The most important steak in Los Angeles might be a $38 culotte in a Koreatown dining room unchanged since 1953. Or it might be A5 by the ounce at the Beverly Wilshire, or a fiorentina the size of a hubcap on Melrose. LA's steak culture runs older and stranger than the Beverly Hills expense-account strip suggests, and the 2026 list rewards both ends. Nine rooms, ranked.
Two cities, one cut
Los Angeles splits its steakhouses by century. The old guard, Musso and Frank from 1919, Lawry's from 1938, Taylor's from 1953, kept the chops, the red leather and the prices within reason. The new money concentrated in Beverly Hills, where CUT imported fine-dining technique in 2006 and Mastro's, Steak 48 and Matu built variations on the scene. The craft tier, Gwen and Chi Spacca, answers to neither: chef-driven rooms where the butchery is the point. The Los Angeles dining guide maps all three; the steakhouse guide sets the standards used below.
The nine, ranked
1. CUT — Beverly Hills
Wolfgang Puck's room in the Beverly Wilshire at 9500 Wilshire Boulevard has been the city's reference steakhouse since 2006: prime New York strips from about $65, true Japanese A5 by the ounce, bone-marrow flan on the side, and a Richard Meier-designed room that runs on deal energy. CUT's full review covers the ordering strategy. Book it to close something. Not for a quiet anniversary; the wattage is the product.
2. Gwen — Hollywood
Curtis Stone and his brother Luke run a working butcher shop in front and a Michelin-starred hearth behind at 6600 West Sunset Boulevard. The dry-aging program is their own, the fire does the cooking, and the menu moves from charcuterie through aged beef with a confidence no other LA steakhouse-adjacent room matches. Gwen's full review ranks the cuts. Book it for the anniversary that wants craft over scene. Not for traditionalists expecting shrimp cocktail and creamed spinach.
3. Chi Spacca — Melrose
Nancy Silverton's meat restaurant at 6610 Melrose Avenue, with Ryan DeNicola at the grill, is organized around one decision: the 50-ounce costata alla fiorentina, charred outside, blood-rare at the bone, built for a table of three or four. The tomahawk pork chop around $55 is the supporting argument. Chi Spacca's full review covers the sharing math. The best group steak dinner in the city. Skip it solo; the menu punishes small appetites.
4. Mastro's Steakhouse — Beverly Hills
The Canon Drive flagship at 246 North Canon is the loudest serious room in Beverly Hills: seafood towers on dry ice, bone-in filets around $65 and up, the butter cake that ends every table's night, and a piano bar that runs late. Mastro's full review covers the scene mechanics. Book it for the birthday that wants an audience. Not for conversation; the room wins every time.
5. Matu — Beverly Hills
The contrarian on the list: a South Beverly Drive room serving only grass-fed wagyu from First Light Farms in New Zealand, led by a five-course set from $85 that runs bone broth to ribeye. No dry-ice towers, no 40-day funk, just one beef program argued completely. The best value in Beverly Hills and the right room for a diner curious about what wagyu tastes like when grass does the work. Not for USDA-prime loyalists; the entire thesis disagrees with them.
6. Musso & Frank Grill — Hollywood
Hollywood's oldest restaurant, pouring at 6667 Hollywood Boulevard since 1919: red-jacketed waiters, the city's most correct martini, and grilled chops from about $38 at lunch in booths that held Chandler and Faulkner. Musso & Frank's full review covers the rituals. Book the back room for the out-of-town guest who wants Los Angeles itself on a plate. Not for anyone chasing peak beef; the history outranks the steak, and the kitchen knows it.
7. Steak 48 — Beverly Hills
The Mastro brothers' newer brand landed at 9680 Wilshire Boulevard in 2021 and immediately took a share of the deal-dinner market: prime steaks, a raw bar with real standards, and service drilled to corporate precision. The dress code is enforced, which tells you the clientele. Book it when CUT is full and the night still has to impress. Not for casual; the room reads every table.
8. Lawry's The Prime Rib — La Cienega
Since 1938, Lawry's at 100 North La Cienega has carved prime rib tableside from silver carts, spun its salad bowl on ice, and refused to modernize the formula, around $55 for the Lawry's cut before the Yorkshire pudding. Lawry's full review covers the cart choreography. The best multi-generation table in the city: grandparents, kids, everyone wins. Not for variety; you came for one thing, correctly.
9. Taylor's Steakhouse — Koreatown
The 1953 dining room at 3361 West 8th Street serves the culotte, a top-sirloin cap seared hard and priced around $38, in maroon booths under landscape paintings, and the bill for two with martinis runs less than one CUT entree. Taylor's full review explains the cut. The best steak value in Los Angeles and the right first-date steakhouse, cheap enough that nobody is performing. Not for wagyu hunters or scene seekers; it predates both.
What to skip
Skip Pacific Dining Car, because the 1921 railcar on West 6th closed in 2020 and the building burned in August 2024, and outdated lists still route diners there. Skip the national-chain tier on franchise rows; this city grew its own institutions at the same prices. And aim the fiorentina honestly: Chi Spacca's costata needs three eaters minimum, so a party of two should book Gwen or Matu instead and order without leftovers.
Booking mechanics
CUT and Gwen book out one to two weeks for prime slots, Mastro's and Steak 48 a few days, all on standard platforms; Friday and Saturday eight o'clock goes first everywhere in Beverly Hills. Matu's set-menu format makes midweek easy. The institutions are kinder: Musso and Frank holds bar and walk-in space, Lawry's manages same-week tables outside holidays, and Taylor's midweek is effectively open. For pairing room to occasion, the client-dinner guide covers the Beverly Hills tier's seating politics.
Keep reading
The cut-by-cut standards are in the steakhouse guide. For the city's other benches, the LA Japanese ranking and the LA Korean ranking run the same rules; for how the genre plays at the top of the market elsewhere, the Chicago steakhouse ranking is the natural comparison.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best steakhouse in Los Angeles?
CUT remains the complete answer: Wolfgang Puck's Beverly Wilshire dining room has run the city's deepest beef program since 2006, USDA prime through Japanese A5, with service built for deal nights. The craft answer is Gwen, where Curtis Stone's Michelin-starred Hollywood butcher shop dry-ages its own program and cooks it over fire.
How much does dinner cost at LA's top steakhouses?
Plan on $150 to $250 a head at the Beverly Hills tier once sides and a bottle land; CUT's prime strips start around $65 before A5 supplements. The outliers run both directions: Matu's five-course New Zealand wagyu set starts at $85, and Taylor's in Koreatown still serves its culotte for around $38, the best steak value in the city.
Is Pacific Dining Car still open?
No. The 1921 railcar institution on West 6th Street closed during the pandemic in 2020 and never reopened; the vacant building then burned in August 2024. Lists that still send diners there are years out of date. For the old-Los-Angeles register it owned, book Musso and Frank, pouring martinis on Hollywood Boulevard since 1919, or Lawry's on La Cienega.
Which LA steakhouse is best for a special occasion?
Match the room to the night. CUT and Mastro's carry the Beverly Hills occasion weight; Gwen adds a Michelin star and an open hearth for anniversaries. Chi Spacca's 50-ounce costata alla fiorentina is the best shared-table centerpiece in the city. For history as the occasion itself, a red-leather booth at Musso and Frank outranks any tasting menu.
Do any Los Angeles steakhouses take walk-ins?
The institutions do. Musso and Frank holds bar seats and walk-in tables most nights, Taylor's in Koreatown rarely needs more than a short wait midweek, and Lawry's manages walk-ins outside holiday season. The Beverly Hills tier does not: CUT, Mastro's, Steak 48 and Gwen all book out days to weeks ahead, with prime Friday and Saturday slots going first.
Prices, chefs, awards and opening status were checked against the restaurants' published menus, booking platforms and the current Michelin and local guide editions; all of it changes without notice, so confirm on the booking page before you commit. Restaurants for Kings is editorial, not sponsored. Some reservation links may earn an affiliate commission, which never affects a ranking or a score.