Four patrons dine on skirt steak and a variety of sides, as depicted in this overhead diagonal shot — A table at Skirt Steak, featuring the namesake cut and a collection of sides.

The 14 Best Steakhouses in NYC Right Now

Both old and new spots are going strong

by Eater Staff and Ryan Sutton Updated Aug 10, 2022, 12:44pm EDT

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A table at Skirt Steak, featuring the namesake cut and a collection of sides.

| Skirt Steak

by Eater Staff and Ryan Sutton Updated Aug 10, 2022, 12:44pm EDT

Perhaps next to dollar-slice pizza joints and bagel shops, the New York steakhouse is up there among the city’s archetypal dining experiences. For many diners, it’s a night out when a medium-rare steak paired with a side of creamed spinach and glasses of red wine or martinis are on the agenda. From Midtown to Brooklyn, beloved classics and newer spots offer up options for every kind of steakhouse experience.

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.

Gallaghers Steakhouse

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This legendary NYC restaurant first opened as a speakeasy in 1927 — truly a Prohibition-era bar that didn’t turn into a steakhouse until the 1930s. Long Island-born restaurateur Dean Poll bought it in 2013 and revamped it shortly after. Still, he maintained the restaurant’s meat cooler that can be spotted from the street, one of the rare steakhouse dry-aging rooms still available for public view. It’s also one of the few steakhouses in the city to grill over charcoal. Start off with the bacon-studded clams casino, then pair a funky dry-aged ribeye with fries and a blue cheese-drenched wedge salad. Call ahead for the prime rib, one of the city’s best. Accepts reservations.

228 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10019

(212) 586-5000

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Cuts of dry-aged meat line the shelves of a walk-in refrigerator at Gallaghers Steakhouse in Midtown — Gallaghers Steakhouse

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Churrascaria Plataforma

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This rodízio steakhouse features servers waltzing table to table, wielding long spits of meat sliced tableside. Diners pay a fixed price for a varied selection of unlimited steak, sausages, and other grilled meats, plus sides that run from rice and beans to fried polenta and french fries. A salad bar is included in the price, stocked with greens, veggies, and creamy Brazilian-style potato salad. Dessert and drinks are paid separately.

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316 W 49th St, New York, NY 10019

(212) 245-0505

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The Grill

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Major Food Group’s elegant chophouse remains one of the city’s most posh places to eat beef, due in no small part to the landmark room by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson. Amid a larger eclectic menu studded with caviar, gumbo, and Dover sole, the Grill offers a variety of (expensive) steakhouse staples. Expect Montauk oysters, littleneck clams, an excellent crab cake (it better be at $49), roast prime ribs with deviled bones ($87), big New York strips ($90), bigger porterhouses ($225), and a variety of sides like hashed browns, cottage fries, and mashed potatoes.

99 E 52nd St, New York, NY 10022

(212) 254-3000

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A man in a white tuxedo stands behind the bar at the Grill, in front of a giant arrangement of pink and red flowers — The bar at the Grill.

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Le Marais

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This classic French bistro and butcher shop in Midtown remains one of the city’s finest institutions for Kosher beef. Among the notable selections include exceedingly tender beef jerky, buttery roast chicken, Uruguayan grass-fed entrecote, tournedos au poivre, and best of all, La Surprise, the $59 butcher’s cut.

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150 W 46th St, New York, NY 10036

(212) 869-0900

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Smith & Wollensky

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This Midtown East steakhouse dates back to 1977 and remains one of the most consistent and celebrated beef houses in the city, even as it has grown into a chain from the Quality Branded group behind Zou Zou’s, Don Angie, and Quality Italian. It offers a classic, refined look and still delivers on a finely cooked dry-aged steak. Colorado rib steak is a signature dish, and the prime rib, pictured here, ranks as one of New York’s best.

797 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10022

(212) 753-1530

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Medium rare prime rib on a white plate with creamed spinach in the background. — The prime rib from Smith & Wollensky

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Sparks Steak House

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Sparks first opened in 1966 and moved to its current location in the ’70s. It’s famous for being the site where Gambino family mobster Paul “Big Paul” Castellano was killed in 1985 — a detail that owner Michael Cetta has called part of the restaurant’s mystique.

210 E 46th St, New York, NY 10017

(212) 687-4855

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Sparks Steak House — Rectangular and circular photos of trees line the walls of this ornate dining room. Three rows of tables are covered in tablecloths, set with glassware, and surrounded by black chairs.

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Keens Steakhouse

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Keens is packed with history, and not just because it opened back in 1885. This Midtown steakhouse used to be home to a famous theatre and literary group, and after that, it was home to a pipe club. Dozens of pipes still line the restaurant, giving it a warm, unique vibe unlike any other restaurant in the city. The signature order here is the mutton chop, and a pro-move is to ask to pick from the bar menu, where a smaller portion of the mutton chop is available, as well as a formidable prime rib hash.

72 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018

(212) 947-3636

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A mutton chop on a white plate with salad, surrounded by a knife and fork on a white tableclothed table. — The mutton chop at Keen’s Steakhouse

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Skirt Steak

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Skirt steak is a bold choice for a menu focused around a single item, says Eater critic, Ryan Sutton, of Laurent Tourondel’s Chelsea spot that specializes in the cut. For now, it holds the title of the city’s least expensive steakhouse: Prix Fixe is $30 and comes with a salad, bread, and endless fries, while sides, or desserts via trolley, are $12 a piece.

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835 6th Ave, New York, NY 10001

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Cote

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Chef David Shim and Simon Kim’s Flatiron hotspot occupies a particular niche in the city’s high-end beef scene: It’s a clever cross between a classic steakhouse and Korean tabletop barbecue spot, decked out with comfy booths and dim lighting. The main event is a collection of four USDA Prime and American wagyu cuts for $64, accompanied by banchan and classic sides like egg souffle, scallion salad, and kimchi stew. Those looking to drop some more cash in these shiny digs should consider the $185 steak omakase, replete with dry-aged cuts and perhaps even a slice of ultra-marbled Japanese A5 wagyu.

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16 W 22nd St, New York, NY 10010

(212) 401-7986

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A variety of meats sear over a tabletop grill at Cote — Meats searing over a tabletop grill at Cote.

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Old Homestead Steakhouse

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This Chelsea steakhouse dates back to 1868, making it one of the oldest steakhouses in the city. It’s recognizable from the outside by a giant neon sign and a sculpture of cow declaring that the restaurant is “the King of Beef.” It’s a classic that’s since been replicated in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

56 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011

(212) 242-9040

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A piece of rare prime rib sits on an oval plate between a fork and a steak knife. In the background, there are small plates of sides and a wine glass. — Old Homestead Steakhouse offers a 28-day, dry-aged rime rib dubbed the Empire Cut

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Hawksmoor NYC

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This London-based chain instantly became one of the city’s better steakhouse when it opened in 2021. Non-beef selections are particularly well-curated, including a cocktail selection that wouldn’t feel out of place at a chic speakeasy. Note that Hawksmoor, like, Gallaghers, is one of the few city venues to grill its dry-aged steaks over charcoals. One can easily order expensive rib-eyes, filets, and strips, but the restaurant also offers a fine rump cut at just $28. Desserts, including the Meyer lemon meringue bomb, can merit a trip in their own right.

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109 E 22nd St, New York, NY 10010

(212) 777-1840

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Best Sunday roasts in London restaurants: Hawksmoor — A Sunday roast at Hawksmoor in London.

St. Anselm

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St. Anselm bucked all the tropes of a classic NYC steakhouse: a formal dining room with white table clothes, pricey wine lists, and most of all, break-the-bank-account steaks. About a decade ago, the butcher steak was $15 (it’s $29 now) and that very reasonable price still lures diners to line up these days.

355 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211

(718) 384-5054

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A steak at St. Anselm — St. Anselm’s steak has been popular for years.

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Peter Luger Steak House

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Peter Luger is probably the most quintessential version of a New York City steakhouse. The South Williamsburg restaurant has drawn people from across the five boroughs since it opened in 1887, and some say it’s the best version of a steakhouse in the world. The dry-aged porterhouse, which arrives with a sizzle, is the flagship dish, and the bacon and lunch-only burger are famously charming, too. Not everyone’s so sure, though. In October 2019, Times critic Pete Wells gave the Williamsburg steakhouse a brutal zero-star review for its “inconsistency.”

178 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211

(718) 387-7400

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The Peter Luger porterhouse, cooked medium rare and displayed on a white plate — The porterhouse at Peter Luger

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Carne Mare

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Andrew Carmellini arrived at the revamped Pier 17 in the Seaport District in 2021 with a playful take on Italian-American chophouses. Throughout the sprawling, bi-level space, diners can sample mozzarella sticks with caviar, arancini with California uni, spicy crab lettuce cups with chile crisp, and a variety of dry-aged steaks, roast prime ribs, and smoked beet steaks. One of the best cuts is the $115 wagyu steak, a 12-ounce strip loin that’s been aged in a shell of gorgonzola for a clean but never overpowering blue cheese funk.