Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

The return (kind of) of the Golden Gate’s 99-cent shrimp cocktail

Golden Gate History

The shrimp cocktail at Golden Gate in downtown Las Vegas.

The Golden Gate’s legendary 99-cent shrimp cocktail is making a comeback at downtown’s 7th and Carson restaurant — with some caveats.

The cocktail is being offered this month only for 99 cents during happy hour — 5 to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays — with the purchase of an entree, said Liam Dwyer, owner of the restaurant at 616 E. Carson Ave. Any other time it is $9.99 on the regular menu.

Dwyer said he licensed the original recipe from Derek Stevens, owner of the Golden Gate, and the arrangement is contingent on Dwyer keeping it a secret.

Dwyer said he approached Stevens, a regular at the restaurant, about letting him serve the shrimp cocktail until Stevens opens his new Circa hotel-casino downtown next year. The Circa will serve the item once it opens, he said.

“This is a good alliance for us,” Dwyer said.

The Golden Gate introduced its famous shrimp cocktail for 50 cents in 1959. In 1991, the price went up to 99 cents and was increased several more times before the deal was discontinued in 2017 with the closure of Du-par’s restaurant at the casino.