9 Steakhouse Chains With the Highest-Quality Meat In America
When dining out at one of America's best steakhouses, it goes without saying that it's the beefier the better—but the quality of said beef truly differentiates a "better" steak from the "best" steak. Storied temples of Americana, from fine dining to casual institutions, steakhouses are oft associated with celebrations, date nights, and power lunches, so it should go hand-in-hand that these are the kinds of restaurants that truly invest the time, effort, and expense to ensure that quality is as elevated as the environs.
Of course, not every steakhouse is made the same, and there are questionable steakhouse meals that would send a shiver down a dietician's spine. But when the meat quality is second to none, you can at least rest assured that you're getting the best beef on the market. In 2024, with more quality steakhouses than ever, we're spoiled by a wealth of options. That's why it helps to dig a little deeper and discover the above-and-beyond nuances that separate the "better" steak from the "best."
What makes the best steak?
No matter where you dine, you can expect a few standard menu items at any good-quality steakhouse. "Most steakhouses always have prime cuts of steaks, an extensive selection of great quality seafood, and signature appetizers," says chef Samual Taganeca of Hawaii's 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay. The key factors that make a difference have to do with how these steakhouses procure and prepare these familiar favorites. "With these staple steakhouse items that are on a majority of the nation's menus, it's important to hone the integrity of that steakhouse concept, always trying to elevate those dishes," Taganeca says.
Steaks come in a variety of different grades, from lower-quality USDA Select to top-notch USDA Prime, with most of that criteria boiling down to inter-muscular fat and how much, or how little, of that richness permeates the beef. While some may scoff at fattier cuts, they're actually graded higher for the added flavor and texture that comes from all that marbling. To put it into context, some of America's more widespread and more casual chains, like Texas Roadhouse, typically traffic in mid-range USDA Choice cuts. And while there's certainly nothing wrong with that, it's a notch below the higher-grade items sought after in more refined steakhouses that tend to go the extra mile with regard to sourcing, butchering, and cooking.
Samuel McCandless, executive chef at Corrida steakhouse in Boulder, Colo., vouches for the huge difference a quality steak can make over a meager one. "Sourcing beef from regenerative farms is more of a challenge than sourcing, say, commodity beef, but it's important to know where your beef is coming from, how it lived, how it was harvested, and what that means for the bigger picture," says the chef. "Maybe it's not the first thing you think about when you're eating a delicious steak, but it's becoming a bigger part of the conversation, and that's what matters." Adding that a good steak "should be prepared as simply as possible," McCandless highlights the fact that high-quality meat doesn't need bells and whistles to make it shine. "Let the quality of the beef speak for itself."
For some restaurants, quality means dry-aging steaks in-house. For others, it's a commitment to USDA Prime Beef. And for others still, it's shooting for the stars and sourcing the finest meat on the market, like Japanese Wagyu. The United States is teeming with steakhouses that take these extra steps to ensure that quality is front and center. Today, with more steakhouse options than ever, chain restaurants are distinguishing themselves via quality, every step of the way. From diligent sourcing to crafty cooking, these are the steakhouse chains doing it right.
Ruth's Chris Steak House
Riding the momentum of a national comeback, culminating with being named America's favorite restaurant this year, one of the country's largest steakhouse chains owes at least part of its recent renaissance to the quality of its meat. Ruth's Chris champions the idea of simplicity, serving its meat on a sizzling 500-degree plate with nothing more than butter, salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of parsley. It's a philosophy that works well when the products are as top-notch as the chain's USDA Prime cuts, rigorously sourced by reputable purveyors, and held to high standards.
"The steakhouse prides itself on its selection of only the finest cuts of USDA Prime beef that are cooked to perfection via its beloved broiling method and served on a 500-degree sizzling plate to maintain that 'last bite as good as the first' philosophy," a spokesperson tells Eat This, Not That! "Ruth's Chris' USDA Prime cuts are sourced by nationally recognized premium beef suppliers that are top-quality, well-marbled, and hand-selected grass- and corn-fed Midwestern beef."
From filets and bone-in ribeyes to T-bones and porterhouses, the meat comes from cows that start on grass-fed diets before switching to corn-fed, to achieve a specific flavor and quality, all while adhering to USDA's guidelines for grading, quality, testing, and ethical sourcing. It's a standard that founder Ruth Fertel would be proud of.
"The restaurant chain's founder, Ruth, only picked the best cuts served with warm hospitality and good times, and they proudly continue to do the same," adds a spokesperson.
Fogo de Chão
Fogo de Chão may be a beloved and fast-growing American chain, but it takes its Brazilian steakhouse philosophies to heart. Namely, at the core of its meat-sourcing philosophy is the ethos of "Respeito Pela Comida," a Portuguese phrase that speaks to the Brazilian gaucho way of nurturing, harvesting, and sourcing food with respect—for farmers, for animals, and for customers who appreciate quality food.
For its roster of 21-day aged steaks, all sourced from the United States, the restaurant puts concerted efforts into partnering with vendors whose beliefs and ethics align with its own. This includes the "five freedoms of animal welfare," a guideline put in place by the Farm Animal Welfare Committee for sustainable sourcing and animal health, both mental and physical. It means that all the beef served at Fogo comes from cows that live happy, healthy lives in wide-open spaces, free of hunger, thirst, discomfort, pain, or distress.
When it comes to sourcing meat, the chain is so ardent about these tenets that it requests all suppliers provide animal welfare statements, results of third-party audits for adherence, and sustainability certifications. In 2019, Fogo de Chao became the first steakhouse chain in America to use HerdX, an agri-tech company that tracks and traces the meat it sources.
The Capital Grille
Among the best steakhouse chains for USDA Prime beef and dry-aged steaks, where meat is hand-carved by in-house butchers, the Capital Grille is a nationwide icon whose ritzy confines and devout popularity (reportedly raking in over $500 million in 2022) match its high-end quality. A favorite among chefs, whose well-honed palates are versed in the nuances of meat quality, much of the Capital Grille's success can be attested to that quality. As evidenced by its online Capital Butcher, which allows customers to order their own steakhouse-quality cuts to cook at home, the brand exhibits a kind of proud transparency that both talks the talk and walks the walk.
It helps, too, that the chain goes above and beyond with decadent preparations befitting the quality of its meat, such as sliced filet mignon with cipollini onions and fig essence, porcini-rubbed bone-in rib-eye with 15-year-aged balsamic, Kona coffee-crusted dry-aged New York strip with shallot butter, seared tenderloin with butter-poached lobster tails, and dry-aged New York strip au poivre with Courvoisier cream.
Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House
With dining rooms so extravagant that they look like something off the Titanic, it's crystal-clear that Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House is the kind of snazzy steakhouse chain that goes the extra several miles. Far beyond superficiality, though, there's serious depth and cred to be found on the menu, and in the kitchen too. Founded in 1981, as an extravagant homage to the classic American steakhouse, this is a brand that has honed that vision over the subsequent decades — perfecting it, seasoning it, and guaranteeing nothing less than the best.
Like any top-notch steakhouse worth its sea salt, Del Frisco's serves aged USDA Prime beef for its menus, and for dishes as simple and pure as beef carpaccio, to burlier show-stoppers like a 32-oz. Prime tomahawk. There are also 45-day dry-aged steaks, and this is also one of the rare steakhouse chains to procure rare—and elite—Japanese A5 Wagyu. The fact that Del Frisco's also uses Wagyu beef for something as familiar as meatballs says a lot about the brand and its commitment to quality.
Morton's The Steakhouse
With high class comes with a high price tag. Morton's The Steakhouse is certainly on the spendier end when it comes to steakhouse chains in America, but it's for good reason. Not only has it been recorded to have tremendous service staff, but the meat is some of the best quality you can buy. Morton's uses USDA Prime Beef, and per the company website, it's "aged for 23-28 days and is custom-cut per Morton's specification, by a network of experienced meat cutters." In fact, it's some of the best dry-aged steak you can find. The beef used has been widely deemed as "first-class" and containing such quality that is "sheer luxury," by The Buffalo News. A recent review by Business Insider called the restaurant one of the best values at a steakhouse. Because Prime-grade beef makes up only 2% of the meat market, according to Mashed, Morton's is a special location for everyday consumers to get their hands on top-notch steak.
Mastro's Steakhouse
When an upscale steakhouse is equally as revered for its top-shelf seafood as it is for its namesake steaks, you know you're in the right place. Mastro's Steakhouse is that kind of place—the decadent dining destination, and special occasion sensation, where everything on the menu is of the utmost quality. On the turf side, the menu features 28-day wet-aged USDA Prime steaks, cooked in a 1,500-degree broiler and served sizzling with butter. In addition to racking up awards for its wine program, including being named the 2024 Grand Award Winner by Wine Spectator, the brand proudly touts its mission statement centered around creating the "finest experience for our guests by combining the highest quality steaks and seafood, with exceptional service."
Pappas Bros. Steakhouse
If ever there was a steakhouse that understands quality, it's a beloved institution born in the steak-happy state of Texas. A Lone Star State mini chain, with locations in Dallas and Houston, Pappas Bros. Steakhouse is a worthy exemplar of quality, in a state particularly proud of its beef. In addition to a world-class wine program, with over 3,900 distinct wines curated by master sommelier Steven McDonald, the steakhouse specializes in a secret dry-aging process, and a long-held family-run commitment to quality.
Starting from the source, Pappas Bros. gets all its beef—corn-fed USDA Prime, no less—from a single packer in the Midwest. In-house butchers break down the meat, and it's placed in a humidity-controlled freezer for at least 28 days, allowing the moisture to dissipate, and the flavors to concentrate. Simply seasoned with kosher salt and black pepper, and finished with butter, it allows the integrity and quality of the steaks to shine on their own merits. Every step of the way, it's the kind of careful and diligent sourcing and preparation that you typically find in an independent, chef-driven establishment. But Pappas Bros. proves that, no matter your business model or background, Texas does beef right.
STK
Any steakhouse transparent enough to sell fresh cuts of prime beef direct to customers is clearly proud of its product. One of America's fastest growing steakhouse chains, STK is known for its sexy decor and self-described "vibe dining." It started shipping steaks direct to customers as part of its new STK Meat Market in late 2021.
Not only does it provide opportunities for a much larger consumer base (i.e. customers who don't live in one of the U.S. cities where the restaurants are located), but it shows that the operators have got nothing to hide and that their meat quality speaks for itself.
The chain sources beef exclusively from the Midwest, either USDA Choice or Prime cuts from Angus cattle, with the former finished on a corn-fed diet that lends added marbling, richness, and tenderness. All steaks, aside from a few dry-aged options, are wet-aged for at least 30 days.
Whether you're cooking your own STK steak at home, or dining on an 8-ounce flat iron or 16-ounce cowgirl ribeye (perhaps even gilded with lobster butter) at one of their locations, the quality and care that goes into the meat, every step of the way, is palpable.
Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab
Seafood may take top billing at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, but don't sleep on the meat at this surf and turf mecca. With locations in Chicago, Las Vegas, and Washington, D.C., this swanky mini-chain trades exclusively in top-quality ingredients, be it from sea or land.
"It is paramount to, first and foremost, build strong relationships with our purveyors," explains chef-partner Justin Diglia of the restaurants' core tenets. "They are the ones we rely on when it comes to consistently sourcing the highest quality beef and butchering it to our specifications. When the meat arrives at the restaurant, we have a highly trained receiver that weighs and inspects every steak to ensure it's up to Joe's standards. And then finally, our kitchen team taste-tests steaks weekly to ensure the flavor profiles are up to par."
All the beef hails from the Midwest, where the climate actually makes for a mean piece of meat. "Our harsh winters and abundance of natural resources produce some of the best beef in the world," adds the chef. "All of our beef is corn-finished giving depth of flavor and a nutty finish."
Menu options run the gamut from dry-aged chopped steak and a 16-ounce New York strip to bone-in ribeye and filet mignon Oscar-style with king crab, asparagus, and Bearnaise sauce. It's one of the favorite steakhouse chains among chefs, with the likes of Jonathon Sawyer of Chicago's Kindling calling Joe's meat "only the finest cuts of beef."
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