The 8 Greatest Steaks Served in New York City

From Tomahawk to A5 Wagyu
Here's the beef By STACEY LASTOE

Prime Côte de Boeuf for Two at Francie

134 Broadway, Brooklyn,

Boldly opening up shop just a couple of blocks away from steakhouse legend Peter Luger, this Brooklyn restaurant housed in a former bank—with impressive, requisite high ceilings to boot—is serving much more than steak for two via its cote du boeuf.

Francie’s meat de resistance is an over-the-top dry-aged, bone-in ribeye. Designed to serve two, the 40-oz. behemoth is from Creekstone Farms, in Arkansas city, Kansas.

Long Bone Prime Rib at Quality Meats

57 W 58th St, New York

With a name like Quality Meats, there’s little question as to what’s for dinner.

But decisions still must be made at this meat-centric, Midtown West establishment. While all the steak is of high-quality (the name is immodestly on-point), the real standout here is the double-cut tomahawk ribsteak.

The 50-oz. hunk of meat comes to New York by way of Washington State’s Double R Ranch.

The long bone prime rib, rubbed liberally with fresh herbs, whole garlic and butter, is cooked under a low heat for five hours before a quick trip to the broiler to encourage a nice charred exterior.

A5 Japanese Wagyu at Cote

16 W 22nd St, New York

This hip but seriously dedicated Flatiron restaurant blends elements of classic Korean barbecue and modern American steakhouse to execute one of the city’s finest interpretations of steak you simply cannot replicate at home.

There aren’t too many places in town where you can find authentic A5 Japanese Wagyu, but Cote is one of them.

Prized for its buttery texture, Cote’s team says the beef from Miyazaki Prefecture, a region on the Southern tip of Japan’s Kyushu Island, has signature “snowflake-like” marbling and melt-in-the-mouth appeal.

Caramelized to perfection on smokeless grills at each guest’s table, it’s so fantastically rich and buttery that a little really does go a long way for once.

Filet Oscar at Strip House

13 E 12th St, New York Downtown

Among steak connoisseurs, the filet mignon doesn’t tend to get a lot of love.

The cut is known for its soft, flawless texture but not for its funky or particularly nuanced flavor profile.

Still, the safe bet that is this premium cut of meat at Strip House downtown doesn’t ask that you eat it on its own for maximum enjoyment—not when you can opt to have it Oscar style.

Tomahawk at St. Anselm

355 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn

he head-turning axe handle at St. Anselm is a ribeye steak with the entire rib bone left attached.

“A lot of butchers will sell bone-in ribeyes with the bone attached but trimmed short so it doesn’t extend beyond the meat.

We leave our bones fully intact,” explains chef Hannah Lyons, who adds that aside from the cool presentation factor, the good amount of meat and fat on the bone is another reason they don’t trim it down

Porterhouse for Two at Keens Steakhouse

72 W 36th St, New York

The 36-oz. bone-in porterhouse for two at Keens is a timeless dish.

The USDA Prime meat is handpicked—they look for, “heavily marbled, starry night marbling,” as more flecks [of fat] indicate juicy and tender steak results.

After selecting the steaks from purveyors including Master’s Provision, Strassburgers and AVA, the meat is marked with a Keens stamp and then delivered to the restaurant to be weighed, tagged and aged on premise in a climate controlled, refrigerated environment.

The meat is aged for three weeks in 34 to 38 degrees before being butchered in house for service.

Tomahawk Chop at American Cut

363 Greenwich St, New York

If you’re looking for the sexiest steakhouse in New York City, this swanky spot in TriBeCa from chef Marc Forgione is your best bet.

Deeply dimmed lighting, rich leather banquettes and multiple dishes finished with flair tableside may make you wonder if the meat can actually live up to the sultry surroundings.

But that it does, particularly evidenced in the restaurant’s 30-day dry aged tomahawk chop.

From Creekstone Farms, the halal-certified meat is lightly seasoned and put out to char under a blazing hot broiler before being moved to a cast iron pan where, inimitable steakhouse steak crust intact, it finishes cooking.

Flat Iron Steak at the Tavern

37 Hudson Yards, New York

What the flat iron may be lacking in experience (the version chef Linda Luo serves has no age on it), it makes up for in soft, melt-in-your-mouth tenderness—thanks to painstaking in-house butchery.

The 8-oz. grass-fed cut comes to Hudson Yards via Painted Hills Natural Beef in Fossil, Oregon, at which point the connective tissue (something which Luo notes is a deterrent to some chefs) is removed with precision to reveal the most tender meat.

At The Tavern, it’s grilled and glazed with Bordelaise sauce, a rich concoction made from red wine, beef bones, and thyme and fortified with leftover bits from the butchery.

Stacey Lastoe

Writer. Editor. Producer.

Writer. Editor. Producer. I've been working in digital media for over 10 years. Before that, I worked in book publishing — on English composition textbooks. I love grammar and punctuation, so it wasn’t as dry as you might think.

After getting a feel for life as a New Yorker, I decided to set the whole career thing aside for a bit and backpack around South America. Many years later, when I snagged a job working on Anthony Bourdain’s website Explore Parts Unknown, it seemed like things had truly come full circle. The Emmy my team won for our work on Little Los Angeles was a highlight.

I live with my husband and dog in Brooklyn, NY and Southern Vermont.

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