Harlo Steakhouse: The Best Las Vegas Restaurant You Haven’t Been to Yet

By Scott Roeben, on August 19 2022
5 min read 6 comments
Las Vegas Las Vegas Restaurants

We mostly write about tourist things. Usually, about things on The Strip or downtown. Occasionally, we find something so great, we have to share, even if it doesn’t meet those qualifications.

Harlo Steakhouse & Bar, in Downtown Summerlin, is that.

Harlo is remarkable, thus we shall remark upon it.

Google was no help in figuring out the inspiration for the name Harlo, but it’s not Jean Harlow, different spellingwise.

Harlo has largely flown under the radar since it opened in Oct. 2021. By “flown under the radar,” of course, we mean, “We didn’t know about it until a friend made us go.”

These are the kinds of friends you keep. Our friend also took care of the check. Again, a keeper!

Confidence means you don’t have to be flashy to get attention.

Harlo is helmed by award-winning chef Gina Marinelli, the culinary maven behind La Strega. Foodies will want to learn more about the nuances of Harlo’s food, which we would happily explain if we knew what any of the words meant. Honestly, we would not know a “60-day wet-aged Icon XB wagyu” or “28-day dry-aged bisteccas alla Fiorentina” if we fell into a vat of them.

What we do know, however, is bread. Marinelli, presumably, is the genius behind the restaurant’s first “course,” Japanese butter bread, just about the best appetizer in the Las Vegas or the world. Kudos also go to Alberto Rodriguez, Harlo’s pastry chef, with whom Marinelli worked at Cosmo.

Thankfully, self-restraint isn’t a Las Vegas thing so much.

Before we jump ahead to the food pics, here’s a look at the Harlo menu. Part of it, anyway.

Inform your mouth it’s in for a wild ride.

Here are the entrees and such. One does not live by caviar alone.

Scroll down for the cocktail menu. We know how you are.

The Harlo Web site says, “Harlo is a classically elegant steakhouse developed by local restaurateur Jeffrey Fine. Conceptualized in the ’60s, open today in Summerlin, Harlo provides an elevated ambiance for discerning clientele unlike anything else offered in Las Vegas. Our Chef/Partner Gina Marinelli brings her culinary excellence to Harlo, sourcing beef from the best in the business. Leading the back of house team with passion and creativity, every dish served at Harlo is expertly curated and beautifully crafted.”

Harlo could be a lot snootier, but it’s refreshingly not.

Jeffrey Fine is the founder of Lev Restaurant Group. Jeffrey Fine, and his business partner Seth Schorr, co-founded Fifth Street Gaming. If Fifth Street Gaming sounds familiar, that’s because the company operates Downtown Grand.

Lev Restaurant Group is also behind Al Solito Posto, another Summerlin juggernaut (located in Tivoli Village), home of a chicken parm that’s the food equivalent of visiting a brothel after winning Megabucks.

We didn’t bump into Fine or Marinelli during our visit, but we did meet Ivo Angelov, Harlo’s Managing Partner. Angelov won us over with his charm, vast knowledge of hospitality (he’s been in the industry 20 years) and his incredible intuition when it comes to recommending cocktails. Angelov has worked at some of the most acclaimed restaurants in Las Vegas, including Costa Di Mare at Wynn Resort, as well as Michael Mina and Le Cirque at Bellagio.

We weren’t drinking alcohol during our visit, so Angelov suggested the Marisol, a mocktail. It’s pretty much the best thing we’ve ever had in our mouth other than the time we accidentally ingested a gold bar from that gold ATM that used to be at Golden Nugget. Long story.

This was so tremendous, we’re only doing mocktails from now on! Also, don’t believe everything you read in photo captions.

Here’s the cocktail menu.

It’s a two-parter.

Here’s another part of the drink menu. Harlo has an extensive wine list as well, but we are not a wine person, so you’re on your own.

The cocktails are fancy but unpretentious, which sort of sums up Harlo as well.

Angelov also intuited our party might enjoy some caviar, despite the fact we have long-standing gag reflex related to fish eggs. We were really wrong. Which is a first.

We got the Harlo Caviar Trio, with a Caviar Taco, Caviar Cannoli and Caviar Deviled Egg.

If Harlo can make fish eggs scrumptious, it can make anything scrumptious.

We only tried the deviled egg with caviar, but it was awesome. This is on the list of “things we never imagined saying.” Thank you, Harlo.

What does caviar say when it gets in trouble? “Ruh-roe.” We’ll be here all week.

It didn’t take long to realize we’ll probably run out of adjectives for the food at Harlo. Sorry. We went to a public school.

Next up was the Summer Corn Ravioli. We’re pretty sure. It was pasta, slathered with truffle.

Shout-out to ectomycorrhizal fungi!

The steak was predictably mind-blowing, carved tableside. Ivo Angelov himself jumped in to do the honors. All due respect to “Salt Bae,” Angelov worked his magic and tableside service definitely elevates the experience. All without the salt ever touching his forearm. Which we sort of prefer. Because we are old-fashioned.

Why can’t every restaurant heat up your steak right before it hits your plate? That needs to be a thing.

You don’t need to know what, or who, Western Reserve, Allen Brothers and Flannery Beef are to enjoy Harlo’s meat. Trust us on this one.

If you’re not salivating, you may be a robot.

We were enjoying our meal so much, we accidentally ordered a vegetable, possibly brocoli. Oh, look, here’s something else we never expected to say or write, “The hell? How did they make that so delicious?” We’re thinking witchcraft. Unconfirmed.

It’s possible Harlo is using mind control to make guests believe vegetables are flavorful. Allegedly.

There were also some kind of mushrooms involved, but we didn’t partake. They were well-received by our dining companion.

Oh, like you haven’t done mushrooms in Vegas before.

We paused before dessert for another cocktail. The presentation was clever (with the glass accommodating a branch from a log underneath) and there was smoke, which always adds some flair.

They could call it a “cocktailhouse” rather than a “steakhouse,” but they they’d have to change all the business cards.

Despite having zero room left for dessert, we soldiered on. The sacrifices we make for you.

First up, the mango souffle, with mango passion fruit compote, topped with vanilla gelato.

“Souffle” is French for “you shouldn’t have filled up on bread.”

The Harlo Chocolate Dream was unforgettable, with chocolate cake, milk chocolate mousse, chocolate croquant and chocolate caramel ganache.

This is not sexual. This is not sexual. This is not sexual.

Remember, we’re just sharing photos here! This is what happens when you break open the chocolate, in a completely consensual context, of course.

All we’ll say is you’ll leave Harlo satiated. And possibly craving a cigarette. If that’s still a thing after sex.

Our final dessert was a work of art. We’d tell you the name of this dessert, but unlike “foodies,” we aren’t one of those and don’t take a lot of notes. It’s possible this dish is the Lavender Semifreddo, with farmers market stone fruit, whipped ganache, almond olive cake with a burnt honey reduction.

You have to tap out at some point, but Harlo isn’t going anywhere. You can stop by again.

There was not a single disappointment on the Harlo menu, so good luck finding something to complain about.

Harlo Steakhouse is a little off the beaten path if you tend to stick to The Strip or downtown, but it’s absolutely worth a 15-minute rideshare or taxi for a truly stellar dining experience. Red Rock Resort is 60 seconds away from Harlo, so you can scratch that itch, too, if needed.

We are so lucky to have so many outstanding steakhouses in Las Vegas. The downside is they can sometimes blur together. Harlo Steakhouse is a stand-out, and we trust the positive world-of-mouth will help this understated, but deeply satisfying, restaurant thrive.