The Most Underrated Steakhouse Restaurants In The US, According To Meat Experts

Securing a good steak isn't as simple as sitting down at your nearest steakhouse, ordering a ribeye, and hoping for the best. Any beef lover will tell you that the quality of steak varies massively from restaurant to restaurant — and just because one location's menu comes with a hefty price tag, doesn't mean its steak is up there with the best beef on the market.

That's why we're pretty picky about where we order our steak. Not everyone likes it the same way, but a good steakhouse should have the skills and experience to plate up medium-rare and well-done steaks that are both equally delicious. Fortunately, there's no shortage of steakhouse recommendations out there. After all, the U.S. is a nation of beef eaters; in fact, it consumes more beef than any other country in the world. However, some are better known than others, with every city harboring its own hidden gems that definitely don't generate enough hype (and, in some cases, are even more buzzworthy than the restaurants clogging your Instagram feed).

To dig out these gems, we went straight to the experts. We spoke to sustainable and ethical meat expert Kimberly Plafke, food blogger and founder of Girl Carnivore Kita Roberts, and David Rose — a Food Network regular and executive chef at Omaha Steaks — all of whom know a thing or two about standout steaks. From California to New York, these some of their favorite underrated steakhouses.

Los Angeles is overflowing with hyped restaurants, but "hype" doesn't always equal "good food." In Kimberly Plafke's opinion, American Beauty is one of the true culinary jewels in its crown. Located on Rose Avenue in Venice, the steakhouse is only a short walk from the beach, uses fresh, local ingredients, and grills all of its beef cuts — from Iowa Co-Op teres major to Creekstone filet mignon – over almond wood before finishing them with a simple treatment of butter and salt.

An expert in sustainable and ethical meat, the background of this beef is part of what makes American Beauty a standout in Plafke's eyes. "What I like most about American Beauty is that they offer a variety of beef from different co-ops and farms, including from Santa Carota Farm, which specializes in Grass Fed Carrot Finished Beef," she says. "This is an uncommon way to feed beef, however it's perfect for people looking for sustainable beef but feel like grass-fed and finished is too lean, and grass-fed grain finished is too fatty."

Beyond the beef, Plafke is a big fan of the entire dining experience at American Beauty. "You don't leave feeling heavy and sweaty due to the impressive amount of creative vegetable offers instead of classic steakhouse sides," she explains. Indeed, the veggie options at American Beauty are pretty extensive, with glazed carrots, charred broccolini, and coal roasted zucchini among the healthy alternatives to the traditional fries-and-meat combo.

Hopping over to the East Coast, Cozy Royale is nestled in East Williamsburg where, true to its name, it offers a cozy respite from the typical hustle and bustle of New York. It describes itself as "the place where the bartender remembers your name," or "a nostalgic fix for all that ails you." Kimberly Plafke has her own description of Cozy Royale. "It isn't technically a steakhouse, but it eats like one," she says. It's run by the same team that opened Williamsburg's popular butchery The Meat Hook (where Plafke herself was once a team member), so extremely well-versed in the art of a perfect steak.

Following the same grass-fed and sustainable model as The Meat Hook, Cozy Royale offers the likes of chicken piccata, rigatoni alla vodka, and cheeseburgers. However, the steak department is where it really shines, with Plafke listing its steak frites and steak tartare as some of the highlights. It's also just generally an all-round good time, which is always a bonus. "It's a super casual and upbeat environment that takes its meat seriously, but doesn't take itself very seriously," says Plafke. "What I love about Cozy Royale and The Meat Hook is that it proves that everyday restaurants can follow a sustainable, more environment and animal friendly model, and still be fun and successful and tasty as hell." Now that's a winning combo if we ever heard one.

Founded by Chef Richard Sandoval, Toro Toro Miami touts itself as a modern steakhouse that draws on the flavorful staples that define Latin cooking. While you can also find two Toro Toro locations in Texas – plus international outlets in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Malta — it's the Florida location that's rightfully earned a prized spot on Kimberly Plafke's list of standout steakhouses in the U.S.

Vibes-wise, she describes it as "sleek and sexy but charged with energy," bolstered by a solid lineup of dry-aged and USDA prime cut steaks that are all cooked on a rodizio style churrasco grill (which, in her opinion, "gives the best kind of deep char of any grill I've worked with"). While you can always count on tastiness, your exact experience at Toro Toro depends on when you visit. As Plafke notes, the restaurant showcases different Latin American countries on a daily basis. "Each time you go, you may see a different style and flavor profile," she says. That variety in itself is part of Toro Toro's magic. "This place truly shows the influence of the community and heritage of Latin culture, which make up such a huge part of Florida," Plafke adds.

Tucked next to Lake Travis in a residential community in Austin, Steiner Ranch Steakhouse boasts stellar steaks and heaps of Texas history. Its name stems from Steiner Ranch — the 5,200-acre working cattle ranch founded by Steiner Rodeo Company. Credited for combining the power of celebrity with the thrill of the rodeo, you can still find pictures from the company's heyday in Steiner Ranch Steakhouse's tack room.

Unfortunately, this isn't a dinner and a show kind of situation. Any actual rodeo performances are long gone; Steiner Ranch started shifting into an upscale housing development in the late 1980s after decades of housing bronco bulls and wild horses. As per Kimberly Plafke, however, the restaurant still retains plenty of the ranch's natural charm and rodeo heritage. "The views are insane," she says, "and while there, you get to learn about the very, very Texas history of the property."

Most importantly, you get to eat some darn good steak (that's earned the restaurant some equally impressive reviews in its time). "The steakhouse menu itself houses all the classics, and some with a little Tex-Mex flair," Plafke says. It features various premium beef cuts, all of which are seasoned and broiled to order, then topped with Steiner Ranch Steakhouse's house butter blend, caramelized shallots, and chives. They're also served with mashed potatoes and that day's veggie offering — assuming you're not already full. As Plafke teases, "There is a reason people say everything is bigger in Texas."

Technically, no, this isn't a steakhouse. In fact, by day, it isn't even a restaurant. Beast and Cleaver is a family-owned butcher shop in Seattle that specializes in sustainable meat, and, in Kimberly Plafke's words, boasts "the best beef, pork, and poultry on the West Coast." It's committed to using as much of the animal as possible to reduce waste and, in its own words, "respect the lives that sustain us" (via Beast and Cleaver).

On Thursdays and Fridays, it puts this ethos into practice by transforming the shop into a whole new kind of beast — a "small, yet lively, restaurant" with its own inventive meat-focused tasting menu known as The Peasant. Come Saturdays and Sundays, Beast and Cleaver hosts The Beastro, where customers can order steak dishes à la carte.

"This showcases incredibly unique techniques on how to utilize 100% of the animal," Plafke explains "Garums, ferments, koji aging, charcuterie and the like — but there is always a show stopper main meat. When I was there most recently it was a fillet and it was possibly the best piece of meat I've ever eaten." Plafke, as a butcher, claims to usually hate fillets due to the fact that they contain no fat and, consequently, no flavor. However, she has nothing but praise for the way the team at Beast and Cleaver prep their meat by "[poaching] fillets in wine, fat, aromatics and [serving] it as is — no searing, no grilling."

Cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs and catching a peek of Taylor Swift hanging out with the other VIPs are no longer the only reasons to visit GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. It may not be a traditional restaurant (for one thing, we can guarantee that your dining experience will be considerably louder than at your average eatery), but Chef David Rose still considers Arrowhead Stadium — which has long been renowned for its barbecue and previously placed fifth in Mashed's ranking of NFL stadiums offering the best food — to be one of the most underrated steakhouses in the U.S.

Why? It serves Omaha Steaks Certified Tender steaks. "Certified Tender is a hard-to-achieve USDA designation for these hand-butchered and aged filets," Rose explains. Not just any steak can qualify as Certified Tender. As per the USDA, specific beef muscles need to pass a "slice shear force test" to meet this standard — which, if you're not fluent in steak, basically means it's certified its tastiness and juiciness. In Rose's words, that's perfect for "hungry football fans seeking elevated football fans." Of course, you'll need to actually already have a reason to be at Arrowhead Stadium to try it for yourself, but if you do, at least you know that you're in for one heck of a pre-game meal.

In the suburbs of Atlanta — Roswell, to be precise — you'll find one of David Rose's favorite steakhouses in form of Little Alley Steakhouse. Sourcing meat from iconic Chicago butcher Meats by Linz, it offers up both wet-aged and dry-aged steaks, as well as bone-in, but there's one steak for Rose that's a cut above the rest. "Their 60-day, dry aged 30 oz bone-in Tomahawk ribeye steak with foie gras butter is phenomenal!" he says. "The mild nuttiness, and butteriness of their tomahawk steaks, because of their dry aging process is a game-changer and is heightened even more when served with their foie gras butter, and bone marrow with smoked salt, crispy garlic and parsley salad."

That kind of testimony is enough to sell us on any restaurant, but if you did need more reason to check out Little Alley Steakhouse — which has another, much bigger location in nearby Buckhead — it may help to know that Rose also only has good things to say about its non-food elements. "The old-style classic steakhouse, generous helpings and service really elevate the experience even more," raves Rose. Located inside a former antiques store, the restaurant uses aesthetic details like exposed brick and hanging light bulbs to emulate the vibe of some of the industry's biggest icons. That includes Peter Luger's, which was once considered the best steakhouse in New York (although that reputation has admittedly taken a bit of a hit in recent years).

If you're in Las Vegas and can look past the slot machines, buffets (seriously, why are there so many buffets?), and tourist traps, you'll find a surprisingly impressive foodie scene, especially when it comes to steak. If that's what you're after, Kita Roberts recommends venturing off the Strip to check out Echo & Rig. The steakhouse and butcher shop (which you can also find in Sacramento, California and Henderson, Nevada) travels the world to source high-quality beef and veggies for its menu — which, as per Roberts, is worth the effort.

"They are brave with menu choices, with a Pig's Head Terrine and lesser-known but amazing cuts of beef, like Zabuton and bavette," Roberts says. "They occasionally even do butchery demos on site, and you can also buy your steak right from their butcher counter and take it home." No matter which cut you order in-restaurant, your steak is cooked over white oak and plated with garlic chips and mushroom Rockefeller (a mushroom cap served similar to oysters Rockefeller, by which we mean atop of garlic butter and spinach, and then topped with breadcrumbs).

The steak is obviously the main pull here, but you can also rest easy knowing that your drinks will be on par with the meat. "Not only are their dishes amazing, but the cocktails are top-notch," says Roberts, adding that "knowing exactly how to craft a quality martini is a must, in my opinion, for a good steakhouse." (Personally, we concur).

Sometimes the best steak restaurants aren't even strictly steakhouses. Founded by Chef Brian Howard (who boasts over 20 years of experience on the Las Vegas foodie scene), Sparrow + Wolf prides itself on using sustainable ingredients to create a simple yet creative menu packed with more than just great steak. If you needed proof of that, the fact that Kita Roberts takes all of her foodie friends visiting Las Vegas to check out its deeply impressive menu – which spans foie gras, Spanish octopus, black pepper honey pork, and Japanese sweet potato — should tell you everything you need to know. As Roberts puts it, "It is an epicurean's dream with a menu that makes you want to try every single thing or delve right into the tasting menu."

Its 32-ounce almond wood fired Creekstone Porterhouse steak easily ranks among the best options on the menu. Aged in white miso paste and served with house-made American banchan (the Korean term for side dishes) and garlic naan, it's the best of the restaurant's innovations wrapped up in one truly delectable meal. "Like all of their dishes, their steaks come out of the hearth and are served on a shared platter to be passed around the table and enjoyed with an exceptional bottle of wine," says Roberts.

To discover the most underrated steakhouses in the U.S., we needed help from the people who eat, breathe, sleep steak — in the metaphorical sense, of course. Tracking down experts well-versed in what makes a good steak, we chose Kimberly Plafke (a sustainable and ethical meat expert who's fluent in all things meat), Kita Roberts (food blogger and founder of Girl Carnivore, which features recipes and tips for fellow meat lovers), and David Rose (a chef who's released his own cookbook, "EGGin': David Rose Cooks on the Big Green Egg," and currently serves as an executive chef and ambassador for Omaha Steaks).

Once we had our experts onboard, we had one big question: what are their favorite underrated steakhouses? No matter how good some of them they be, we weren't interested in the major steakhouse chains that are a dime a dozen in any U.S. city. Instead, we wanted to hear about their go-to haunts for a tasty filet mignon, a juicy ribeye, or a hefty T-bone. This didn't necessarily need to just be down to the quality of the meat. While the steak is obvious the linchpin of a good steakhouse, other aspects play a role, too, like a restaurant's variety or atmosphere. Ultimately, we had faith that the experts know what they're talking about — and that if you haven't heard of some of the steakhouses on this list, you now have a fair few restaurants to add to your bucket list.