The best Austin steakhouses

ALC Steaks is an Austin OG and has been winning the steak game since 1993. They offer a variety cuts from rib eye to porterhouse in a relatively casual environment. Because we like to do things differently round these parts, they offer homemade steak sauces to augment their meat mastery. Gorgonzola butter, Maker’s Mark bourbon sauce and jalapeño blue cheese are a few of the add-ons. You can also “enhance” your steak by choosing a certain style—Oscar (jumbo lump crab, spicy hollandaise) or ALC (crusted with peppercorn and blue cheese). Non-steak eaters might opt for ahi tuna, muscovy duck or one of their beautiful salads. For a more affordable night, hit up the Monday through Friday, 5pm to 7pm, happy hour. With $6 martinis and a heavily discounted bar menu, it’s one of the best in the city. 

The name Ruth’s Chris is essentially synonymous with steak. They’ve got a reputation for putting out a killer cut and we’re not going to argue. There’s something about that 500-degree plate that really gets us going. Add a dipping trio of truffle butter, honey soy glaze and a shiitake demi-glace and it’s all over but the shouting. They don’t skimp on the non-steak options, either, so you can relax knowing your sizzling crab cakes, veal osso buco ravioli and/or Chilean sea bass is going to be just as well crafted. 

It’s only fair that the capital city should get a Capital Grille. Though they only recently joined the ranks of Austin restaurants, they’re giving other high-end spots a run for their money. With a menu as extensive as it is expensive, this is a place designed to impress your dining partner. Bone-in kona-crusted dry-aged NY strip with shallot butter? Porcini-rubbed bone-in rib eye with 15-year aged balsamic? Even ordering these items is a delicious mouthful. Save yourself some dollars by coming here for lunch. You’ll find imilar options at a much less daunting price. 

With a butcher shop attached to this East Austin restaurant, its no wonder that the menu here includes incredible cuts of meat. A nightly supper club offering includes a grilled meat course, though you can also order à la carte items: a wagyu ribeye, dry-aged 31 days; or maybe a wagyu Denver steak with garlic beef butter. Can't handle a large cut for dinner? Stop by on Tuesday nights, when Dai Due serves a limited number of dry-aged wagyu cheeseburgers.

If experiencing “old-school” Austin while copping a seriously superb meal is your goal, then Jeffrey’s is your destination. The west side spot is over 40 years old, but with a revamp of the building and menu in 2013, the old house-turned-restaurant has remained a hotspot in the growing ATX fine-dining scene. The consistently changing menu (based on seasonally available farm-to-table products) boasts steaks, aged and cut by locals Lone Star Meats, as the main attraction—try the centercut tenderloin filet from Beeman Family Ranch, or the all-natural Black Angus beef in either a New York strip or ribeye cut. Pair your steak with an excellent selection of wines and cart cocktails.

Ooh la la! Chez Nous is a sleeper pick for the steak list, but they are too remarkable not to include. They’ve been quietly tucked into a spot off of 6th street for the better part of 35 years. While it’s true that their menu is mostly lovely French cuisine, their two steaks are standout. The rib eye on their regular menu with its brandy demi-glace and frites is always perfect. Their prix fixe menu is really a steal: $32 for three courses. One of the entree options is a grilled Angus sirloin with pernod butter and provencale tomato. Trust their sommelier to guide you to a vintage that pairs well.

What do you do when you’re a famous football player hailing from the University of Texas? You open a steakhouse in Austin (natch). You’ll drop a pretty penny, here but the swanky digs and exceptional service make it a fine treat-yo-self option. In addition to the usual selection of steaks, Vince Young offers unique menu items—a wagyu brisket burger, akaushi steak and a 34-oz Tomahawk rib eye guaranteed to satisfy the hangriest carnivore. For those who eschew red meat, there are entrees of the fish and fowl kind. While you’re indulging, might as well finish off that meal with an item off their Cigar menu. That’s right—a menu. Of cigars.

Salt & Time is both a butcher shop and a restaurant, a meat-lover's paradise where steaks are purchased from Texas ranchers and then aged, cured, and smoked (salumi is also crafted in-house).  In addition to a daily selection of steaks and chops, Salt & Time also offers a steak to share, with a citrus and herb butter, charred brocolli and glazed carrots. Check out their top notch beer selection, too—Austin Beerworks Sputnik and Reissdorf Kolsch are available on tap.