The steakhouse is a great American culinary institution, and such places have never been more popular. Steak-centric chains both extravagant (Ruth’s Chris, Fleming’s) and bargain-priced (Outback, LongHorn) continue to proliferate. Almost every city has at least one all-you-can-eat rodizio, or Brazilian-style steak purveyor, like Fogo de Chão or Texas de Brazil. Even big-name chefs like Wolfgang Puck, Tom Colicchio, and José Andrés have gotten into the steakhouse game. (Here’s a list of 30 famous steakhouses owned by celebrity chefs.)
Why are steakhouses so popular? One explanation, perhaps counterintuitively, might have to do with the fact that some people are trying to reduce their consumption of red meat – so when they do eat it, they want it to be really, really good (and cooked by somebody else). Another explanation might be that steakhouses are familiar, dependable, and generous with their portions. When tasting-menu fatigue sets in, being able to sit down and have some oysters or an iceberg wedge, a juicy ribeye with creamed spinach and/or cottage fries on the side, and maybe a slice of cheesecake for dessert becomes very appealing.
The best steakhouses, though, are hardly cheap, and can often rival Michelin-starred gastronomic temples in price. (These are the most expensive Michelin three-star restaurants in the world.)
To assemble a list (by no means exhaustive) of the most expensive steakhouses in America, 24/7 Tempo consulted steakhouse rankings and reviews on sites including Robb Report, Gayot, Yelp, and Tasting Table, then compared menu prices on each restaurant’s website or, when unavailable, on other sites reproducing their current menus. We considered only steakhouse operations with fewer than six locations, thus no big chains. For those that have several locations, we chose the one with the highest menu prices or most expensive steak.
The average cost of a three-course steak dinner for one was computed by combining the price of the least expensive steak on each menu with the average prices of an appetizer, a side dish, and a dessert. Tax, tip, and beverages are not included. We omitted caviar and shellfish platters when computing average appetizer prices. The most expensive steak at each restaurant is the most expensive one meant for one person (nothing over 16 ounces was considered). In cases where the average cost of dinner was the same at several restaurants, the one with the most expensive steak per ounce was ranked higher.
The upper echelon of steak prices in U.S. restaurants today has soared higher in recent decades with the increased availability of prized wagyu beef, which is a very expensive commodity. “Wagyu” is the collective name for several breeds of Japanese beef cattle. The meat that actually comes from Japan is often labeled with the name of its place of origin – usually its home prefecture, but sometimes a specific city name, like Kobe (the capital of Hyōgo Prefecture). Japanese cattle breeds are also raised in the United States, Australia, and other countries today (sometimes interbred with other breeds), and wagyu from Idaho, Texas, and elsewhere is increasingly common — though every restaurant on this list also offers top-quality steaks of other kinds for more reasonable prices.
25. Guard and Grace
> Location: Denver, Colorado
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $72
> Most expensive steak: Prime ribeye ($98 for 16 oz.)
24. Knife
> Location: Dallas, Texas
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $76
> Most expensive steak: 44 Farms Texas filet mignon ($71 for 10 oz.)
23. Bazaar Meat
> Location: Chicago, Illinois
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $77
> Most expensive steak: Hyōgo Prefecture Kobe wagyu eye of the rib ($195 for 3 oz.)
22. Doris Metropolitan
> Location: Houston, Texas
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $79
> Most expensive steak: Japanese A5 wagyu (origin unspecified) ($240 for 10 oz.)
21. Prime 112
> Location: Miami Beach, Florida
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $80
> Most expensive steak: Japanese Kobe A5 ribeye ($230 for 16 oz.)
20. Chandler’s
> Location: Boise, Idaho
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $90
> Most expensive steak: Snake River Farms Gold Grade American wagyu bullseye ribeye ($110 for 10 oz.)
19. Bern’s Steak House
> Location: Tampa, Florida
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $90
> Most expensive steak: Japanese A5 wagyu (origin unspecified) filet mignon ($180 for 6 oz.)
18. RingSide Steakhouse
> Location: Portland, Oregon
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $91
> Most expensive steak: Kagoshima Prefecture, Nagano Prefecture, or Takamori sake-mash-fed striploin ($135 for 5 oz.)
17. Craftsteak
> Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $95
> Most expensive steak: Japanese A5 wagyu (origin unspecified) ribbye or N.Y. steak ($320 for 8 oz.)
16. El Gaucho
> Location: Seattle, Washington
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $97
> Most expensive steak: Miyazaki Prefecture A5 wagyu ($85 for 4 oz.)
15. EPIC Steak
> Location: San Francisco, California
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $108
> Most expensive steak: Kumamoto Prefecture A5 wagyu striploin ($190 for 8 oz.)
14. Old Homestead Steakhouse
> Location: New York City, New York
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $109
> Most expensive steak: Japanese A5 wagyu (origin unspecified) ($350 for 12 oz.)
13. BOA Steakhouse
> Location: West Hollywood, California
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $109
> Most expensive steak: Japanese wagyu tasting flight (Kagoshima Prefecture A5, Iwate Prefecture, Hokkaido Prefecture Snow Beef) ($200 for 6 oz. [2 oz. of each])
12. Barclay Prime
> Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $109
> Most expensive steak: Hyōgo Prefecture Kobe wagyu strip loin ($210 for 5 oz.)
11. B&B Butchers & Restaurant
> Location: Fort Worth, Texas
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $111
> Most expensive steak: Japanese A5 wagyu (origin unspecified) ($250 for 12 oz.)
10. Porter House
> Location: New York City, New York
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $113
> Most expensive steak: Snake River Farms Gold Grade American wagyu ribeye ($145 for 14 oz.)
9. Jeffrey’s of Austin
> Location: Austin, Texas
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $118
> Most expensive steak: Beeman Family Ranch Texas wagyu tenderloin filet ($95 for 8 oz.)
8. Stripsteak
> Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $127
> Most expensive steak: Kagoshima Prefecture A5 wagyu ($260 for 5 oz.)
7. Peter Luger Steakhouse
> Location: Brooklyn, New York
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $128
> Most expensive steak: Prime dry-aged rib steak ($89.95, weight unspecified)
6. Alexander’s
> Location: Pasadena, California
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $131
> Most expensive steak: Hyōgo Prefecture Kobe A5 wagyu ($255 for 3 oz.)
5. Jean Georges Steakhouse
> Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $140
> Most expensive steak: Hyogo Prefecture Kobe A5 wagyu ($201 for 3 oz.)
4. SW Steakhouse
> Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $151
> Most expensive steak: Hyōgo Prefecture Kobe A5 wagyu ($300 for 4 oz.)
3. 4 Charles Prime Rib
> Location: New York City, New York
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $152
> Most expensive steak: Wagyu (origin unspecified) bone-in N.Y. strip ($129.99 for 16 oz.)
2. RPM Steak
> Location: Chicago, Illinois
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $160
> Most expensive steak: Hyōgo Prefecture Kobe wagyu strip loin ($192 for 3 oz.)
1. Cut by Wolfgang Puck
> Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
> Avg. cost, 3-course steak dinner for one, food only: $165
> Most expensive steak: Sanuki olive-fed Kagawa Prefecture wagyu ($360 for 6 oz.)