Cuisine guide · data as of 8 October 2026
Steakhouse scores: Austin leads, and value sits mid-table
Across 237 scored steakhouses, only 6 reach 90 or above, and the best value rarely belongs to the highest score.
- Places scored
- 237
- Scoring 90+
- 6
- Cities compared
- 11
- Median Harry score
- 78
The ten best-scored steakhouse places
Ranked by Harry score among places with at least 150 reviews. Chains are counted once. Scores are explained on the how-it-works page.
| # | Place | City | Harry | Worth it | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dean's Italian Steakhousesteak-house | Austin, TX | 93 | 77 | Occasion Worthy · $$$$ · Eater · The Infatuation |
| 2 | COTE Miamikorean | Miami, FL | 92 | 77 | Occasion Worthy · $$$$ · Michelin Guide · Eater 38 · Time Out |
| 3 | Empire Steak House Times Squaresteakhouse | New York, NY | 90 | 76 | Occasion Worthy · $$$$ |
| 4 | The Butcher Shop by Niku Steakhousesteakhouse | San Francisco, CA | 90 | 75 | Michelin Guide · The Infatuation |
| 5 | Dai Duesteakhouse | Austin, TX | 90 | 78 | Occasion Worthy · Eater 38 · Eater |
| 6 | Casa do Brasilsteak-house | Austin, TX | 90 | 78 | Occasion Worthy |
| 7 | La Tête d'Or by Danielsteakhouse | New York, NY | 89 | 82 | Great Value · Eater · Condé Nast Traveller |
| 8 | Butcher Grill Housesteakhouse | New York, NY | 89 | 76 | Occasion Worthy · $$$$ |
| 9 | Flat Iron Southbanksteakhouse | London | 88 | 79 | — |
| 10 | MEZA Bar and Grillsteakhouse | Sydney, NSW | 88 | 79 | — |
Is a 90-plus steakhouse actually rare?
Yes. Of 237 places scored, 6 reach 90 or above, so the top of the table is a narrow band rather than a crowd. Dean's Italian Steakhouse in Austin leads on 93, followed by COTE Miami on 92 and Empire Steak House Times Square on 90.
The next tier is tightly packed. The Butcher Shop by Niku Steakhouse, Dai Due and Casa do Brasil also sit on 90, with La Tête d'Or by Daniel and Butcher Grill House on 89. A point or two at this level is not a meaningful gap, so treat the top ten as a shortlist rather than a strict ranking.
Which city does it best?
Cities with at least twelve scored places for this cuisine, ranked by average Harry score.
| # | City | Places | Average | Best scorer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin, TX | 28 | 81 | Dean's Italian Steakhouse |
| 2 | New York, NY | 19 | 79.5 | Empire Steak House Times Square |
| 3 | Los Angeles, CA | 21 | 78.9 | Vaca DTLA |
| 4 | Melbourne, VIC | 15 | 78.6 | Marbl Steakhouse Port Melbourne |
| 5 | San Francisco, CA | 17 | 77 | The Butcher Shop by Niku Steakhouse |
| 6 | Chicago, IL | 37 | 76.4 | Penumbra |
| 7 | Miami, FL | 21 | 76.4 | COTE Miami |
| 8 | Sydney, NSW | 20 | 76.2 | MEZA Bar and Grill |
| 9 | Seattle, WA | 14 | 71.1 | The Shambles |
| 10 | San Jose, CA | 17 | 70.7 | Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse |
| 11 | New Orleans, LA | 19 | 69.5 | Doris Metropolitan New Orleans |
Why does Austin come out on top?
Austin has the highest average score, 81 across 28 places, and three of the top ten: Dean's Italian Steakhouse, Dai Due and Casa do Brasil. That suggests depth rather than one outlier, which matters if you want a decent choice without much research.
New York follows on 79.5 across 19 places, then Los Angeles on 78.9 and Melbourne on 78.6. Chicago has the largest sample here with 37 places, but averages 76.4. At the bottom, Seattle averages 71.1, San Jose 70.7 and New Orleans 69.5. Averages hide individual good places, but the odds of a strong meal plainly differ by city.
Best value in the data
Places scoring 70 or above on the Harry score, ranked by Worth It score.
| # | Place | City | Harry | Worth it | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Tête d'Or by Danielsteakhouse | New York, NY | 89 | 82 | Great Value · Eater · Condé Nast Traveller |
| 2 | J Carver’s Oyster Bar & Chophousesteakhouse | Austin, TX | 88 | 81 | Great Value · The Infatuation |
| 3 | Flat Iron Southbanksteakhouse | London | 88 | 79 | — |
| 4 | Blacklock Citysteakhouse | London | 87 | 79 | — |
| 5 | Penumbrasteak-house | Chicago, IL | 87 | 79 | — |
| 6 | MEZA Bar and Grillsteakhouse | Sydney, NSW | 88 | 79 | — |
Where does the money go furthest?
The highest Worth It score belongs to La Tête d'Or by Daniel in New York, on 82, with a Harry Hungry score of 89. J Carver's Oyster Bar & Chophouse in Austin follows on 81 against 88. Both carry the Great Value badge.
The top scorer, Dean's Italian Steakhouse, has a Worth It score of 77, and COTE Miami also has 77. Top quality costs you some value. Flat Iron Southbank and Blacklock City in London, plus Penumbra in Chicago and MEZA Bar and Grill in Sydney, sit on 79 for value while scoring 87 or 88 for quality. That is a sensible middle path.
Do critics and crowds agree on steak?
Not always. Of the places with price tiers confirmed, 32 are $$$$, 7 are $$$ and 6 are $$, so the data leans expensive. Michelin Guide mentions are the most common acclaim, at 17, ahead of Eater on 11 and The Infatuation on 9.
Platform splits show the other side. STK Steakhouse in Chicago has 4.7 on Google from 17318 reviews but 3.8 on Yelp from 2066. Ruth's Chris Steak House in New Orleans has 4.5 on Google from 3392 and 3.5 on Yelp from 546. LongHorn Steakhouse in Austin shows 4.4 against 3.5. Google looks kinder to chains and big-room crowd-pleasers; Yelp is harsher.
What can this data not tell you?
Several top-ten places have no listed acclaim, including Empire Steak House Times Square, Casa do Brasil, Butcher Grill House and Flat Iron Southbank. Their scores rest on review platforms alone, which is a different kind of evidence from a Michelin Guide listing.
Price tiers are missing for many places, so the $$$$ count is a partial picture. Cuisine labels are also inconsistent: COTE Miami is tagged Korean, not steakhouse. Averages for cities with fewer places, such as Seattle on 14, deserve a little more caution than those with larger samples.
Where the review platforms disagree
Places with at least 150 reviews on both platforms and a gap of 0.4 to 1.0 stars. Yelp is used for US cities, Tripadvisor elsewhere.
| Place | City | Other platform | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruth's Chris Steak House | New Orleans, LA | 4.5 (3,392) | Yelp 3.5 (546) |
| Rib Room | New Orleans, LA | 4.3 (873) | Yelp 3.3 (345) |
| STK Steakhouse | Chicago, IL | 4.7 (17,318) | Yelp 3.8 (2,066) |
| LongHorn Steakhouse | Austin, TX | 4.4 (2,105) | Yelp 3.5 (272) |
The short version
For the best meal, start with Austin and the top ten. For the best return on your money, look at La Tête d'Or by Daniel, J Carver's Oyster Bar & Chophouse, or the 79-value places.
Every figure on this page is computed from Harry Hungry's own database on 8 October 2026; the commentary is written with AI assistance from those figures and checked against them. Scores blend Google, Yelp and Tripadvisor with editorial acclaim; see how they work. No placement on this page is paid for.