Sonoma Steakhouse is the Sunset Station entry into the steakhouse derby and it is another fine dining experience that, while perhaps not as successful as their sister Station restaurants, is still worth taking a look at.

The room is a lovely recreation of a California winery cellar – a high-pitched ceiling with graceful arches enhanced by soft lighting lends an air of spaciousness while nooks and crannies offer quiet dining options.

The menu is short but complete in terms of steakhouse fare. A choice between only a few seafood appetizers left us cold but we’re sure that many will appreciate Oysters Rockefeller or a crab stuffed Portobello mushroom in a cheese cream sauce. It’s hard to knock anything that has a cheese cream sauce when you get right down to it.

A lobster bisque and a French Maui onion are your only soup selections while salads stick to the traditional Caesar, spinach, and chopped.

Steaks, poultry, veal, and seafood rule the entrée side of the menu with the cow-based meats obviously acting as king. A prime-aged bone-in New York is their “signature” meal but they offer a variety of cuts including filets, rib-eyes, porterhouse, and prime rib.

Seafood options include crab-stuffed jumbo shrimp, salmon, swordfish, and a lemon sole among others.

Rounding out the menu are a lemon and garlic chicken dish, rack of lamb, and veal in the chop, Marsala, and Piccata varieties.

All entrees come with a simple salad with generous crumbles of tangy blue cheese, a vegetable of the day, and your choice of baked potato, garlic mashed potatoes, house fries, or rice pilaf.

We sampled the filet, the lemon sole, and the signature New York steak and on their own the only true standout was the lemon sole. It’s rare to find decent fish in Las Vegas, especially for my transplanted dinner companions who are used to Atlantic coast freshness. But this dish was a treat and was officially declared “not at all fishy.”

The steaks were fine but unremarkable until we added one of the sauces offered on the menu. These accompaniments include a Bordelaise, Hollandaise, Bearnaise, whole grain mustard, truffles and veal demi-glace, and a deceptively tangy blue cheese au poivre. Definitely order one of these sauces and allow your steak of choice to soak in the rich flavors before each bite – it’ll enhance the meal immeasurably.

A variety of desserts wrap up the meal and we can highly recommend the peaches and cream chocolate cake with caramel icing, which is just as sweet and decadent as it sounds.

Prices fall into the “not-bad-at-all” category with most appetizers, soups, and salads under $10 and entrees in the $18-30 range, which as mentioned includes several side dishes.

Our only major complaint came with the service, which appeared to be spread a little thin for the room, leaving us with long waits for courses, the dessert cart, and our check. When they were with us they were great, but getting them away from other tables to us was difficult at times.

There are better steakhouses in town than Sonoma Cellar but we still recommend this restaurant for a fine, relatively inexpensive meal.