The 12 best steakhouses in NYC to sink your teeth into

Keens is the kind of place where everybody knows its name. The 138 year-old chop of history is also almost as famous for its mutton chop, formally detailed as “our legendary mutton chop” on the menu, as it is for its titular item. Go for the creamed spinach and baked potatoes in an ornately throwback dining room that soars over the top of the genre. 

Time Out Tip: Look up and gaze upon the 45,000 smoking pipes hanging on the ceiling. Many of these smoking vessels belonged to former members of Keens’ Pipe Club, including Albert Einstein, Babe Ruth and Teddy Roosevelt. 

The first time I visited a Hawksmoor for Sunday roast in London, where there were seven, it was a highlight of a very good trip. Years later, one would land here in NYC, in a stunning, cavernous space that’s bound to dazzle. Ours has a Sunday roast, too, with roast beef and a batch of sides for $45, or special cuts like wonderfully tender chateaubriand for an additional charge. 

Time Out Tip: If you watched HBO’s The Penguin, you may spot a few familiar New York spaces, the Hawksmoor being one of them. 

Some of New York City’s toughest tables are fixed with gleaming grills like crown jewels at Cote Korean steakhouse. This one’s design skews more sleek than plush, but its ambiance is still flattering, with scattered pops of neon light. 

Time Out Tip: For a hunger looking to be ravished, the butcher’s feast is up to the task with banchan, an unforgettable savory egg soufflé, a duo of stews and, of course, USDA Prime and American Wagyu beef.

Gage & Tollner is a lot of things. One of 2021's best new restaurants. An excellent cocktail destination with a dedicated martini menu. And a fancy chop house, all inside a beautiful space. This should also be your top pick when dining with the steakhouse-averse, as it has plenty of other excellent options to choose from (try the fried chicken.) And the T-bone, ribeye and NY strip are a cut above many places that amplify their steakhouse proclivities much louder. 

Time Out Tip: Climb upstairs to the not so secret Sunken Harbor Club and let the tropical vibes take you away.

One of the best new restaurants of 2022, Gus’s Chop House on a quaint, tree-lined brownstone Brooklyn street is ideal for nicer-than-normal nights out. It also has a surprising deal of a Sunday night roast, when items like a fantastic tri-tip, done sous vide before a sear on the plancha, is served with an abundance of sides like fries, brussels sprouts and popovers for in this cut’s case, $36.

Time Out Tip: A finished meal includes an order of their Drug Store Old Fashioned Sundae topped with a dollop of freshly made whipped cream. 

As midtown as downtown gets, Bowery Meat Company has a lot of the proclivities of its counterparts a few dozen blocks north with a bit more of a relaxed air. It still isn’t cheap, though, so you’re just paying about the same-to-slightly-more as anywhere of its ilk for similarly good sourcing and preparation, plus a wider variety of starters and sides (king pao duck wings and shishito peppers) than you’ll see elsewhere. 

Time Out Tip: If somehow you aren’t craving steak, the Duck Parmigiano-Reggiano Lasagna is a gooey, meaty wonder, set to feed four to six souls.

Another oldie, Gallagher’s first opened as an actual speakeasy at this very address in 1927. Once alcohol was made legal, they added meat to the mix and it was a hit. Enjoy legal libations with your steaks, chops and a long list of alternatives.

Time Out Tip: Snap a selfie outside its famed meat window and peep the tags to see which cut has been aging the longest. 

This 1868-vintage, one-time dockworkers’ chophouse, is not only also one of the best restaurants in Chelsea and top bachelor’s party dinner destination, it also recently peddled the most excellent ad campaign since those Grand Prospect Hall commercials. Its interior is dated closer to the 1980s in appearance, but pleasant enough to study the lengthy menu in comfort. 

Time Out Tip: A finished meal includes an order of their Drug Store Old Fashioned Sundae topped with a dollop of freshly made whipped cream. 

This is the second location for Sparks, which got its start down on 18th Street in 1966. Its midtown move wasn’t until 1977, and notoriety arrived eight years later after a mob hit occurred outside its doors. In spite of its macabre distinction, Sparks has still made frequent appearances on lists such as this over the years, and today its menu still transcends its charmingly dated space. 

Time Out Tip: You can’t go wrong with the Extra Thick Veal Chop or the Extra Thick Rib Lamb Chops.  

Wolfgang’s eponymous owner worked at Peter Luger for many years before opening his own midtown steakhouse in 2004, followed by this offshoot in an ordinary, restaurant-looking space with notable steaks. There are now seven operating in NYC and beyond, all absent all the noise of its proprietors alma mater, this one serving thick, juicy and nicely charred steaks that never finish second best.  

Time Out Tip: Jumbo Shrimp or Jumbo Lump Crab Meat Cocktail? You be the judge. 

Pleasant views mingling treetops and skyscrapers await from some seats at this somewhat stuffy, highly expense account appropriate restaurant in the big mall at Columbus Circle. Its open for lunch and dinner with all the adeptly executed items of expectation, and if I were like a high-powered (and paid) finance type (is that still the money getting one?), I’d totally be here at least twice a week.

Time Out Tip: Yes, the USDA, 28-day aged porterhouse comes in at a whopping $185. Yes, you should try it once.

The place that launched a thousand takes, guess what, Luger is perfectly fine and good, and if you’re going to take your visiting in-laws out for steak, and you must choose between here and a less-known, maybe even slightly technically better spot, it’s gonna be Luger time, every time, baby.

Time Out Tip: Pick the house dry-aged steak of your preference, choose from salads and sides like the Caesar and potatoes a few ways and always order the thick cut bacon.