The Best Steakhouses in Atlanta

STK Atlanta
STK Atlanta | Heidi Geldhauser
STK Atlanta | Heidi Geldhauser

There are many things that should be staked: your claim to the freedoms promised by the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, pole beans, Dracula... you get the picture. But when it comes to things that must be steaked, that thing is you -- especially before you watch What the Health on Netflix too many times. Plus, are you really gonna let all that delicious steak just spoil and make it so those sacred cows died for nothing? Quit wasting food and recognize that our city is a veritable Steakopia, then go eat at the best steakhouses in Greater ATL.

marcel
Andrew Thomas Lee

Marcel

West Midtown

You’ll know why your steak isn’t cheap -- whether it’s the $45 filet or the ~$160 porterhouse for three -- when you take that first bite into Ford Fry’s beef. All of it is aged at least 30 days, wet or dry, inside this elegant steakhouse, which turned the brutalist space once occupied by meat-crazed restaurant Abattoir into a banquet hall where you can ball out of control. Pro tip: Wait until 10pm and get major late-dinner discounts.

Hal's

Buckhead

Everything from the leafy-green, French Quarter-esque balcony, to the gumbo and crawfish on the menu make it clear that this laid-back eatery is inspired by New Orleans, but the bone-in rib-eyes and filet au poivre make it clear that Hal's is also one of the city's best steak spots, and the perfect place to go before hitting some of Buckhead's best bars.

McKendrick's Steak House
McKendrick's Steak House

McKendrick's

Dunwoody

The ‘40s aren’t just the price range of these Midwestern USDA Prime rib-eyes, porterhouses, and filets; it’s also the era you enter when you feel the old-school, Sinatra-esque vibe of this single location, independently owned steakhouse (which was once a nightclub). The standout is the 24-ounce chef’s cut bone-in rib-eye, but anything dry-aged will do just fine.

Little Alley Steak
Little Alley Steak

Little Alley Steak

Roswell

You could find yourself literally lost in sauce from its wine decanting service, or the 100+ offerings of Scotch, bourbon, and whiskey, if you don’t plan ahead to eat the steak in this top-notch chophouse, which is set in a former antique shop on Downtown's Canton Street. Most of LAS’s cuts are provided by famed Chicago butcher Meats by Linz, although they also offer an American Kobe beef program of wagyu steaks certified at 10+ BMS (Beef Marble Score), which is equivalent to the highest quality Japanese beef available, Kobe A5. Try the 35-day-aged, baseball-cut, 12-ounce sirloin if you go that route, and let us borrow some of that Kobe money before you take 60 shots and bow out.

Parker's on Ponce

Decatur

The Scott Brothers appropriately said that Decatur "desperately" needed a real steakhouse, and they have fulfilled that need with a dozen different delicious cuts that they improve upon with a rich selection of toppings like blue cheese, lobster Oscar, and béarnaise.

Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse
Briana Moore

Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse

Buckhead

They've got Kobe beef meatballs and a better-than-a-street-vendor Philly on the menu, plus a giant wall of wine boasting a slew of solid bottles, but the next-level selection of rib-eyes, sirloins, and filets are the stars of the show. A show you can watch being made from the chef's counter overlooking the kitchen.

kevin rathbun steak
James Camp

Kevin Rathbun Steak

Old Fourth Ward

The man behind a decade’s worth of nationally-ranked steak basically founded the entire O4W dining scene. Get into the Iron Chef contestant’s flagship spot for beef that is treated right. Kevin is one of the few chefs to advertise a steak cooked “blue,” which is the rarer than rare version that is right for every real carnivore.

Chops Lobster Bar
Chops Lobster Bar

Chops Lobster Bar

Buckhead

There is a reason this is the first restaurant in Atlanta ever to receive a shipment of A5 Kobe beef with a BMS (Beef Marbling Score) of 12 out of 12. The best beef in the world lives under these huge, tiled arches because Chef Ryan Delesandro treats it with the love, care, and respect that these amazing cuts deserve.

stk atlanta
Heidi Geldhauser

STK Atlanta

Midtown

Celebrating the simplicity of a great steak by removing all those showy "vowels," STK boasts a porterhouse and a cowboy rib-eye that'll fill you up, as well as anyone in the city. And while the black truffle aioli tartare is the perfect way to start your meal, you can get going at 5pm on Thursdays with their oyster happy hour, where they offer $1.50 oysters and clams, $3 shrimp, $4 ceviche, and $4 snow crab claws until 7pm. It’s also the best spot if you like your steakhouse with less crusty attitudes and more dance grooves, as local DJs like Ree de la Vega keep things lively.

Kaiser's
Kaiser's

Kaiser's

Sandy Springs

Peter Kaiser knows what Atlanta likes to eat, having spent 30+ years rising up (!) through the ranks of Buckhead Life restaurants (including Pricci and Buckhead Diner) and Here to Serve Restaurant Group spots Goldfish and Twist. Now the guy’s teamed up with the steak god Kevin Rathbun to bring meats to ATL’s richest zip code, because steak loves money. That might be why you won’t see prices for menu items like the barrel-cut beef filet, by-the-ounce cuts of rib-eye cap (the minimum order is 10 ounces, FYI), or the dry-aged prime porterhouse for two.

C. Ellet's
Andrew Thomas Lee

C. Ellet's

Cumberland

This modern American steakhouse located in The Battery at SunTrust Park is another stab at the crown by chef Linton Hopkins, and is easily the fanciest dining establishment for eating around the Braves. With two dining rooms -- one exclusively for dinner and a club room for the more relaxed crowd -- C. Ellet’s is named after Hopkins’ late great grandfather who, as a civil engineer, helped construct bridges around the Southeast. Hopkins goes a bit further in honor of his ancestor, having toured farms around the country to choose top-tier meats for the menu, including New York strip from Texas, a tomahawk from Nebraska, grass fed rib-eye from Ohio, a dry-aged Porterhouse from Kansas, and Delmonico chuck from Idaho. If you can’t decide, have a glass of one of the 900+ Old and New World bottles, or order their riff on the boulevardier or a margarita sidecar, then ask for the beef tasting to sample, compare and contrast the differences between the Angus filet, Tajimi strip and Charolais ribcap. When that meal’s done, seriously, who cares if the Braves won? You did.

101 Steak
Brandon Morgan

101 Steak

Vinings

This is the first steakhouse from 101 Concepts (the folks behind Meehan’s, Cibo e Beve, and Food 101) in 2016. With a bright, modernized design take on the old-school leather and wood interior, it’s a great place to school yourself in the art of steak, with dry-aged and Black Angus beef, whether you order the 16-ounce Delmonico, a bone-in, 18-ounce, 40-day Kansas City strip, or the 50-day-aged, 32-ounce tomahawk chop.

Joey D’s Oak Room
Joey D’s Oak Room

Joey D's Oak Room

Dunwoody

The Perimeter area is all about the power lunch and dinner, but it’s also about eating and drinking like it’s bonus day, even (read: especially) when it’s really not, after a long day at one of the corporate behemoths around Ashford-Dunwoody Road. At Joey D’s you can settle into the sexy, dimly lit space (the tall, glowing, 600-spirit-stocked bar is always a good spot), hear live jazz, and eat charbroiled, 30-day USDA Choice steaks like the center-cut filet to the after-4pm, sliced-to-order prime rib, topped with clarified butter and served with both house salad and a side.

American Cut Atlanta
American Cut Atlanta

American Cut

Buckhead

Does Buckhead steak taste better? It certainly doesn’t taste mediocre, and this bi-level steakhouse with its magnificent first-floor bar, second-floor dining room, and private upstairs patio bar doesn't hurt the pre-steak ambiance the place provides. They start at 10-ounce hangers for $29 if you need to watch the budget, but you might as well go for the Miyazaki A5 wagyu strip at market price (bring the Black Card!); two-person servings of 30-day dry-aged giants like the porterhouse; or the Creekstone Farm tomahawk chop, which you really should order surf-and-turf style with a 2-pound chili lobster.

ag
The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta

AG

Downtown

Since the late ‘90s you could always count on Atlanta Grill at the Downtown Ritz-Carlton having a good strip, and even if they didn’t there was always The Gentlemen’s Club just two blocks away on Ellis. Today, the new name is AG, and the modernized approach has reinvigorated the menu and the space, helping the restaurant claim pole position among qualifying places where steaks are grilled. Their USDA prime slabs range from 8-ounce skirts and filets to a 12-ounce NY strip, and you can get rib-eyes of various styles, from Chicago’s Meats By Linz to pork from Niman Ranch, and sauce choices like poblano chimichurri, foie gras bordelaise, and green pepper cognac. And let’s say you’re trying to save money; you can get a 4-ounce prime filet with whipped potatoes and broccolini for $28.

Oak Steakhouse Atlanta
Oak Steakhouse Atlanta

Oak Steakhouse

Alpharetta

Unlike other restaurants that started in other major southern cities then came to ATL and decided to become wack all of a sudden, Oak came from Charleston and stuck to its meaty guns with Angus meats from world-renowned purveyors like DeBragga of NYC and local farms like CAM Ranches of Arnoldsville, Georgia. The Avalon location offers a 5-ounce carved CAB tenderloin for $25, or if you actually came to eat you can get a 20-ounce Prime KC strip, and non-beef eats including a double bone-in pork chop or a 16-ounce half rack of lamb. Add-ons for those include foie gras, various Oscars (lump crab, crab cake or scallop), and Maine lobster tail -- plus everything’s able to be topped with specialty butters like smoked bone marrow, or organic black truffle. Sure, Avalon has several options for good food that’s less-pricey (it’s gotten much better over the past year), but if you had to make a choice and you’re in the mood for steak, you won’t leave Oak unhappy.

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Mike Jordan believes you can’t eat steak everyday but also knows that life is short, especially for cows. He respects and appreciates the sacrifice of the divine bovine (seriously; thanks), and sometimes posts steak photos on Instagram and Twitter.