Slater’s 50/50 Lake Mead: Burgers, Bacon & Craft Beer

Slater’s 50/50 Lake Mead is the kind of place you visit when you’re ready for a good burger, a cold beer, and food that isn’t afraid to go a little over the top.

We recently stopped by the Lake Mead location in northwest Las Vegas, just across from the Summerlin area, and the atmosphere immediately fit the menu. It’s casual, lively, and filled with personality, with a large full bar and TVs positioned throughout the restaurant.

That combination makes Slater’s an easy option for lunch or dinner, but it also works well when you want to grab drinks with friends or find a Las Vegas sports bar where you can watch the game without giving up a full restaurant menu.

The restaurant may be famous for the original 50/50 patty made with 50% ground bacon and 50% ground beef, but burgers are only part of what makes the menu interesting.

Burgers, Bacon and Big Flavors at Slater’s 50/50

We started our meal with two draft beers and an order of the Vampire Jalapeño Poppers.

The jalapeños are stuffed with Slater’s Signature Vampire Dip, wrapped in hardwood-smoked bacon, and finished with house-made ranch.

They’re creamy, smoky and spicy, with enough richness from the dip and bacon to balance the heat. If bacon-wrapped jalapeños are your thing, they reminded us of the same fun approach to bar food we found with the Bacon Bombs at Evolve Brewing Project.

They were also an easy appetizer to share while we worked through our draft beers and waited for the burgers.

From Our Table

Backyard Classic Burger

The Backyard Classic keeps things more traditional with Black Canyon Angus beef, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, dill pickles, ketchup, and mustard on a brioche bun.

We ordered ours with sweet potato fries.

Compared with some of Slater’s more elaborate burgers, this one stays familiar. The toppings don’t compete too much with the beef, and it works well if you want a straightforward cheeseburger rather than one of the restaurant’s bacon-heavy creations.

Best Damn Bacon Cheeseburger

For something more in line with the Slater’s personality, we ordered the Best Damn Bacon Cheeseburger.

Black Canyon Angus beef is topped with thick-cut bacon, grilled onions, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and Thousand Island dressing on a brioche bun.

This one leans into the restaurant’s bacon-first reputation. Between the bacon, grilled onions, melted cheese, and dressing, every bite has plenty going on without turning into one of the more extreme burgers on the menu.

If creative burgers are what bring you out, Slater’s sits in a similar lane to Sickies Garage at Town Square, where the burger list also goes well beyond the basics.

We paired the Bacon Cheeseburger with the Southern Pimento Fries, topped with house-made pimento cheese, bacon, scallions, and Tapatío ranch.

These are definitely not an afterthought. They’re cheesy, loaded, and substantial enough that we could easily see ordering them for the middle of the table.

Between those and the sweet potato fries, there are several ways to move beyond the standard burger-and-fries combination.

The Original 50/50 Burger That Started It All

The name Slater’s 50/50 comes from the restaurant’s original signature patty: 50% ground bacon and 50% ground beef.

The current Original 50/50 burger builds on that patty with roasted green chile, pepper jack cheese, avocado, a sunny-side-up egg, and chipotle mayo on a brioche bun.

We went in another direction on this visit, but if you’re coming specifically to experience what made the Slater’s name famous, this is the burger that tells the story.

The menu has expanded considerably beyond it, with Black Canyon Angus burgers, the 50/50 blend, bison, Wagyu options, chicken sandwiches, salads, wings, loaded fries, and other comfort-food choices.

That variety makes the Lake Mead location useful for groups where not everyone necessarily wants the same kind of burger.

Over-the-Top Milkshakes

Milkshakes are another big part of the Slater’s experience.

These aren’t simple diner shakes. The menu includes elaborate combinations built around everything from cheesecake and cookies to s’mores and other desserts.

We didn’t have enough room to order one this time, but after seeing the menu, pairing a shake with the Original 50/50 gives us a pretty obvious plan for another visit.

The playful approach fits right in with the restaurant’s take on burgers and classic American comfort food: recognizable favorites with a lot more piled onto them.

Craft Beer, Full Bar and Sports at Slater’s Lake Mead

Beer is more than a side note here. Slater’s promotes a rotating selection of 50 craft beers on draft, including local and regional options, along with a full bar.

We went with draft beers during our visit, which worked naturally with the burgers, bacon, and appetizers.

Las Vegas locals looking specifically for craft beer can also explore places like Las Vegas Brewing Company and Beer Zombies, but Slater’s adds the full burger-and-sports-bar experience to the mix.

TVs are spread throughout the restaurant, so the sports-bar side of Slater’s isn’t limited to a few seats at the bar.

The main dining room is family-friendly, while the bar seating area is reserved for guests 21 and older. That separation makes it possible to bring the family for burgers while still maintaining a dedicated bar atmosphere.

For Summerlin-area locals comparing places to watch a game, Al’s Garage is another nearby sports-bar option with a very different neighborhood-tavern feel.

Happy Hour at Slater’s 50/50 Lake Mead

Slater’s Lake Mead currently runs Happy Hour Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Happy Hour includes food specials along with discounts on beer, wine, and cocktails, making the restaurant an easy after-work stop if you’re in northwest Las Vegas or coming from the Summerlin area.

Tuesday Trivia Night

There’s another reason to visit during the week: Trivia Night takes place Tuesdays beginning at 7 p.m. at the Lake Mead location.

Trivia is free to play, and Slater’s says teams can have between one and six players. The restaurant recommends making a dinner reservation ahead of trivia if you want to secure a table.

That gives the Lake Mead location another dimension beyond simply stopping in for dinner. You can meet friends, order burgers and drinks, and turn a Tuesday night into something a little more social.

A Casual Burger Spot Near Summerlin

What we liked most about Slater’s 50/50 was that the atmosphere matched the food.

Nothing about the concept is particularly restrained. Bacon shows up everywhere, the burgers can get elaborate, the milkshakes are built like desserts, and there is always another draft beer to look at.

At the same time, the restaurant itself feels relaxed and approachable rather than formal.

There’s still plenty we haven’t tried. Between the Original 50/50 burger, the rest of the specialty burger menu, rotating craft beers, and those huge milkshakes, another visit would be easy to justify.

For a casual meal in northwest Las Vegas, Slater’s 50/50 Lake Mead brings together burgers, bacon, craft beer, sports, happy hour, and enough personality to make it more than another neighborhood burger stop.