These are San Francisco's best steakhouses

Niku is a Japanese-inspired American steakhouse, one of the few Michelin-starred steakhouses in the U.S. It dry ages meat in house and has a butcher shop next door, from which head butcher Guy Crims departs to source high quality A5 Wagyu steak in Japan. This includes specialty wagyu such as Kagawa olive wagyu rarely seen elsewhere, from cattle raised on toasted olive pulp. Executive chef Dustin Falcon and team work the mid-restaurant binchotan charcoal and wood grill, while the wine list focuses on around 450 French and Californian bottles. Aya Yanagisawa designed the 60-seat interior with dark wood and floor to ceiling windows.

The House of Prime Rib is a San Francisco legend. Opened in 1949, the landmark restaurant serves (you probably guessed it!) prime rib, carved and served tableside from signature stainless steel carts. The Old-World-style dining room is impressively comfortable with wood paneling and fireplaces. Diners choose from a variety of cuts of exclusively corn fed beef, from the City Cut (a smaller serving), to the House of Prime Rib Cut (a generous portion), to the King Henry VIII cut, an extra-generous super-thick cut. Each beef rib has been judged by the chef for quality firmness, texture, color and marbling, and then aged for 21 days. Don’t forget to stop by the cozy cocktail lounge before or after your meal.

At Alexander’s Steakhouse, Ukrainian-born chef Oleg Sheyner uses his grandmother’s recipes along with experience garnered through working in Michelin kitchens throughout Europe to merge classic techniques with modern cooking. Here in a fusion of Japanese and American steakhouse traditions, you’ll find Wagyu from Japan and Australia, dry-aged steaks, Omakase wine pairings and exclusive caviar service. Don’t miss the hamachi shots served in shot glasses.

Come for the steak, stay for the view. This design-savvy waterfront restaurant on the Embarcadero offers stunning, unobstructed views of the Bay Bridge, best enjoyed from one of the plush leather banquettes or on the patio (weather permitting). Executive chef Parke Ulrich expertly prepares prime dry aged meats, a standout being the 45-day aged tomahawk rib eye with grass-fed, grain-finished beef butchered by Olivier’s Butchery in the Dogpatch. Don’t miss Prime Rib Sunday, where 12 and 16-ounce cuts are served starting at 4pm until they run out. EPIC also serves fresh-caught seafood, and through its oyster give-back program, five cents of each oyster sold at lunch or happy hour goes to a community nonprofit.

An Argentinian steakhouse in the Mission helmed by chefs Alejandro Morgan and Juan Torres, Lolinda is Latin America-meets-California cuisine. Meat is cooked over the asador (wood-fired grill) and suggested accompaniments are ceviches and empanadas. Guests are encouraged to order family-style to share, with items such as the guacho, a prime bone-in rib eye for two, and the asado mixto, mixed grilled meats for groups. There are also two full bars to further fuel your devouring.

Roka Akor is known for sushi and grilled seafood as well as steak, so feel free to indulge in every possible way. The centerpiece of the restaurant is the robata grill, where chefs prepare Asian-inspired, decadently dressed cuts of beef. Wagyu is sourced from Idaho and Australia as well as various Japanese prefectures, while king crab or lobster are served with a chili lime butter. The Omakase tasting selection, designed to be table-shared, is $152 per person.

This steakhouse with the jaunty apostrophe has been an elegant standby since 1984 with high ceilings, brass chandeliers and dark wood. Executive chef Michael Buhagiar and family work with an in-house butcher (from whom you can also order beef to go home with) to prepare the steak to exacting specifications. You can go two routes: dry-aged Midwestern beef or Wagyu (authentic A5 Japanese Miyazaki or American). Don’t miss the bar and piano lounge for a truly throwback evening.

This Lombard Street steakhouse focuses on two things: a bone-in filet and Dungeness crab roasted in a secret garlic sauce (owner and executive chef Andrea Froncillo was formerly executive chef at garlic-based The Stinking Rose). The name Bobo’s comes from Boboquivari, a Venetian court jester often seen in marionette form; here at Bobo’s, he dangles over the door to the kitchen. That playfulness leads to a delicious and entertaining night. Froncillo learned to cook from his nonna in Italy and now lives in North Beach. Cuts range from a six-ounce petit filet mignon to a 49-ounce porterhouse (when available). The latter is separated into its parts—a New York steak and filet mignon—and cooked separately but served on one plate to achieve ideal doneness for each side. Bonus: Check out Froncillo’s website Sex and the Kitchen for recipes and suggestions on the best places in San Francisco to kiss.

The first authentic Brazilian churrascaria to open in San Francisco (celebrating 21 years in 2024), this Rodízio-style restaurant on Market Street ensures continuous tableside service until everyone is sated. Gaúcho chefs work over an open flame to slowly grill a variety of 14 skewered rotisserie meats (pork, steak, chicken, shrimp, lamb), which are then offered to you. Brazilian side dishes abound, and pão de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread) is served throughout the meal. Adore the carne seca black bean stew called feijoada along with its sides? It’s available on weekends.

Want a fancy place to head for dinner? Osso sits atop Nob Hill and sources prime cuts such as dry aged akaushi rib eye. Open only for dinner, Osso’s black-and-white Art Deco decor reads as elegant—it has to be for the lobster tail to be described on the menu as an “enhancement.” Executive chef Josh Saenz also offers rack of lamb and duroc pork chop, while the wine list won a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence this year.

It’s funky inside STK with purple and blue lighting and abstract shapes fanning out on the ceiling, but the steak is solid, everything from a sweet six-ounce filet to a 34-ounce dry-aged tomahawk, plus three Wagyu options. Be there when the DJ spins steak music and enjoy other pyrotechnics like having your waiter blowtorch the butter pat atop your 14-ouncer.