NYC is having a thrilling steakhouse boom — and these are the three best steaks
Vegan fare — from Eleven Madison Park’s plant-based menu to Superiority Burger’s meatless patties — may grab headlines, but when it comes to grabbing dinner, many New Yorkers just want a good steak.
Restaurateurs know this and are eager to satisfy the city’s hunger for beef.
A herd of new steakhouses — with rockstar chefs, prime locations and megabucks designs — are opening in Manhattan.
Among them will be the first full-scale, street-level restaurant at the World Trade Center since 9/11 — Brazilian-style Fogo de Chao.
They follow a number of big openings in recent years, including Delmonico’s downtown and a third Brooklyn Chophouse in Times Square.
“The number of New York City steakhouses has quadrupled from the time we started the survey in 1979,” Zagat Survey founder Tim Zagat told The Post.
Classics such as Keens and Peter Luger are packed with big spenders as are steakhouses that have opened this century, such as Hawkmoor and Mastro’s.
So are eateries that are basically steakhouses but don’t use the word, including The Grill, Minetta Tavern and Knickerbocker Bar & Grill.
Scott Solasz, the Vice President of Master Purveyors, a Bronx-based meat supplier whose customers include Peter Luger and Wolfgang’s, cited a “10% increase in New York steakhouse demand since pre-COVID.”
He noted that new establishments “aren’t just about opening a steakhouse — they’re all providing the highest grades of beef.”
That typically means USDA Prime — the gold standard of domestic beef — as well as the highest-rated imported products such as Japanese A5-grade Wagyu.
Butcher Pat La Frieda, who’s been called “the undisputed king of meat,” told The Post his company has seen a 15% increase in restaurant demand by volume since before the pandemic.
“Especially for prime-aged and Wagyu aged-steak, the most expensive,” he said. “It’s quite shocking.”
Celebrated chef David Burke noted that meat-centric restaurants have a level of familiarity and ease of ordering that are especially appealing in uncertain times.
They offer “a level of comfort” that’s missing in places that are “creative and experimental,” said Burke, who was the founding chef at Maloney & Porcelli and today owns Park Avenue Kitchen and David Burke Tavern. “You can make a little noise. The drinks are bigger.”
LaFrieda agreed that the enduring appeal of steakhouses is their unique blend of luxury and boisterous conviviality.
“People want interaction since the pandemic, especially with some people still working at home,” he told The Post. “Steakhouses are our new golf course.”
Ready to hit the T-bones?
Have a look at all the new places that have just opened or are coming soon.
Beefbar
105 Hudson St., now openThis rapidly expanding Monte Carlo-based outfit, which has dozens of locations, from Sao Paulo to Saudi Arabia, opened its first location in Tribeca.
It occupies the former Nobu space, and the inviting dining room boasts arched windows, velvet banquettes and marble tables.
The menu has some sticker shocks — a 40-ounce Snake River American wagyu for $495, Japanese Kobe at $155 for four ounces — but there are also delicious, reasonable options for those lacking in oil wealth.
I had wonderful, spicy mayo-charged rock corn tempura for just $19 and a Black Angus New York strip with a crusty char that served two for a reasonable $95.
Good wines by the glass for less than $20 help blunt the painful roar of happy customers and a thumping soundtrack.
La Tete D’Or
One Madison Ave., opening November
Daniel Boulud’s first steakhouse will be on the ground floor of a new office tower developed by SL Green, which is also the landlord for his Le Pavillon at One Vanderbilt.
“I became an American so now I can open an American restaurant,” the great French chef, who got his U.S. citizenship in 2021, told The Post.
The elegant,150-seat dining room is designed by Rockwell Group and will aim to blend American comfort with French elegance.
They’ll be an option for an “omakase”-style tasting menu of different steaks as well as an ala carte menu.
Boulud promises “a lot of seafood starters” and a “French triple branding of soul, seasoning and sauces.”
Bourbon Steak
JW Marriott Essex House Hotel
160 Central Park South, opening late May
This large-scale, 7,500 square-foot beef behemoth designed by AvroKO opens later this month in the hotel’s former Alain Ducasse space.
James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Mina aims to elevate steakhouse fare without straying too far from beloved classics.
I once had a great meal at Bourbon Steak in Aventura, Fla., near Miami.
Fogo de Chao
3 World Trade Center, opening 2025
This game-changing new outpost of the popular Brazilian-style restaurant will debut next year on the ground floor of the lower Manhattan skyscraper.
An expansive dining room will be centered around an open churrasco grill, offering a view of gaucho chefs butchering and cooking high-quality cuts over an open flame.
A Market Table will offer seasonal salads, cured meats, antipasti, and more.
Baires Grill
200 Chambers St. and 350 W. 35th St., opening late 2024
The Miami-based, Argentine-style steakhouse is on an expansion roll with uptown and downtown Manhattan locations on the way.
The one at 200 Chambers Street replaces a former outpost of the Palm.
Both are set to bow this year but dates are uncertain.
Empire Steak
233 W. 49th St., now open
The third outpost of the local chainlet opened late last year.
It’s a stroke of faith in the rebounding market by the owners — brothers Russ, Jack and Jeff Sinanaj, who are all alumni of legendary Peter Luge
Cote
550 Madison Ave., opening 2025
The original Flatiron location of Simon Kim’s sexy Korean steakhouse (don’t call it a barbecue joint) opened in 2017 to much fanfare.
It went on to earn a Michelin star and expand to Miami and Singapore. Midtown Manhattan is next.
The new Cote will be part of an exciting, multi-faceted, 15,000 square-foot dining complex that will also include an exclusive sushi restaurant from Japan’s Michelin star-holder Masahiro Yoshitake.
Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecote
155 E. 54th St., now open
The home of the $34 steak-and-fries spot has been packed since it reopened at a new location in late November after being closed for more than two years.
Gui
776 Eighth Ave., opening this spring
Chef Sungchul Shim of Hell’s Kitchen’s Michelin-starred Kochi and Mari signed a lease for this planned steakhouse with Korean influences. No other details are available at this point.
Great steaks to eat now
It’s hard to name the “best” steak in a city with tens of thousands, but I return to these three again and again.
I order “medium rare plus” because many kitchens now interpret “medium rare” as “rare.”
Porterhouse at Porter house Bar and Grill
The 28-day dry-aged, USDA prime signature dish scores on all counts: rich mineral flavor, crispy char and abundant jus. $180, 10 Columbus Circle located in The Shops at Columbus Circle, 4th Floor, PorterHouseNYC.com.
Bone-in ribeye at Delmonico’s
The cut’s deep, earthbound flavor powerfully emerges after 65 days of dry-aging. $86, 56 Beaver St., TheOriginalDelmonicos.com.
Gorgonzola-cured Wagyu strip loin at Carne Mare
Andrew Carmellini’s 12-ounce masterpiece is the smallest of my favorites, but its lasciviously strong flavor makes it worth every cent. $135, 89 South St., CarneMare.com.
