The 29 best steakhouses in Chicago

This Gold Coast steakhouse feels wonderfully tongue-in-cheek—the chef's-choice option is called “I Don't Give a F*@k”—while still serving up classics like surf and turf, potato gratin and martinis. The laundry list of steaks on offer are complimented by a selection of "Arm Candy," including horseradish sauce, bone marrow stuffing and beefed-up butter. Though it's tempting to fill up on savory treats, be sure to save room for the sundae service, your own personalized ice cream bar stocked with hot fudge, toffee, sprinkles and more.

Whiling away the evening at Gibsons—with an ice-cold martini in one hand and a hunk of steak in the other—is practically a rite of passage in Chicago. Second only to the lively atmosphere are the accoutrements, including a loaded wedge salad, juicy oysters and saucy baby back ribs. If you'd rather stay in, Gibsons will pack up its prime cuts to go—from burgers to porterhouse—so that you can play chef at home.

Brendan Sodikoff's vaguely French steakhouse is a departure—or perhaps an evolution—for the restaurateur. While his other spots (Gilt Bar, Au Cheval) have their charms, the appeal of this spot—decked out with jazz-era decor and music—is practically universal. Diners need not be huge steak fans to get a good meal; in fact, as good as the steak frites is, both the fried and roasted chicken are even better. Elegant cocktails begin meals here; fabulous pies (lemon meringue, chocolate cream) end them.

El Che is chef John Manion’s love letter to his time spent traveling throughout Argentina. Locally sourced vegetables, red meats and whole seafood are cooked on custom-built grills and chapas in an open hearth. Your options range from a petite filet to the comically large 48-ounce tomahawk ribeye. If you're going to splurge on a piece of meat like that, you've come to the right place: Manion uses open-flame cooking to render the cut tender and impossibly juicy.

Drawing inspiration from 1920s supper clubs, this Loop steakhouse is the kind of place that's made for client dinners and special occasions. The steak here is finished with Wisconsin grass-fed butter, with options like a dry-aged bone-in ribeye, a 10-ounce hand-cut filet mignon and a porterhouse for two. Wagyu fans can empty their bank accounts on some of the most expensive and well-marbled cuts of beef imported from Japan's top regions. Close out your meal by making a selection from the Cigar Box, with a host of stogies to choose from. If you prefer to end on a sweet note, save room for banana cream pie, caramel crème brûlée or classic carrot cake.

The anti-steakhouse for those who are tired of white tablecloths and long menus, Bouefhaus delivers exceptional beef in an unpretentious setting. Instead of the usual steakhouse classics, this German- and French-inspired brasserie offers items like short rib beignets and chickpea pasta tangled with merguez sausage. The steaks, the predictable stars of the show, undergo a dry-aging process to make them more tender and beefier in flavor.

One of Chicago’s newest steakhouses pulls out all the stops: Wagyu tartare, oysters topped with uni and caviar, pork secreto and a "Meat Paradise" option featuring eight different cuts. This Asian barbecue and classic American steak fusion restaurant in East Pilsen has a minimalist decor with smokeless grills at each table, because you wouldn’t want your fresh-grilled eel prepared any other way.

At this cavernous West Loop steakhouse, chef Chris Pandel blends old-school Midwestern charm with forward-thinking sensibilities. On the steak front, there are a handful of cuts to choose from, ranging from a ruby-red filet mignon to a splurge-worthy Japanese A5 wagyu strip loin. But you're here for the beef Wellington, with mushrooms, foie gras and spinach wrapped up into a perfectly flaky pastry crust. Finish it off with petite sweets, which are presented in a dessert trolley.

One of the most beautiful and opulent restaurants in Chicago, you’ll want to walk into BLVD Steakhouse dressed to the nines. The bi-level space, now with an all-season patio as well, draws inspiration from Hollywood’s Golden Age so elegant touches like crystal chandeliers and a grand staircase will have you feeling like a million bucks. Culinary director Joe Flamm, of Top Chef fame, elevates the experience even further with pristine seafood towers, caviar service and a selection of first-rate steaks. We suggest adding bone marrow on top of the beef because why not? You deserve it.

The most meat-centric of Giuliana and Bill Rancic's restaurants, RPM Steak is an expense-account buster, with a wagyu smash burger, a jam-packed seafood platter, millionaire potatoes with black truffles and 14K chocolate cake with gold leaf. The steak options are similarly indulgent, with a lineup of wagyu and grass-fed beef, a bone-in bison filet and a 48-ounce porterhouse. Trust us, it's worth every penny.

You should feel like royalty when you’re paying through the nose for a steakhouse experience, and you will here. Start with the sweet, cool stone crabs, oysters Rockerfeller and a delicious chopped salad that could easily feed two. Go straight to the top with a filet, perfect when charred medium-rare, or the Alaskan king crab legs served chilled. Key lime pie is puckeringly sweet for those who like a hit-you-over-the-head finish, and Joe's fried chicken is one of the best secrets in town.

The team behind longtime barbecue standout Smoque branched out in 2023 with the opening of a steakhouse. Aptly named Smoque Steak, the concept skips the excess and opulence typically associated with chophouses in favor of a more relaxed experience that puts the focus squarely on the beef. The steaks are first smoked, then cooked sous vide before being seared, resulting in perfectly done cuts that are packed with smokey flavor. And the prices won’t break the bank—options range from a beefy ribeye to a chuck tender bistro steak that’s less than $20.

For its latest concept, DineAmic Hospitality celebrates 1950s Italian American cuisine with an opulent steakhouse in Fulton Market. The stunning 8,200-square-foot space is decked out in crystal chandeliers, fresh florals, booths dressed in lavender mohair, dark leather chairs and other elegant touches. This is a place to see and be seen, and chef Joe Rizza complements the experience with a menu that’s equally dazzling—Caesar salad is prepared tableside, squid ink pasta arrives topped with a whole lobster and the beefy steaks are grilled on a wood and charcoal hearth. The wine list boasts dozens of Italian bottles, while dessert is headlined by a slice of decadent chocolate cake.

Housed inside a historic century-old townhouse in River North, this intimate Spanish steakhouse is all class and luxury. Chef-owners Doug Psaltis and Hsing Chen, who also run Andros Taverna, treat guests to a Basque-inspired menu full of delicacies like caviar churros, jamón ibérico and dry-aged steak tartare with truffles. The star of the show are the Txuleton steaks—well-marbled, bone-in cuts that are roasted over coals and available by the pound. Chen provides a satisfying conclusion to the experience with indulgent desserts, such as a golden chocolate hazelnut cake and burnt Basque cheesecake.

This Boka property from chef-partner Giuseppe Tentori takes the cake for the city's sexiest steakhouse. The enormous interior is decked out in fur-lined chairs, modern chandeliers and dark, moody jewel tones. You'll spot all the usual suspects on the dinner menu (a seafood tower, wedge salad, Brussels sprouts), but when it comes to meat, GT Prime ups the ante. The kitchen offers pleasures such as bison tenderloin, dry-aged porterhouses and A5 Kagoshima wagyu.

If it gets any more old-school than this circa-1941 steakhouse, we haven’t seen it. Filling every inch of the wood-lined dining room are Naugahyde bar stools, chairs and banquettes as blood-red as the steaks (both well-aged, we might add). Servers range from formal to gruff, but they mean well and they deliver the goods: textbook veal Vesuvio, a “garbage” salad fit for four, perfectly seared chops and garlicky shrimp DeJonghe that the veteran staff swears the joint invented.

This century-old brownstone is a quintessential Chicago steakhouse in every sense of the word. Out-of-town execs with fat expense wallets head upstairs for white-tablecloth service, pricey wines and both wet- and dry-aged steaks. We much prefer the subterranean piano bar, where every inch of wall is covered with vintage photos of Capone and crew and the high wooden tables are packed with storytellers and uncompromising carnivores.

Situated along the river, Chicago Cut is a glassy beacon for carnivores who are looking for dinner and a show. The suit- and LBD-clad crowd flock here for center barrel cut filet mignon, lobster mac and cheese and lollipop lamb chops. Make sure to browse the extensive glossary of meat temperatures before your server takes your order: The choices range from Black & Blue (seared raw) to well done; ordering medium-rare has never steered us wrong.

Sushi and sizzling cuts of beef prepared on a 12-foot robata grill draw diners into this River North steakhouse. You’ll splurge on a meal here but rest assured you’re getting the best of the best, from USDA Prime steaks to domestic and Japanese A5 wagyu. Go all out by ordering Kobe beef sourced from Japan's Hyōgo Prefecture plus king crab legs for the ultimate surf and turf.

Celebrity chef and humanitarian José Andrés partnered with Gibsons Restaurant Group to open two restaurants inside the Bank of America Tower in 2021. Bazaar Meat, a steakhouse on the second floor, pampers guests with cured meats, suckling pig, Wagyu beef and other similarly luxurious bites. You won’t see hulking steaks here—they’re offered by the ounce and pound—but you will get beautiful views of the Chicago River and sit underneath crimson chandeliers meant to mimic volcanic flames. There are also lavish tasting menus if you hate making decisions.

Things to know when planning a trip to this Argentine grill: You will wait for a table, and when it’s time to order, it’s best to keep it simple. Start with a plate of empanadas to share, then order a perfectly seared steak to dunk in the house chimichurri sauce and finish with the flan. Bring along that bottle of big red wine you’ve been holding on to, drink it with your slab of beef, sit outside on the patio and enjoy the live Latin guitar—is life really always this sweet in Buenos Aires?

Steak 48 is modern and plush, though it's worth noting that the restaurant enforces a strict dress code that feels excessive (no corset tops, T-shirts or frayed clothing, among many other rules). If you don't get flagged for a wardrobe violation, a menu of wet-aged steaks await, including a wagyu filet and a grass-fed New York strip. But our eyes are wandering over to the prime steakhouse meatloaf, which is crafted with ribeye, filet mignon, pork and black truffles.

For the best bang for your buck, it’s hard to beat the meat parade offered at this Brazilian churrascaria. Servers, dressed in the style of South American cowboys, roam the dining room with spits of fire-roasted beef, chicken, lamb and pork. You’ll receive a token with a green and a red side, which lets staff know when to come by to carve more meats onto your plate. Of course, veggies are needed to balance the meal out so the all-you-can-eat experience also includes a bountiful salad bar.

You don’t have to go north of the border to enjoy a supper club experience. The Alinea Group’s Wisconsin-inspired restaurant located underneath Roister presents the Midwestern tradition through a modern lens. Sip a sweet brandy old fashioned while waiting for apps like shrimp cocktail and deviled eggs. The only beef on the menu is tender prime rib, served au jus and available in four cuts, but we promise it’s all you’ll need to leave happy and satisfied.

House salad: $22. Shrimp cocktail: $30. 40-ounce wagyu tomahawk chop: $250. Before you shake your head and huff off to Portillo's, hear us out on one thing: If you’ve got these kinds of funds at your disposal, Mastro’s is the place to blow them. The martini is shaken with dry ice so that it bubbles like a cauldron when poured tableside. Steaks come out perfectly medium-rare on the hottest plates you’ve ever accidentally touched, and the signature side of lobster mashed potatoes—a cool $39—is comically indulgent.

This elegant River North staple has been serving locals, tourists and downtown office workers since 1991. If the ribeye and porterhouse cuts aren't enough to draw you in, the eight sauce options—whiskey peppercorn, bacon maple demi glace, bell pepper romesco, to name a few—should do the trick. And if beef isn’t your thing, order the signature anniversary cut 21-day dry-aged lamb chops, which you won’t find anywhere else in the city.

The way food is touted here—by wheeling over a cart of uncooked meats, including a live lobster—can be a little off-putting (not everybody wants to witness their dinner being wheeled off to its death). But there are reasons Morton’s is so famous: the classic Chicago steakhouse interior, tailor-made for sealing the deal; crab cakes with hardly any filler; and barely seasoned steaks that stand out for their flavor (rib eye), their tenderness (filet mignon) or both (porterhouse).

Who can pick just one cut when you could order an entire steak flight? If variety is what you desire, order the Asado Argentina for two and relish the Argentine-imported short ribs, New York strip, morcilla, chorizo and mollejas (sweetbreads) while enjoying live jazz and flamenco guitar. You can’t go wrong with a glass of Malbec, but we recommend trying one of the house cocktails inspired by tango culture, like the Volvér with mezcal, hibiscus, jalapeno, lime, cilantro and simple syrup.

This Avondale favorite provides what owner and head chef Arturo Aucaquizhpi calls “Loop quality with neighborhood prices.” A 20-year veteran of Gene & Georgetti’s, Aucaquizhpi offers a menu that is full of steakhouse classics like shrimp cocktail and broiled ribeye and filet mignon. They're complemented by an extensive lineup of Italian pastas as well as chicken, veal and pork dishes. Chef Aucaquizhpi knows how to sizzle a great piece of meat, but if you’re a first-timer you should go for the Chicken Mirabella—a half chicken broiled at 1,500 degrees accompanied by bell peppers and pepperoncini, and topped with lemon.