

The dining room is a stunner. Charcoal grays, reds, and warm earth tones in the stone and woodwork conspire to create a truly inviting space with just enough whimsy to keep it from getting overly serious. It actually took me awhile to “get” the ceiling treatment – it’s meant to evoke a barbecue grill over hot red coals – so they’re having fun but not being obnoxious about the whole thing.

A big bar with televisions dominates the main room with a quieter tables and booths only area is separated from the louder action by a giant 60’s era stone wall.

But you really didn’t come here for the décor, did you? Okay, let’s get to the menu. It’s fairly basic – two pages featuring a few appetizers, a couple of salads and soups, entrees (steak, seafood, poultry), and sides. There are no surprises here, which unfortunately is a knock in my book. To stand out in the steakhouse crowd you have to do something original and they haven’t accomplished it in terms of the menu selections.

The appetizers are mostly seafood, something that I’ve grown increasingly weary of since I’m not a big fan of the fish. But we sampled the artichoke and spinach dip, a creamy confection that wound up tasting mostly like zesty cheese – a good thing in my opinion. The crusty bread slices were perfect to coat with the hearty mixture that even those that would turn their noses up at spinach and/or artichokes will probably enjoy. v The barbecue rock shrimp appetizer on the other hand was exactly what you would expect – jumbo shrimp in a very pedestrian barbecue sauce. Again, I don’t usually enjoy seafood so that may have been part of it but there really wasn’t anything to it that would thrill even those that do.

The chop salad was giant but surprisingly mild. We would’ve preferred a little more of the bleu cheese dressing thrown into the mix but as chopped salads go it was fine.

We got a much bigger kick out of the Maui onion soup, an almost identical twin to the same dish at Austins. The sweet onions mix with the zesty broth and tangy cheese to create a delightful combination of flavors. This is one of the must-haves on this menu.

For entrees we sampled the filet mignon and the bone-in New York strip, two very generous cuts of meat prepared exactly to our specifications. While good and ultimately satisfying there was nothing to them that made us sit up and say “Wow,” another sin when making the inevitable comparisons between competing steakhouses.

All entrees are served ala carte with a variety of veggie side dishes available for an extra charge. We tried the baked potato because it’s required by law when having a steak and the mashed potatoes, the latter of which brought out the extremely rare comment of “too much butter.” I’m usually a “more butter is better” kind of guy but this crossed the line.

A small separate dessert menu featured more of the usual suspects, of which we finally settled on the warm chocolate cake. As with the rest of the meal it was good but not knock-your-socks-off good.

Service was attentive and efficient although a tad obsequious at times. Could've been because they knew I was there to review the joint and went a tad overboard.

Prices are moderate and certainly cheaper than what you’ll pay at a similar restaurant on The Strip. Two of us did all of the above (which is more than most normal people will eat because of the whole “sampling” thing) plus cocktails, wine, tax, and tip for about $100. The same thing at a place on The Strip would probably be $50-75 more.

So now we come to the meat of the matter, so to speak: the location. If The Charcoal Room was located on, or closer to, The Strip I’d say go and have a very satisfying meal at a decent price. Unfortunately the Santa Fe Station is located on the far northwest side of town, a solid 25-minute drive if there is no traffic and more if you’re going at rush hour. That seriously reduces the appeal in my opinion simply because there are better steakhouses closer (Austins for example).

So it becomes a “if you’re in the neighborhood” proposition, which makes sense since The Charcoal Room will probably be getting the bulk of their customers from people staying at the hotel and the local neighborhoods surrounding the place. If, for whatever reason, you find yourself in the area and in the mood for a steak dinner you don’t need to drive all the way to The Strip to find one – stop here instead.