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America’s Favorite Upscale Restaurant Chains

Luxury table settings for fine dining with and glassware, beautiful blurred background. For events, weddings. Preparation for holiday passover, props for weddings, birthdays, and celebrations.

America’s Favorite Upscale Restaurant Chains

If you’re craving a more refined dining experience than what TGI Fridays or Applebee’s can provide, consider visiting one of the top upscale restaurant chains. Known for their elegant ambiance, many of these establishments specialize in steak or seafood and feature touches like white tablecloths and sophisticated glassware, making them favorites among diners nationwide.

Big-name chefs are rarely involved (an exception being the ubiquitous Nobu restaurants, spawned by the highly influential Nobu Matsuhisa and the expansive Wolfgang Puck empire), but the cooking can be top-notch. Imaginative cocktail programs and good wine lists are frequently involved, too.

Some of these chains are more highly regarded by patrons than others, however, for their food, service, and other attributes. To assemble a list of the upscale restaurant chains customers like the most, 24/7 Tempo reviewed “Which Fine-Dining Restaurant Brands Score Highest for Customer Satisfaction,” a report published by the leading food service trade publication Nation’s Restaurant News

NRN drew on data compiled by Merchant Centric, a data collection and analysis company. Merchant Centric pulled data from millions of ratings, reviews, and comments on Google, TripAdvisor, and other sites relating specifically to food quality, staff demeanor, order of accuracy, and other factors pertinent to the dining experience, assigning a Theme Performance Score out of a possible 5 points to each chain. The score indicates the number of times a factor was mentioned positively compared to how often it was mentioned negatively.

Three categories of upscale chains are identified by NRN: Leaders (Nos. 1-8 on our list), Straddlers (Nos. 9-16), and Chasers (the balance of the list). The highest scorer of all is a small Arizona-based operation called Steak 48, with eight locations (and two more in the works). Featuring a raw bar and an in-house butcher, it comes with a pedigree: It was founded by the Mastro family, who sold off their Mastro’s Restaurants (No. 12) in 2013 and have come back strong. (These are the most expensive steakhouses in America.)

Here are America’s favorite upscale restaurant chains:

25. Benihana

scrufidog / Flickr
  • Locations: 90
  • Food: 2.7
  • Staff demeanor: 2.2
  • Order accuracy: 1.2
  • Overall score: 3.66/5

24. Shogun Restaurant

chef's hands with spatula over teppanyaki. cooking vegetables meat and seafood on hot hibachi grill table. Traditional Japanese Cuisine. Teppan show
Elen Marlen / Shutterstock.com
Image: Elen Marlen, Shutterstock
  • Locations: 8
  • Food: 2.8
  • Staff demeanor: 2.3
  • Order accuracy: 1.5
  • Overall score: 3.92/5

23. Fig & Olive

debyaho / iStock via Getty Images
  • Locations: 6
  • Food: 3.5
  • Staff demeanor: 7.2
  • Order accuracy: 1.6
  • Overall score: 4.03/5

22. McCormick & Schmick’s

prayitnophotography / Flickr
  • Locations: 25
  • Food: 2.8
  • Staff demeanor: 5.8
  • Order accuracy: 1.9
  • Overall score: 4.06/5

21. Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse

steak restaurant food meat beef plate dinner grilled gourmet background meal
Pietruszka / Shutterstock.com
Image: Pietruszka, Shutterstock
  • Locations: 17
  • Food: 2.9
  • Staff demeanor: 4.5
  • Order accuracy: 2.3
  • Overall score: 4.13/5

20. Palm Restaurant

1225 19th Street NW - Washingt... by Tim1965
Tim1965 / Wikimedia Commons
  • Locations: 18
  • Food: 3.5
  • Staff demeanor: 10.9
  • Order accuracy: 3.8
  • Overall score: 4.13/5

19. Morton’s The Steakhouse

Mortons Steak... by Michael Gray
Michael Gray / Flickr
  • Locations: 56
  • Food: 3.6
  • Staff demeanor: 5.6
  • Order accuracy: 3.2
  • Overall score: 4.14/5

18. Chart House

2017 Gar... by Beyond My Ken
Beyond My Ken / Wikimedia Commons
  • Locations: 24
  • Food: 3.3
  • Staff demeanor: 5.8
  • Order accuracy: 2.3
  • Overall score: 4.16/5

17. Texas de Brazil Churrascaria Steakhouse

Detroit... by bryan...
bryan… / Wikimedia Commons
  • Locations: 51
  • Food: 3.6
  • Staff demeanor: 3.7
  • Order accuracy: 2.4
  • Overall score: 4.17/5

16. Nobu

Rick Kern / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
  • Locations: 20 (U.S. only)
  • Food: 3.9
  • Staff demeanor: 2.8
  • Order accuracy: 2.3
  • Overall score: 4.22/5

15. Stoney River Steakhouse & Grill

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Locations: 13
  • Food: 3.6
  • Staff demeanor: 5.2
  • Order accuracy: 2.5
  • Overall score: 4.23/5

14. STK Steakhouse

kenlund / Flickr
  • Locations: 18
  • Food: 3.1
  • Staff demeanor: 6.3
  • Order accuracy: 2.2
  • Overall score: 4.26/5

13. Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse

Maria Eklind / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Flickr
New York – Manhattan
  • Locations: 11
  • Food: 4.2
  • Staff demeanor: 6.5
  • Order accuracy: 2.3
  • Overall score: 4.29/5

12. Mastro’s Restaurants

Jim G / CC BY 2.0 / Flickr
Crystals Retail and Entertainment, City Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
  • Locations: 20
  • Food: 3.5
  • Staff demeanor: 4.2
  • Order accuracy: 2.4
  • Overall score: 4.31/5

11. Ruth’s Chris Steak House

Joe Raedle / Getty Images News via Getty Images
  • Locations: 133
  • Food: 3.8
  • Staff demeanor: 7.5
  • Order accuracy: 2.9
  • Overall score: 4.33/5

10. Eddie Merlot’s Prime Aged Beef & Seafood

beats3 / iStock via Getty Images
  • Locations: 12
  • Food: 3.9
  • Staff demeanor: 7.9
  • Order accuracy: 2.8
  • Overall score: 4.34/5

9. Bob’s Steak & Chop House

A gourmet meal featuring a perfectly cooked steak, mashed potatoes, and grilled vegetables, elegantly plated in a cozy, dimly lit restaurant. The rustic ambiance enhances the fine dining experience.
HopeNFPhotography / Shutterstock.com
Image: HopeNFPhotography, Shutterstock
  • Locations: 15
  • Food: 4.9
  • Staff demeanor: 8.8
  • Order accuracy: 5.6
  • Overall score: 4.45/5

8. The Melting Pot

The Melting Pot... by Michael Rivera
Michael Rivera / Wikimedia Commons
  • Locations: 106
  • Food: 5.6
  • Staff demeanor: 12.2
  • Order accuracy: 3.3
  • Overall score: 4.46/5

7. Fogo de Chão

alan-light / Flickr
  • Locations: 59
  • Food: 6.5
  • Staff demeanor: 10.3
  • Order accuracy: 1.3
  • Overall score: 4.48/5

6. Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar

Peppercorn Steak by larryjh1234
larryjh1234 / Wikimedia Commons
  • Locations: 65
  • Food: 4.7
  • Staff demeanor: 11.4
  • Order accuracy: 5.2
  • Overall score: 4.52/5

5. Ocean Prime

Ocean Prime... by Lauren Topor from Phoenix
Lauren Topor from Phoenix / Wikimedia Commons
  • Locations: 18
  • Food: 6.4
  • Staff demeanor: 12.0
  • Order accuracy: 5.6
  • Overall score: 4.60/5

4. Capital Grille

The Capital Grille... by John Phelan
John Phelan / Wikimedia Commons
  • Locations: 65
  • Food: 6.2
  • Staff demeanor: 12.2
  • Order accuracy: 7.1
  • Overall score: 4.65/5

3. Truluck’s Ocean’s Finest Seafood & Crab

tequilamike / CC BY 2.0 / Flickr
  • Locations: 11
  • Food: 6.3
  • Staff demeanor: 14.1
  • Order accuracy: 6.2
  • Overall score: 4.66/5

2. Eddie V’s Prime Seafood

Todd Van Hoosear / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Flickr
  • Locations: 31
  • Food: 7.5
  • Staff demeanor: 11.8
  • Order accuracy: 7.4
  • Overall score: 4.69/5

1. Steak 48

Luxury table settings for fine dining with and glassware, beautiful blurred  background. For events, weddings.  Preparation for holiday  passover, props for weddings, birthdays, and celebrations.
BorisK9 / Shutterstock.com
Image: BorisK9, Shutterstock
  • Locations: 8
  • Food: 8.0
  • Staff demeanor: 10.8
  • Order accuracy: 8.6
  • Overall score: 4.72/5
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