There are literally hundreds of steakhouses located on the island of Manhattan. However, five or six are consistently ranked in the top ten. 

Let’s examine each one and find out why they are so special. The following best steakhouses in Manhattan are in no particular order.

Cote

Cote is a clever cross between a classic steakhouse and a Korean tabletop barbecue spot that is all decked out with comfortable booths and dim lighting. It is deliberately billed as a “Korean steakhouse.”

Their main event, also known as the Butcher’s Feast, is a collection of four USDA Prime and American Wagyu cuts that are accompanied by small side dishes (banchan) and classic sides of egg souffle, scallion salad, and kimchi.

Many believe that their meat quality puts it head and shoulders above other steakhouses in Manhattan. Cote boasts a downstairs dry-aging room stocked with hanging steaks under neon-red lighting.

Cote also offers a variety of other beef, including three kinds of rib-eye and a melt-in-your-mouth A5 Wagyu reserve cut steak. 

Based on a plethora of positive reviews, choosing Cote as your best steakhouse in Manhattan would be a good bet.

Gallaghers

Gallaghers has been a Manhattan steakhouse staple for over ninety years. Since 1927 when it opened as a speakeasy, Gallaghers has been serving hungry, thirsty Times Square visitors. 

Their updated new look features a display kitchen where patrons can watch the chefs cook steaks over a hickory-coal grill—one of only two NYC steakhouses to cook steaks the old-fashioned way.

Gallaghers maintains a steakhouse dry-aging glass-enclosed meat cooler visible from the street. A real treat for their patrons or a lucky passerby. 

Their huge horseshoe-shaped wooden bar is surrounded by pictures of celebrities on the walls. A simple menu makes ordering steak a breeze.

This legendary Manhattan steakhouse serves porterhouse, rib-eye, bone-in sirloin, and veal chops accompanied by shrimp, lobster, or crab cocktail and clam’s casino. If you’re looking for a classic old-fashioned best steakhouse in Manhattan, Gallaghers is the place to be.

Keens 

Keens is one of the oldest and most classic steakhouses in Manhattan. Opened in 1885, guests visiting the storied steakhouse find themselves immersed in an appealing atmosphere of times past. 

Keens’s dark wood-paneled space exudes a warm, unique aura that is accented by dozens of pipes lining the ceiling and walls. Pipes smoked by American icons like J.P. Morgan, Albert Einstein, and Babe Ruth, just to name a few.

Keens’s menu includes its legendary Mutton Chop (meat from a mature sheep), along with prime rib, porterhouse, filet mignon, T-bone, sirloin, chateaubriand, and a classic surf and turf with lobsters from Maine.

They also have an impressive raw bar, Maryland Lump Crab Cakes, and various sides, including an iceberg lettuce wedge, creamed spinach, and five different kinds of potatoes.

Keens is genuinely an American steakhouse classic.

Porter House

Porter House is another one of the best steakhouses in Manhattan, and the Central Park views are something to behold. Its owners envisioned the steakhouse as an NYC tourist destination.

The mature yet appealing brown-tan interior perfectly matches the cherrywood walls. Leather seating and black and white images of jazz legends give the space a satisfyingly delightful feel. The food isn’t that bad either.

Porterhouse is not the only cut of beef available at this best steakhouse in Manhattan. Menu specialties also include steakhouse staples like an assortment of dry-aged cuts, the thick slab bacon, crab cakes, and butter-poached lobster. A higher-priced Wagyu steak is also an option.

Eventually, though, a steakhouse must be measured by its beef, and Porter House doesn’t disappoint. The 28-day dry-aged beef gets a glorious char with a pink inside that is tender, moist, and juicy. 

The Porter House steakhouse is definitely worth a try.

Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor is a new addition to the Gramercy Pary community. Opening in 2021, this London-based best steakhouse is the only other venue that grills its steaks over old-fashioned charcoal.

You can find Hawksmoor located inside the United Charities Building, the interior includes 30-foot vaulted ceilings and mosaic floors.  

The menu is easy to navigate and offers rib-eyes, fillets, strips, and a unique fine rump cut for a less expensive option. The steaks are cut and delivered from local area farms, and chalkboards display the availability of the always in-demand 70 oz. Tomahawk chop and Porterhouse cuts are offered in various sizes.

Hawksmoor just might be a place steak lovers should check out.

There are many other best steakhouses in Manhattan, too many to mention here. A simple search on the internet will give you all of the best readily at your fingertips.