The Best Steakhouse In Every State

We're lucky enough to live in a country that has more varieties of steakhouses (and restaurants in general) than previous generations could have ever imagined. There are the cavernous, inexpensive Wild West establishments where everyone seems to be wearing a Stetson and a pair of cowboy boots; the power-broker-with-an-expense-account clubhouses; the joints that serve steak at the bar but don't quite fall into the bar-and-grill category; and the modernist steakhouses that turn all these conventions upside down. But whether they're clad in red leather or plywood, décor is only one aspect of the overall steakhouse experience. When it comes down to it, it's all about the steak. And from ripping-hot broilers to mesquite grills, these restaurants do it right.

In order to track down the best steakhouses in every state, we started by consulting our annual ranking of America's 50 best steakhouses, which is compiled by judging more than 200 steakhouses on strict criteria. But that only took us so far; to fill out the map we then took a deep dive into each remaining state's culinary scene, grading all the leading steakhouses by those same criteria: Is the meat sourced reputably and USDA Choice or Prime? Is it dry-aged, and if not, is it as high in quality as can be? Is it served at the proper doneness without fail and with a touch of ceremony? How are the side dishes and other supporting players? Is it revered by locals and out-of-towners alike? We also considered the overall steakhouse experience. Because the goal is to showcase homegrown favorites, we excluded chains with more than a handful of locations, like Capital Grille, Fleming's and LongHorn.

In the end, our listing doesn't just showcase great steakhouses, it paints a picture of the American culinary landscape. In the states with America's major culinary capitals, like New York, California and Illinois, the top steakhouses are up there with the 101 best restaurants in America, confident in their legendary status. But in states that aren't nearly as renowned for their wealth of culinary options, the steakhouses are far more casual and scrappy, but still serve steaks that are in many ways just as satisfying as their big-city brethren. 

An Anchorage favorite since 1978, Simon & Seafort's isn't just the best steakhouse in Alaska, it's also one of the most picturesque in America, offering stunning views of the Alaska Range and Mount Susitna. As for the steaks, they're USDA Prime, and though you may have some trouble choosing between a grilled smoked sirloin, a char-grilled filet mignon and the restuarant's signature rock salt-roasted prime rib (available in three sizes), you'll definitely go home happy.

An Arkansas gem, Riverfront may not look like much (it's tucked in next to a Benihana inside a hotel), but don't be fooled: The steaks here are USDA Prime and darn good. The 30-item salad bar is old-school and well-stocked, baked potatoes are the size of your head, and the 24-ounce porterhouse (the top seller) is, like all the steaks, heavily salted and peppered, seared in an infrared broiler, basted in butter, then placed back in the broiler to crisp up the crust. 

One of America's oldest restaurants (and the oldest in Denver), the Buckhorn Exchange was opened by Henry "Shorty Scout" Zietz in 1893, an era when cattlemen, miners, railroad workers, silver barons, Indian chiefs, drifters and businessmen all dined under the same roof. The restaurant was awarded the first liquor license in the state of Colorado, and the menu remains mostly unchanged to this day. The Buckhorn is a true Wild West holdout with its circa-1857 antique bar, wooden fixtures, 575-piece taxidermy collection, 125-piece gun collection and a menu that reflects that good old American desire to eat some red meat. For those who really want to celebrate being on top of the food chain, there are plenty of exotic meats on offer including elk, quail and buffalo (and sometimes ostrich and yak). But if you're in the mood for UDSA Prime steak, we suggest you go for the Big Steak, a New York strip loin carved tableside and available for two (2 pounds) to five (4 pounds) guests. 

The oldest steakhouse in Wilmington, Delaware, also serves some of the best prime rib you'll have anywhere, available in four different sizes (ranging from 10 to 34 ounces) and cut from either the chuck or sirloin side. (It's also available on a fresh onion roll with horseradish cream.) Rib-eye steak, fillet, New York strip and porterhouse round out the steaks on offer at Walter's, and guests who dine there on Sundays and Thursdays can visit a complimentary seafood bar.

Located in a former Clorox factory in up-and-coming Inman Park, Kevin Rathbun Steak is part of an Atlanta, Georgia, empire that also includes Rathbun's and Krog Bar, all located on the same street. At his spacious, whimsically appointed steakhouse, Rathbun serves steakhouse classics like escargots, seafood towers, dry-aged porterhouse for two and three, a 22-ounce cowboy rib-eye and 16-ounce New York strips; but there's also a wide selection of items that you don't see on most steakhouse menus like Coca-Cola baby back pork ribs, eggplant fries, lobster fritters, ahi tuna poke and Asian-style meatballs. If you go twice, order whatever you like. But if you only go once, get the steak; we'd recommend that cowboy rib-eye. 

Upscale and classy Boise, Idaho, restaurant Chandlers features a stylish martini bar, live jazz nightly, and four varieties of beef: USDA Prime from Chairman's Reserve, natural and organic grass-fed beef from Oregon's Painted Hills, American Kobe from Snake River Farms, and Japanese wagyu. The 8-ounce center-cut American Kobe might just be the single best steak you'll find in the state, especially when paired with house-made béarnaise and a side of crazy good mashed potatoes. Chandler's also happens to have one of the state's best seafood selections – you just might forget it's landlocked.

Setting foot in St. Elmo is like stepping back in time ­— to 1902 Indianapolis, Indiana, to be exact. The saloon-style décor hasn't changed save for a '90s-era expansion, and neither has the menu: There's a wide selection of wet-aged steaks and chops, a classic shrimp cocktail with sinus-clearing cocktail sauce and saltines, a wedge salad, and a loaded baked potato, all served with the professionalism you'd expect from a place that's been doing it for more than 100 years (one waiter has been on staff since 1976). St. Elmo is steakhouse-meets-comfort food, an inviting place where time really stands still. However, that commitment to keeping the past alive doesn't mean that quality suffers; the menu proudly displays the names of 17 local sources for the food served.

At the 61-year-old Hereford House, steaks are locally raised, hand-cut and certified Angus; let your server know exactly how big you want your steak or prime rib to be, and it's all yours. Aside from Kansas City strip, rib-eye, top sirloin, prime rib, porterhouse and fillet, country fried steaks, pork ribs and burgers are also favorites. 

This French Quarter power broker staple, which is located in a clubby, basement-level space, is a regular hangout for the city's wheelers and dealers and high-rollers. With a swanky bar and six private dining rooms, Dickie Brennan's serves USDA Prime steaks with a creative Louisiana twist; the 6-ounce house fillet is topped with fried oysters and béarnaise sauce, the barbecue rib-eye is topped with Abita beer barbecue shrimp; and any steak can be topped with jumbo lump crabmeat or Danish blue cheese. That's not to say that you should avoid unadorned steaks; the 16-ounce strip is seared in a cast-iron skillet and just might be New Orleans' finest steak. 

In business since 1921 and in its current incarnation since 1989, this refined and classic institution is an Annapolis, Maryland, legend. The focused menu at Lewnes' is full of all the steakhouse classics: start with shrimp cocktail or stellar jumbo lump crab balls (this is Maryland, after all), follow it up with a New York strip or rib-eye with some hash browns and sautéed spinach, and chase it down with a selection from their ample wine list. A couple Greek specialties, like garides scortholemono (Aegean-style shrimp) and a popular Greek salad, are nods to the owners' heritage.

Michael Symon is one of America's most fearless, fun and unpredictable chefs, and at his entry into the Detroit, Michigan. dining scene, all of this is evident and more. The dinner menu at Roast contains delicious and unexpected twists including beef cheek pierogies, pork belly with watermelon and halloumi, and "roast beast" with cassoulet and pork sausage, but the steak selection isn't fooling around. Dishes like filet mignon with crab bearnaise, dry-aged New York strip with smoked mushroom conserva, dry-aged rib-eye with preserved lemon and smoked garlic, and dry-aged porterhouse for two with marbled potato and caramelized onion will make immediately obvious why Symon is one of Food Network's Iron Chefs.

Founded by Dominick "Doe" Signa and his wife, Marnie, in 1941, this Mississippi legend got its start as a honky-tonk that sold great tamales. Over time, the honky-tonk gave way to a full-service restaurant, but the tamales are still legendary. Even more legendary are the steaks. Doe's might be the most downscale and shabby steakhouse in America (guests enter through the kitchen), but that's all a part of the charm; the restaurant is one of the best holes-in-the-wall in America and is even listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's not a gimmick, however: These enormous steaks are rubbed with proprietary seasoning, cooked under a ripping-hot broiler, and served with a ladle of rich jus. Doe's isn't just a restaurant — it's an experience.

Since 1979, Jake's has firmly held onto its reputation as Montana's finest steakhouse, with a "cowboy chic" atmosphere and steaks that are sourced locally and cooked perfectly. Their prime rib (the house specialty) is the stuff of legend, slow roasted and served au jus and with horseradish, but you also can't go wrong with 16-ounce rib-eye (dusted with house seasoning), 14-ounce center-cut New York strip, or 8-ounce baseball cut top sirloin. Their Big Montana Steak Salad is another top seller, and make sure you start with their hot Dungeness crab dip.

At Las Vegas, Nevada's Bazaar Meat, the ceaselessly energetic José Andrés includes plenty of Spanish tastes as well as an extensive raw bar and "meat from the sea" (fish to you), but while pedants might argue that this isn't exactly a steakhouse, the focus is appropriately meaty. With a menu of carpaccio, tartares, cured meats and, yes, serious beef rib steaks from California, Oregon and Washington state, including a chateaubriand from the Golden State's Brandt Beef served with truffle sauce and pommes soufflés, Bazaar Meat can provide pretty much all the meat you need when you're out on the town.

Even though it's located on the opposite side of the Hudson River from Manhattan, just south of the George Washington Bridge, Edgewater, New Jersey's River Palm Terrace can rank right up there with the big boys across the water. All steaks are Black Angus USDA Prime, dry-aged in-house for 28 days, and sliced daily by their in-house butcher, and seafood is purchased daily from New York's Hunts Point Market, with at least six fresh varieties (and some surprisingly great sushi) on offer daily. New York strips, fillets, T-bones and porterhouses for two are given a deep sear under a ripping-hot broiler, and nearly every other item on the menu is equally worthy of praise.

When you sit down at your table at the perpetually packed Peter Luger, located in an off-the-beaten-path corner of Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood, don't ask for a menu. Just order the tomato and onion salad, some thick-cut bacon, creamed spinach, hash browns, and the steak for three, a massive porterhouse broiled under extreme heat before being sliced and presented on a platter. Sure, the wait staff might be a bit gruff in this surprisingly casual German-styled old steakhouse that's been here since 1887, but that's all a part of the show. The star attraction, the steak, is simply the best you'll find anywhere in New York (along with the porterhouse, an equally impressive rib steak is also available). It's dry-aged and butchered on the premises, and when it's presented, in all its crusty, well-marbled, beefy glory, your jaw will drop. The lunch-only burger, made with more than a half-pound of aged trimmings, is also one of America's best.

Each of the five dining rooms at the spacious 40 Steak & Seafood represents a different aspect of North Dakota — women of the prairie, cattlemen, governors, oil booms, families — and they each offer different décor and furnishings. USDA Prime steaks offered include boneless rib-eye, bacon-wrapped fillet, flat iron, and hanger steak with gorgonzola mustard and bacon. But for a quintessential North Dakota culinary experience, splurge on one of their bone-in rib-eyes, dry-aged for either 90, 150, or a whopping 260 days. That's certainly something you don't see too often.

Not to be confused with Cattleman's Steakhouse down in Texas or any of the other restaurants with the same name across the country, the 106-year-old Cattlemen's Steakhouse, located in the heart of famed Stockyards City, is one of Oklahoma's oldest continually operating restaurants. The no-frills temple to the noble steer is as popular with cowboy-hatted locals as it is with the city's hoi polloi. One look at what's on everybody's plate — beef, for breakfast, lunch and dinner — will tell you what this place is all about, as will the giant illuminated photo of grazing cattle along the back wall. The beef here is sourced locally, aged "according to a closely guarded house secret," the website says, portioned out on premises, broiled under an intense charcoal fire, and served with natural jus. Go for the T-bone after your appetizer of lamb fries (don't be afraid, they're good), and finish it off with a slice of homemade pie. Now that's a country steak dinner we can hang our hats on.

Sure, this Stephen Starr steakhouse on Rittenhouse Square might boast a selection of as many as seven different steak knives and a $100 wagyu rib-eye and foie gras cheesesteak that comes with a half-bottle of Perrier-Jouët, but that doesn't mean that Barclay Prime is gimmicky. The restaurant replaces red leather with green and yellow suede, a clubby soundtrack and slightly incongruous crystal chandeliers. While the setting is undoubtedly 21st-century, the menu is as classic as can be: Steaks are dry-aged for 28 days, and the rib-eye, from New York's Gachot & Gachot, is arguably the best steak in all of Pennsylvania — and there's world-class service to boot. Don't forget to order the shrimp cocktail; these monsters come four to a pound.

Chef Jeremiah Bacon, who's spent time in kitchens including New York's Le Bernardin and Per Se, might have a porky last name, but beef is the star of the show at Charleston, South Carolina, showstopper Oak Steakhouse. The dry-aged certified Angus steaks come sizzling on a hot platter (with local shrimp compound butter on top). While the steak, including a prime bone-in rib-eye and a New York strip, is certainly the menu's centerpiece, Bacon brings a farm-to-table approach to the entire menu with standout dishes like house-made charcuterie, pan-seared sea scallops with smoked grapefruit puree, and a daily rotating seafood selection depending on what's available at the market that morning.

The classy and stylish Kayne Prime is a Nashville, Tennessee, must-visit, run by M Street, one of the city's most successful and trend-setting restaurant groups. Their market-driven menu is impeccably sourced, and it's one of the few steakhouses in the country to list exactly where each cut comes from: The fillet and New York strip are from Birmingham's Evans Meats; wagyu filet is from Missouri's Premier Proteins; wagyu strip comes from Greg Norman Ranch in Australia; and flat iron, dry-aged bone-in rib-eye, and bone-in fillet come from Michael's Meats in Columbus, Ohio. Steaks are cooked under a 1,200-degree broiler, and served with your choice of nine toppings, including truffle béarnaise, yuzu chimichurri, foie gras and bone marrow butter. Make sure you try the risotto tater tots and macaroni and cheese on the side.

Opened in 2014, Harbor Seafood & Steak Co. has gained legions of loyal Salt Lake City, Utah, regulars thanks to its commitment to sourcing seasonal produce, high-quality wild-caught seafood and (most importantly) wagyu steaks from Snake River Farms. As the name might imply, the seafood dishes here are exceptional, but the wagyu, served with creative sides, is where the menu really shines. Choose from a fillet (either 4 or 7 ounces) with blue cheese, bacon, peas and pancetta; sirloin with mac and cheese, broccolini and almonds; or rib-eye with green beans, toasted hazelnuts and roasted garlic mashed potatoes; top it off with shrimp, crab, lobster or scallops; and wash it all down with a glass of wine from the Pacific Northwest.

Restaurateur Michael Landrum is, as far we most people are concerned, the king of the Arlington culinary scene. He serves the state's best burgers at Ray's Hell Burger and Virgina's best steaks at Ray's The Steaks, and that's not even exaggerating. Steaks here are dry-aged for 45 days before being hand-trimmed, seasoned with their signature rub and grilled over an open flame. A variety of cuts and styles are available, but you can't go wrong with the New York strip, available in either the "classic" or "steakhouse" cut. The prices are also insanely reasonable. 

Charlie Palmer firmly established himself as one of the country's finest chefs when he opened Aureole in New York in 1988, and since then he's expanded his empire to bars and restaurants throughout the country, including four locations of Charlie Palmer Steak. They're all unique, however, and there's no other steakhouse in America quite like the Washington, D.C., location. Dishes including locally sourced blue crab cocktail, Chesapeake Bay crab cakes, and local heirloom tomatoes with watermelon and local feta demonstrate a commitment to using local and seasonal ingredients; and offerings like house-made charcuterie, pan-roasted Louisiana prawns with aged cheddar grits, and sheep's milk ricotta agnolotti with fennel, navel orange, marcona almond and aged balsamic prove that just as much attention is paid to the rest of the menu as the steaks. And as for those steaks, they include cowboy-cut bone-in rib-eye, Snake River Farms wagyu strip steak, 21-day dry-aged bone-in New York strip, and porterhouse for two with bacon lardons and pearl onions. Want seared foie gras or stuffed poached blue crab on that? Go for it. The sides are amazing too.

Paul Bartolotta is a renowned Wisconsin restaurateur, best known for his 20-plus-year-old Bartolotta Ristorante on the outskirts of Milwaukee, but he's proven that he's mastered the art of steak with his nearby Mr. B's. At this classic Italian steakhouse, the steaks are aged for up to 35 days and are flown in fresh from Nebraska or Colorado. Sit out on the patio and go for the 35-day-aged prime Colorado rib-eye; on a gorgeous night with the stars overhead, you just might think you've gone to carnivore heaven.