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Steaks from Izzy’s Steakhouse Audrey Kuhn

16 Grade-A Steakhouses in San Francisco

Where to satisfy the meatiest of cravings

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When the craving for a steak strikes, it should be satisfied in the meatiest of ways. San Francisco may not have a reputation as a meat-eating town, but there are enough places to provide relief to your itch. In fact, a number of the oldest restaurants in town are focused on steak.

Some — like Tadich Grill and Bobo’s — have entire sections of their menu devoted to fish, while others, like Niku and Gozu, are obsessed with wagyu. There are the classic steakhouses, such as House of Prime Rib and Harris', and more modern takes on the genre. All of this to say: despite common beliefs, there are plenty of places in San Francisco to go primal on a piece of meat with a martini on the side.

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Izzy's, open since 1987 in the Marina, proudly serves aged corn-fed American beef, and at reasonably affordable prices. Get the filet mignon for $46, and that includes two sides of your choosing. The restaurant also boasts one of the largest parklets in San Francisco, strung with twinkle lights.

Original Joe's

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This North Beach institution is still bustling with jacketed waiters bringing big plates of steak and pasta to leather booths with white tablecloths. Dating back to 1937, the original location suffered a fire in 2007, but Joe’s finally reopened five years later on Washington Square. The generous Italian-American menu includes flame-grilled New York strip, bone-in ribeye, or filet mignon, which come with a side of spaghetti or housemade ravioli. Or try the prime rib roast, which includes classic mashed potatoes and creamed spinach.

Emma K. Morris

The Brazen Head

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Brazen Head is not a flashy downtown steakhouse experience, it’s more like the village pub of Cow Hollow. Regulars have been coming back to this cozy wood-paneled dining room for more than 40 years, and the house special is the prime rib, cooked however you like it, and served simply with a baked potato, green veggies, and caramelized shallot jus. 

Brazen Head

Harris' Restaurant

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At Harris', you'll travel back to a time when steak with a martini was the go-to combo. And you'll like it, because the throwback quotient at this classic steakhouse is the best thing about it. That and the steaks, which are corn-fed and sourced from the Midwest, dry-aged for three weeks in the restaurant, and then mesquite-fire grilled.

Harris’ Restaurant

House of Prime Rib

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This San Francisco classic (est. 1949) is a trip back in time. The restaurant's apropos name says it all — it serves one thing and one thing only, and it does that roast beef perfectly. The only choices you need to make are meat temperature, cut thickness, mashed or loaded baked potatoes, and a martini or Manhattan. Each plate comes with a salad prepared tableside, creamed spinach, Yorkshire pudding, and potatoes — and of course, a hulking piece of beef cut from roving carts. Take visiting friends and family, celebrate big life occasions, or just satisfy steak cravings.

A plate of food at House of Prime Rib. Lauren Saria

Tadich Grill

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Open since 1849, Tadich Grill is a San Francisco tradition, complete with a wood-fired grill that outputs satisfyingly charred steaks. The most famous dish is the Hangtown Fry (an oyster omelet), but the steaks are of equal mention. Just be prepared to wait, since this is a popular tourist destination, but bartenders will happily ply you with drinks until it's table time.

Signage for the Tadich Grill is seen on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 in San Francisco, Calif. The Tadich Grill, San Franciscoís oldest restaurant, is temporarily closing this Friday about a month after launching their takeout operation. Photo By Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

The Vault Steakhouse

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At the Vault Steakhouse, which has returned to its sexy underground locale, FiDi diners can order steaks with sauces like black truffle bordelaise or bearnaise to add on — as well as a few luxe sides like truffled mac n’ cheese, if they please. But it’s not just steakhouse classics here; fresh options include beef fat fried rice and a raw bar if you’re craving crudo or caviar.

Torched filet mignon at the Vault Steakhouse Hardy Wilson

Gozu is not technically a steakhouse — but it is an all-wagyu tasting menu, for those who love their luxuriously marbled beef. Chef Marc Zimmerman worked at Alexander’s for years before opening Gozu in 2019. It’s a dramatic black box of a space, with a horseshoe counter centered on a live-fire grill. The chefs pass steak bites across the counter, breaking down how they use all parts of the animal, and the restaurant’s fireside tasting menu starts at $225 per person. Alternately, there is a four-course tasting menu for $125 and items available a la carte, as well.

Patricia Chang

Epic Steak

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The view of the shimmery Bay Bridge is the top draw here — perfect for impressing a date or clients — and the steaks and seafood are a close second. Sister restaurant next door Waterbar is seafood-focused, and that overflows onto Epic's menu, with lots of surf and turf options.

EpicSteak.com

John's Grill

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Focused on steak and seafood, John’s Grill is a San Francisco institution favored by local politicians and filled with literary romance. Featured in Dashiell Hammett’s detective novel the Maltese Falcon, the restaurant has played up the connection — they’ve got a model Maltese Falcon and some Sam Spade lamb chops on the menu, for instance. But the strongest order might be steak: All cuts are dry-aged Black Angus from the Midwest.

Alexander's Steakhouse

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Another Japanese-focused steakhouse, Alexander's dry ages its Omaha prime beef for 28 days and offers imported and domestic wagyu from nine Japan prefectures. Its small plates go much further than Caesar salad, offering wagyu pate or uni toast. If you really want to go all out, you can do the chef’s tasting for $211 per person, or the very meaty A5 Hitachi wagyu tasting for $275.

Espetus Churrascaria

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It’s one thing to order a steak entree for dinner, but it’s a completely different experience when various cuts of meat are paraded past your table and carved at-will, such as is the case at Espetus Churrascaria. There’s picanha, filet mignon, sausages, and yes, chicken hearts, all ready to be cheerfully eaten until you’re stuffed. A word to the wise: Don’t skip the grilled pineapple, it’ll be a nice sweet addition to your meal after all the protein.

Niku Steakhouse

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The Omakase Restaurant Group’s steakhouse specializing in wagyu beef sets itself apart with its own in-house butcher next door, serving hard-to-find menu items like a wagyu meatball and huge, dry-aged imperial tomahawk steaks. The facts that more than 100 wines are available by the bottle or glass and that the menu includes excellent non-beef items, put Niku Steakhouse over the top.

Miller & Lux Restaurant

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If you’re looking for a particularly luxurious steakhouse experience then celebrity chef Tyler Florence’s newest offering is clearly a fit — it’s right there in the name (although technically the “Lux” refers to Charles Lux, half of the duo known as “the Cattle Kings of California.”). The 7,000-square-foot waterfront restaurant is ensconced at Thrive City, just outside of Chase Center, with a stunning leather and brass dining room by San Francisco design darling Ken Fulk. The pricey menu tempts with options like dry-aged tomahawk ribeye and filet mignon.

Burger at Miller & Lux Miller & Lux

Lolinda

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Restaurateur Adriano Paganini (Beretta, Super Duper Burger) puts his spin on the Argentinian steakhouse, offering top-notch food at fair prices, in a very sexy, boisterous room. Consider this restaurant for birthday parties, bachelorettes, and more, as it's the perfect celebratory spot with a modernized steakhouse feel.

Bullshead Restaurant

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An affordable, very casual, populist steak and burger spot, Bullshead Restaurant has held it down in West Portal since 1979. For a simple ribeye and baked potato dinner, a big chuck burger, or a ground buffalo steak in a place that feels miles away from the bougie San Francisco scene, this is the spot.

Izzy's

Izzy's, open since 1987 in the Marina, proudly serves aged corn-fed American beef, and at reasonably affordable prices. Get the filet mignon for $46, and that includes two sides of your choosing. The restaurant also boasts one of the largest parklets in San Francisco, strung with twinkle lights.

Original Joe's

This North Beach institution is still bustling with jacketed waiters bringing big plates of steak and pasta to leather booths with white tablecloths. Dating back to 1937, the original location suffered a fire in 2007, but Joe’s finally reopened five years later on Washington Square. The generous Italian-American menu includes flame-grilled New York strip, bone-in ribeye, or filet mignon, which come with a side of spaghetti or housemade ravioli. Or try the prime rib roast, which includes classic mashed potatoes and creamed spinach.

Emma K. Morris

The Brazen Head

Brazen Head is not a flashy downtown steakhouse experience, it’s more like the village pub of Cow Hollow. Regulars have been coming back to this cozy wood-paneled dining room for more than 40 years, and the house special is the prime rib, cooked however you like it, and served simply with a baked potato, green veggies, and caramelized shallot jus. 

Brazen Head

Harris' Restaurant

At Harris', you'll travel back to a time when steak with a martini was the go-to combo. And you'll like it, because the throwback quotient at this classic steakhouse is the best thing about it. That and the steaks, which are corn-fed and sourced from the Midwest, dry-aged for three weeks in the restaurant, and then mesquite-fire grilled.

Harris’ Restaurant

House of Prime Rib

This San Francisco classic (est. 1949) is a trip back in time. The restaurant's apropos name says it all — it serves one thing and one thing only, and it does that roast beef perfectly. The only choices you need to make are meat temperature, cut thickness, mashed or loaded baked potatoes, and a martini or Manhattan. Each plate comes with a salad prepared tableside, creamed spinach, Yorkshire pudding, and potatoes — and of course, a hulking piece of beef cut from roving carts. Take visiting friends and family, celebrate big life occasions, or just satisfy steak cravings.

A plate of food at House of Prime Rib. Lauren Saria

Tadich Grill

Open since 1849, Tadich Grill is a San Francisco tradition, complete with a wood-fired grill that outputs satisfyingly charred steaks. The most famous dish is the Hangtown Fry (an oyster omelet), but the steaks are of equal mention. Just be prepared to wait, since this is a popular tourist destination, but bartenders will happily ply you with drinks until it's table time.

Signage for the Tadich Grill is seen on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 in San Francisco, Calif. The Tadich Grill, San Franciscoís oldest restaurant, is temporarily closing this Friday about a month after launching their takeout operation. Photo By Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

The Vault Steakhouse

At the Vault Steakhouse, which has returned to its sexy underground locale, FiDi diners can order steaks with sauces like black truffle bordelaise or bearnaise to add on — as well as a few luxe sides like truffled mac n’ cheese, if they please. But it’s not just steakhouse classics here; fresh options include beef fat fried rice and a raw bar if you’re craving crudo or caviar.

Torched filet mignon at the Vault Steakhouse Hardy Wilson

Gozu

Gozu is not technically a steakhouse — but it is an all-wagyu tasting menu, for those who love their luxuriously marbled beef. Chef Marc Zimmerman worked at Alexander’s for years before opening Gozu in 2019. It’s a dramatic black box of a space, with a horseshoe counter centered on a live-fire grill. The chefs pass steak bites across the counter, breaking down how they use all parts of the animal, and the restaurant’s fireside tasting menu starts at $225 per person. Alternately, there is a four-course tasting menu for $125 and items available a la carte, as well.

Patricia Chang

Epic Steak

The view of the shimmery Bay Bridge is the top draw here — perfect for impressing a date or clients — and the steaks and seafood are a close second. Sister restaurant next door Waterbar is seafood-focused, and that overflows onto Epic's menu, with lots of surf and turf options.

EpicSteak.com

John's Grill

Focused on steak and seafood, John’s Grill is a San Francisco institution favored by local politicians and filled with literary romance. Featured in Dashiell Hammett’s detective novel the Maltese Falcon, the restaurant has played up the connection — they’ve got a model Maltese Falcon and some Sam Spade lamb chops on the menu, for instance. But the strongest order might be steak: All cuts are dry-aged Black Angus from the Midwest.

Alexander's Steakhouse

Another Japanese-focused steakhouse, Alexander's dry ages its Omaha prime beef for 28 days and offers imported and domestic wagyu from nine Japan prefectures. Its small plates go much further than Caesar salad, offering wagyu pate or uni toast. If you really want to go all out, you can do the chef’s tasting for $211 per person, or the very meaty A5 Hitachi wagyu tasting for $275.

Espetus Churrascaria

It’s one thing to order a steak entree for dinner, but it’s a completely different experience when various cuts of meat are paraded past your table and carved at-will, such as is the case at Espetus Churrascaria. There’s picanha, filet mignon, sausages, and yes, chicken hearts, all ready to be cheerfully eaten until you’re stuffed. A word to the wise: Don’t skip the grilled pineapple, it’ll be a nice sweet addition to your meal after all the protein.

Niku Steakhouse

The Omakase Restaurant Group’s steakhouse specializing in wagyu beef sets itself apart with its own in-house butcher next door, serving hard-to-find menu items like a wagyu meatball and huge, dry-aged imperial tomahawk steaks. The facts that more than 100 wines are available by the bottle or glass and that the menu includes excellent non-beef items, put Niku Steakhouse over the top.

Miller & Lux Restaurant

If you’re looking for a particularly luxurious steakhouse experience then celebrity chef Tyler Florence’s newest offering is clearly a fit — it’s right there in the name (although technically the “Lux” refers to Charles Lux, half of the duo known as “the Cattle Kings of California.”). The 7,000-square-foot waterfront restaurant is ensconced at Thrive City, just outside of Chase Center, with a stunning leather and brass dining room by San Francisco design darling Ken Fulk. The pricey menu tempts with options like dry-aged tomahawk ribeye and filet mignon.

Burger at Miller & Lux Miller & Lux

Lolinda

Restaurateur Adriano Paganini (Beretta, Super Duper Burger) puts his spin on the Argentinian steakhouse, offering top-notch food at fair prices, in a very sexy, boisterous room. Consider this restaurant for birthday parties, bachelorettes, and more, as it's the perfect celebratory spot with a modernized steakhouse feel.

Related Maps

Bullshead Restaurant

An affordable, very casual, populist steak and burger spot, Bullshead Restaurant has held it down in West Portal since 1979. For a simple ribeye and baked potato dinner, a big chuck burger, or a ground buffalo steak in a place that feels miles away from the bougie San Francisco scene, this is the spot.

Related Maps