RFK Editorial · Annual Rankings · Steakhouses
Top 10 Steakhouses in America, 2026
The ten best steakhouses in the United States for 2026. From Peter Luger's 138-year-old Brooklyn dynasty to Bavette's Chicago, Bern's Tampa, Cote NYC, and the new wave of Korean-method dry-aged steakhouses redefining the form. Ranked by RFK.
By Fredrik Filipsson · Updated 2026-05-17
The American steakhouse is the most overproduced category in luxury dining. Every city has a dozen rooms charging $200 for a steak. Most are unmemorable. The list below is the ten rooms RFK editors would book first in 2026, measured on beef program, dry-aging discipline, sides, service tempo, and the metric that decides every steakhouse on a given night: how the kitchen handles the second-from-last table of the evening at 10:45 PM.
The 2026 list reflects two shifts. First, the Korean-method dry-aged steakhouse (Cote, Cote Miami, Park Hill) has moved from novelty to convention. Cote at the #3 position is now the New York steakhouse most chefs eat at on nights off. Second, the wood-fire steakhouse (Carbone Vino, Bourbon Steak DC, Hawksmoor New York) has overtaken the broiler steakhouse for younger diners. Peter Luger and Keens hold the top by virtue of their broiler programmes; nothing has dethroned them.
Geographic balance is deliberate. Two New York rooms (Luger and Keens, plus Cote and Hawksmoor as additional New York entries). Chicago (Bavette's). Tampa (Bern's). Las Vegas (Carbone Vino). Washington DC (Bourbon Steak). Beverly Hills (CUT). San Francisco (House of Prime Rib). The list deliberately excludes Texas: there is a separate RFK Texas steakhouse guide where Pappas Bros. and Bohanan's get their due.
Peter Luger Steak House
Williamsburg, Brooklyn · American Steakhouse (Broiler) · $$$$
The 138-year-old broiler that defines the American steakhouse. Cash and check only. No reservations after 8 PM. The porterhouse for two has never moved off the menu and never will.
Stars: One Michelin star (New York)
Beef: Dry-aged USDA Prime, 28 days minimum
Broiler: Original cast-iron broilers
Keens Steakhouse
36th Street, Manhattan · American Steakhouse (Broiler) · $$$$
Founded 1885. The 50,000-pipe ceiling collection. The mutton chop. Keens is the New York chop house at its most archetypal, the room every Hollywood film about New York eventually shoots in.
Stars: -
Beef: Dry-aged USDA Prime; mutton chop is the signature
Specialty: Mutton chop, porterhouse, prime rib
COTE
Flatiron, New York · Korean Steakhouse (Tabletop) · $$$$
Simon Kim's Korean steakhouse in Flatiron. Korean tabletop charcoal grills meeting USDA Prime dry-aged American beef. One Michelin star and the New York steakhouse opening that mattered most this decade.
Stars: One Michelin star
Beef: USDA Prime dry-aged 45 days; Wagyu A5
Grilling: Tabletop charcoal smokeless grills
Bavette's Steakhouse & Bar
River North, Chicago · French American Steakhouse · $$$$
Brendan Sodikoff's River North brasserie-steakhouse. Dim lighting, leather booths, the chicken liver mousse, and the bone-in filet that most Chicago chefs name as their personal favourite in the city.
Stars: -
Beef: USDA Prime; aged in-house
Specialty: Bone-in filet, dry-aged ribeye, chicken liver mousse
Bern's Steak House
South Howard Avenue, Tampa · American Steakhouse · $$$$
The 70-year-old Tampa institution with the 6,800-label wine cellar, the largest in any single restaurant on earth. Steaks aged in-house, cooked to temperature precision the kitchen will print on your receipt.
Stars: -
Beef: Dry-aged in-house
Wine: 6,800 labels; the wine cellar tour is famous
Hawksmoor
Gramercy, New York · British Wood-Fire Steakhouse · $$$$
The British steakhouse group's New York opening (2022) on Gramercy Park. Native Wagyu sourced from American ranches but butchered British-style. The most considered new steakhouse in Manhattan this decade.
Stars: -
Beef: USDA Prime dry-aged plus Native Wagyu sourcing
Grilling: Wood-fire grill
Carbone Vino
Wynn Las Vegas · Italian Steakhouse (Wood-Fire) · $$$$
Major Food Group's wood-fire Italian-steakhouse concept at the Wynn. The most architecturally ambitious new steakhouse in Las Vegas and the room where the second half of the 2024 NFL Draft was sealed.
Stars: -
Beef: USDA Prime dry-aged 60 days
Grilling: Italian wood-fire grill
Bourbon Steak
Four Seasons, Washington DC · American Steakhouse · $$$$
Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak inside the Four Seasons Georgetown. The Washington DC power-steakhouse where Senate dinners, lobbying close-outs, and Davos pre-meetings happen.
Stars: -
Beef: USDA Prime; American Wagyu; Japanese A5
Specialty: Butter-poached technique on the filet
CUT by Wolfgang Puck
Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills · Modern American Steakhouse · $$$$
Wolfgang Puck's Beverly Hills steakhouse inside the Beverly Wilshire. The most considered LA steakhouse and a one-Michelin holder with American Wagyu and A5 Japanese on the same printed menu.
Stars: One Michelin star (California)
Beef: USDA Prime, American Wagyu, Japanese A5
Specialty: Bone-in ribeye, A5 Miyazaki
House of Prime Rib
Van Ness, San Francisco · Prime Rib Specialist · $$$
The 75-year-old Van Ness institution doing one thing, prime rib carved tableside from silver carts. The most under-rewarded steakhouse in America. The most consistent.
Stars: -
Beef: USDA Prime rib roasts, dry-aged 21 days
Service: Silver-cart tableside carving
The Verdict
The American steakhouse list is the hardest list to make objectively. Every restaurant on it has a fierce constituency. The exclusions hurt (Bohanan's in San Antonio, Pappas Bros. in Houston, Vincent's Clam Bar's mutton chop in NYC, Mastro's in Beverly Hills, Smith and Wollensky's flagship, Wolfgang's, BLT Steak DC) and the list above is RFK's working ranking, not a final word.
The single most under-priced steakhouse in America is Bern's in Tampa. RFK editors have eaten there annually for fifteen years. The wine cellar alone (6,800 labels, chosen by founder Bern Laxer through the late twentieth century) would make it a destination if the steak were forgettable. The steak is not forgettable. At #5 on this list Bern's is, on a per-dollar-spent basis, the best meal you can have at a great American steakhouse.
Peter Luger remains #1 not because it is unimpeachable but because nothing has come close to dethroning it. The room is brusque. The service is by-the-rules. The sides are unbeautiful. The beef is, on the night the broiler is calibrated, the best beef in America. The 138-year run is not an accident.
Look ahead to 2027. Cote Miami will likely overtake Cote NYC for the New York Korean-method position. Carbone Vino's success in Vegas will spawn Carbone Vino New York and Carbone Vino Miami, both already announced. And the Hawksmoor model (British wood-fire steakhouse with Native Wagyu sourcing) will be cloned in Chicago and Los Angeles. The American steakhouse list never stops moving.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best steakhouse in America in 2026?
Peter Luger in Brooklyn remains RFK's #1 American steakhouse. Keens at #2 and Cote at #3 round out the top three. All three are New York. Bavette's at #4 is Chicago's representative. Bern's at #5 is Tampa's.
How much should I expect to spend at a top US steakhouse in 2026?
A two-person dinner with appetizers, a porterhouse for two, three sides, and a $90 bottle of wine runs $400-$550 at Peter Luger, Keens, and Bavette's. Cote's Butcher's Feast is $76 per person plus sake. CUT and Bourbon Steak come in at $250 per head all-in. Bern's is the outlier at $180 per head with wine.
Is dry-aged or wet-aged steak better?
Dry-aged for flavour and texture concentration; wet-aged for tenderness alone. The top ten on this list almost universally dry-age. Cote, Hawksmoor, Carbone Vino, and Peter Luger all run 45-60 day programmes. Bern's runs 21 days but ages the entire rib roast bone-in.
Do I need a jacket at the top American steakhouses?
Jacket recommended (not required) at Keens, Bourbon Steak DC, Carbone Vino, and CUT. Optional at Peter Luger, Bern's, Cote, Bavette's, and Hawksmoor. House of Prime Rib is smart casual.
Is Peter Luger really cash-only?
Peter Luger accepts cash, debit cards, and its own house Peter Luger Card. Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex) are not accepted. Most regulars carry the house card. New diners should bring a debit card.