The Best Chain Restaurant Dry-Aged Steaks, Ranked According To Customers

One big reason chain restaurants are valuable is for consistency. Ideally, the food at, say, a Chili's in Los Angeles should taste pretty much exactly like the food at a Chili's in Little Rock, Arkansas. The same goes for a luxuriously prepared dry-aged steak from a high-end steakhouse chain — it can be comforting to know that even such an expensive dish is being made with a tried-and-true recipe.

With the distinct advantages in mind, the following are the top dry-aged steaks from chain restaurants ranked from worst to best. Each chain's spot on this list was determined by combing through customer reviews that mention dry-aged steaks on Tripadvisor and Yelp to get a sense of prevailing diner sentiments. With that said, earning a spot on this list at all means that a majority of customers had good things to say about the dry-aged steaks. So, while all of the following restaurants make the best dry-aged steaks in the chain restaurant world, lower spots indicate somewhat mixed customer reviews whereas this list's leaders have garnered near-universal praise as the best of the best.

Morton's The Steakhouse consists of well over 50 locations, both across the United States, including in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, as well as overseas in countries like China and the Philippines. Most locations offer an 14-ounce dry-aged rib-eye, while some also offer a 36-ounce dry-aged porterhouse steak intended for multiple diners. As a rule, the chain ages its beef from 23 to 28 days.

While some Morton's restaurants have garnered a decent amount of praise for the dry-aged steaks — reviews of a location in Baltimore, for example, are pretty positive about its dry-aged offerings — the overall level of customer enthusiasm simply isn't as considerable as some of the higher entries on this list. While straight-up 1-star reviews aren't all that common, 3- and 4-star reviews are more the norm than perfect 5-star ratings. One recurring criticism is a lack of flavor complexity, resulting either from improper aging or a conspicuous lack of fat. For what it's worth, Yelp user Jesse W., who visited a Morton's in San Jose, California, had just about the opposite opinion from the chain's most vocal critics. "I had the rib-eye," they wrote. "And it tasted how a rib-eye should taste, fatty, full of flavor, and aged properly as evidenced by the complexity in the fat."

Wolfgang's Steakhouse — named after proprietor Wolfgang Zwiener, not Wolfgang Puck — has a relatively small footprint in the United States, consisting of six locations in the New York metropolitan area and two in Hawaii. In Asia, however, the chain encompasses dozens of locations currently open or opening soon. Porterhouse, prime New York sirloin, rib-eye, and filet mignon steaks are all dry-aged in-house.

Reviews of the chain's dry-aged steaks in New York, New Jersey, and Hawaii are generally polarizing. Whereas a significant number of customers have raved about the dry-aged steaks at every Wolfgang's Steakhouse location, each has also received a non-negligible number of overtly critical 1- to 3-star reviews. The most common complaint is a lack of seasoning. Nevertheless, such criticism isn't widespread enough to cancel out customers like Tripadvisor user Dan O, who visited the New York City location on 41st Street. "We had the signature dish of Wolfgang's which is the Porterhouse for two," they wrote. "It was one of the best porterhouse I've ever had, a well aged meat, done perfectly (medium-rare) to our request, with a very tasty crust from a proper super heated oven ... Superb."

Of every chain on this list, Urban Farmer is the smallest, consisting of just three locations since 2021 after a restaurant in Cleveland closed. That said, those three remaining restaurants are in Portland, Denver, and Philadelphia, covering just about as wide a swath of the contiguous United States as any three restaurants could. Dry-aged steak options range from location to location, with the widest variety available in Denver — a ribeye, a T-bone, a porterhouse, as well as a New York steak included as part of a tasting menu that ranks among the most expensive steaks at popular steakhouse chains.

Fittingly, perhaps, reviews mentioning dry-aged steaks at that Denver location are the most positive overall. However, reviews of the Portland and Philadelphia locations feature a few notable disappointments. In addition to a couple of critiques concerning flavor, some customers complained about a firmer steak than they were anticipating. But for every bad review is at least a handful of good reviews, like one from Yelp user Joseph Anthony S., who described their serving of dry-aged steak as the highlight of the Denver restaurant's steak flight. "Man, I loved that aged steak," they wrote. "The taste lasts for about 10 [seconds] of chewing and all of it is complex and takes your mouth for a roller coaster. Worth it!"

There are locations of the sizable Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar chain in 25 states, with Texas, Arizona, California, and Florida hosting just over half of the 60-plus Fleming's restaurants in operation. The standard Fleming's menu includes just one dry-aged steak: a 16-ounce prime rib-eye. Fleming's ages its steaks for around 21 days.

Opinions on the dry-aged rib-eye at Fleming's vary pretty significantly from location to location. Whereas reviews for restaurants in cities like Anaheim, California and Atlanta, Georgia run the gamut from poor to excellent, the dry-aged rib-eyes at locations in Houston, Texas and Tampa, Florida have received pretty widespread praise. Fleming's earned this spot for those predominantly well-reviewed locations, but remains on the list's bottom half for the locations that have garnered a conspicuous amount of criticism. One recurring theme in some of those negative reviews is that customers ended up with steaks that were quite a bit tougher than they should have been. Meanwhile, Yelp user Cody M. put it simply in a review for the Tampa-based Fleming's restaurant. "I am a rib-eye guy and I really enjoy their dry-aged rib-eye," they wrote.

All eight Oak Steakhouse locations are concentrated in the Southern United States, in cities like Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Nashville. Standard for the chain are two dry-aged steak options: a bone-in KC strip steak and a bone-in rib-eye steak. Weights range from restaurant to restaurant.

The prevailing sentiment among customers who mentioned trying a dry-aged steak at an Oak Steakhouse location is that the quality was top-notch. Nevertheless, a non-negligible but still relatively small quantity of visitors have singled out their dry-aged steak as either middling or poor. The most common complaint among that group is excessive toughness, whereas some found the flavor inadequate. Meanwhile, Yelp user Daniel B. tried both kinds of dry-aged steak at the Atlanta Oak Steakhouse and had good things to say across the board. "We had both steaks cooked medium-rare and they were absolutely delicious. I loved the KC strip and preferred it to the dry-aged rib-eye," they wrote. "The KC strip was tender, juicy, and flavorful. A mouthwatering steak for sure. The rib-eye was leaner than I expected, but still quite smooth, flavorful, and beefy. Another great steak. You can't go wrong with either one and I'd order either again in a heartbeat."

Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse operates 17 locations across the United States, from San Diego to New York City, with plenty of locales in between. Standard at each Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse location is both a 45-day dry-aged prime strip steak and a 45-day dry-aged prime rib-eye — both weigh 16 ounces.

Reviews that mention the chain's dry-aged steaks are positive for the most part, with maybe 20% of reviews per location at most criticizing the restaurant's dry-aged offerings. Since those negative reviews aren't all that numerous, it's hard to gather any sort of prevailing sentiment among disappointed customers, but individual complaints have ranged from an improper level of doneness to a steak seasoned with too much black pepper. Tripadvisor user luvtotravel, who visited a location in Charlotte, North Carolina, is among the many who have praised the dry-aged steaks at a Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse. "The 45-day aged rib-eye is phenomenal," they wrote. "It is a total experience for your taste buds."

Handily the most unique restaurant on this list, the massive international Fogo de Chão chain is not an American-style steakhouse but serves most of its meat rodízio-style — a Brazilian approach to all-you-can-eat where meat is brought to customers' tables on large skewers. Even the all-you-can-eat steak offerings at Fogo de Chão are good enough to have earned the chain a high spot on the Mashed list of 29 national steakhouse chains ranked. That said, its huge, 36-ounce, 42-day dry-aged tomahawk rib-eye is a premium add-on, neither included in the price of a rodízio experience nor served on a large skewer.

Because that dry-aged steak comes at such a significant premium, reviews for Fogo de Chão that mention it are relatively scarce. With that said, those reviews are universally glowing. Yelp user Julie M., for instance, described the dry-aged tomahawk steak at a Portland location as the highlight of their meal. Meanwhile, Yelp user David C. found the Fogo de Chão tomahawk steak in Philadelphia idyllic both texturally and taste-wise. Finally, in one among plenty of additional 5-star reviews describing that tomahawk steak a standout, Yelp user Brennan S. shared nothing but effusive praise. "My favorite thing for sure was the dry-aged rib-eye served on a salt block," they wrote. "It was seriously melt in your mouth delicious."

The historic Smith & Wollensky chain operates steakhouses in 15 cities both domestic and abroad, including Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, London, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, and more. Standard at Smith & Wollensky locations in the United States offer several kinds of dry-aged steaks: these include a 42-ounce porterhouse, a 28-ounce bone-in rib-eye, a 26-ounce prime T-bone, and a 21-ounce bone-in New York-cut steak.

Reviews for those stateside Smith & Wollensky restaurants that mention dry-aged steak are just about positive across the board, rarely ever dipping below four stars (save for some unusually negative opinions about a Boston location). Even a 3-star review by Tripadvisor user MooVonFloo of the Las Vegas Smith & Wollensky singles out the dry-aged rib-eye as a perfectly-cooked highlight, whereas it was other elements of their meal responsible for an essentially subpar rating. Tripadvisor user Wendjay went so far as to describe the quality of the beef at Smith & Wollensky in Miami as among the city's best. "The thing I have always liked is ... the quality of their meats," they wrote. "Particularly the dry-aged ones, which are some of the best cuts of steak I have ever had."

Earning the number-one spot on this list is The Capital Grille. Despite more than 70 locations in 30 states, reviews of The Capital Grille are near-universally positive — while widespread acclaim is a feat for restaurants of any size, it's especially rare for such a large chain. On the standard The Capital Grille menu are different preparations of dry-aged New York strip steaks, varying in weight and/or flavor. It's also worth mentioning that The Capital Grille placed second on the Mashed list of upscale chain restaurants, ranked worst to best.

Given the chain's size, some negative reviews have inevitably singled out what some customers found to be poorly prepared dry-aged steaks. But to the chain's credit, glowing reviews overwhelmingly outnumber those criticisms, each of which could very well be attributed to a uniquely weak steak or a particular customer's preference. With so many positive opinions, just about every compliment possible has been lavished on The Capital Grille's dry-aged New York strip steaks at one point or another, from buttery tenderness, to rich flavor, to standout sauces and seasonings. Yelp user Phil G. praised their dry-aged steak from a location in Hartford, Connecticut with just about the highest accolade imaginable. "The dry-aged New York strip is one of the best things I've ever eaten," they wrote.

Before determining a ranking, I narrowed down my starting list of chain restaurants with the best dry-aged steaks by combing through as many lists of active steakhouse chains as I could find and searching reviews for "aged" — that term chosen in order to return results for both "dry-aged" with a dash and "dry aged" with a space. For restaurants that simply serve "aged" steaks, I made sure to find some mention of dry-aging on the chain's website, otherwise it was ineligible for this list. I also disqualified a couple of chains that, while garnering ample reviews mentioning dry-aged steaks, received significant quantities of negative feedback.

Once I had my base list ready, I searched reviews spanning diverse selections of cities for "aged," and — filtering out, of course, reviews solely mentioning other items like aged Parmesan — determined which chains had garnered the most positive opinions overall. For small chains I simply looked at reviews for every location, whereas for larger chains I made sure to comb through different locations spanning as much of the country as possible. Total number of reviews played a factor in my ranking, given that the more reviews there are overall, the likelier it is for someone to review an item negatively. My final ranking is based on my assessments of the numerous customer reviews I analyzed throughout this process.