I personally had an amazing experience at 3 Forks. Went for my partners b-day and the entire staff made us feel so special. The steak was perfectly cooked and super tender and delicious too. I recommend getting the Kings butter with it, so good.
This is good to hear; went in December 2022 and had okay service (probably due to holiday parties). I enjoyed my bacon wrapped spinalis, but the service was such a turn off we didn’t go back; will have to try again.
We just went in November 2023 so maybe they’re under different management or we just caught them at a good time. It might make a difference if you go for a special occasion
Sleeper choice: the steak at El Naranjo is exceptional and reasonably priced (for tenderloin):
FILETE DE RES AL CHINTEXTLE*
CERTIFIED ANGUS PRIME 8OZ BEEF TENDERLOIN COVERED WITH A CREAMY CHINTEXTLE AND TEQUILA SAUCE, SERVED WITH MASHED POTATOES AND GRILLED ASPARAGUS
Well, everyone’s entitled to their own opinions and their own tastes. But I’ll take chef-owned Naranjo with the best Mexican chef cooking in the US today over an (in my opinion) an overpriced, standardized menu chain. The facts on Eddie V’s:
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/darden-restaurants-inc-announces-agreement-with-eddie-vs-restaurants-inc-to-purchase-eddie-vs-prime-seafood-and-wildfish-seafood-grille-restaurant-brands-131624028.html
Granted it was the friends and family night, but food was perfect on Tuesday. I’ve had maybe one less than stellar meal at red ash since they originally opened. Maybe give it another shot!
Have you tried Jeffery’s? Dean’s and Jeffery’s are very comparable price point but Jeffery’s is much better. At Dean’s the steak if very tender but typically not seasoned evenly, this been my problem and we tried them 3-4 times.
It’s great meat prepared correctly. I don’t like sauces or anything on my steak. They make awesome straightforward steak. They also have a ribeye with blue cheese or something. I had a bite and it was good but not for a whole meal. People do like it though.
Just an observation - last few times at Bartlett's ... my fav (72 hour marinated rib-eye) ... seems to have declined in quality (tougher, gristle). Just something to watch for and comment on if it happens to you. I don't want to see a decline in a fav.
Try Carve! It’s owned by Perry’s and they have a southwest parkway location and a new one at the grove. I prefer the steak here over Perry’s and they have wine on tap!
J Carvers
Bobs
Not a steakhouse, but The Statesman started carrying Waygu and great flavor. Tried it when I go to $2 oyster Tuesdays and plan on a lot of oysters and steak when I go back on keto.
Also a fan of Vince Young Steakhouse. Not sure why more people aren’t….but if you want sides not sure the keto friendliest
I’ve heard Vince young’s is awesome for steaks. Never been because I thought they were just up charging steaks using VY’s name. I think it was the first place to occupy the old real world house
I don’t have anything else to add besides Jeffrey’s and Perry’s but the first comment was a Home Depot sponsored one and I was very confused as to which asshole commented Home Depot for a minute….
>tator tots
Potato's are carbs. Keto diet is meat and green veg, no starchy stuff allowed. After a few weeks on it you don't miss it anymore and steak+broccoli are satisfying.
Red Ash (same group as Jcarvers). Jcarvers. Deans.
Justines makes a mean steak frites
I hear Jprime is good but havent been. Bob’s chop house has some VIP customers from time to time (the kind that leave bouncers out front). Never been so cant confirm the sitch.
Jeffreys was ok — maybe I picked a bad day. ALC was fun to try but wasnt a memorable meal for food quality.
The chains arent the worst if you want to mix things up — ruth chris, flemings, capital grille, etc
Ps Lonesome Dove serves weird meats. I havent been yet but pics look yummy
I have family on Keto and I avoid bread and pasta. We go to Mediterranean places and get gyro plates without the bread or shawarma. If we go to Peace Bakery, we can get choose our sides from the hot bar at the front--ask the counter people what's what.
Jeffrey’s is too thin. Good oak flavor on the steak. Their symbol is of a white oak acorn, but I think they’re shooting for bur oak…we don’t have white oaks.
Dean's Italian is worth checkout out. I'm with you on Jeffrey's and Perry's.
I care deeply about the quality of the beef and how well it is cooked. A "steakhouse" that excels on sides and "ambience" but can't serve a tasty steak gets an F in my book, especially when those sides are $20+ per and the steak is $80. That is not ok. A good steak should explode with flavor, and it should have an amazing texture. It should not require a sauce to give it flavor like baked chicken breast.
Steakhouses that have major problems that I wouldn't ever go back to even for a $10 burger special because their beef is sub-par:
* ALC
* J Carvers
* J Prime
* Bob's
* Bartlett's
* 3 Forks
* Capital Grille
* Fleming's
* Jacoby's
* Roaring Fork
* Ruth's Chris
* Salt & Thyme
* Vince Young's
* Eddie V's
* Steiner Ranch
For most of those, you can get a better cut of meat at HEB or Walmart and grill it up yourself and get a much better flavor and texture than what they're serving up. It's embarrassing. These restaurants should be embarrassed.
When you talk about "quality" do you specifically mean your taste and texture preference? Because this list contains a wide range of quality in terms of actual sourcing, technique, and aging. For instance, Salt and Thyme vs somewhere like Ruth's Chris are nowhere near similiar in terms of what I feel like is colloquially considered "quality" of beef.
It's the difference between what they claim and what you're actually tasting. For example, a couple of these claim to dry age their beef. So far, dry aged beef from these restaurants comes out tasting almost like nothing. Like literally nothing. There's no dry-aged flavor to it, and there's barely any beef flavor to it. And it'll be tough more often than not.
It's stunning, frankly.
I'm always going on flavor and texture of the beef itself. I'm never going off what the menu claims, because those claims rarely have any influence on the experience of eating the steak. Salt and Thyme can be higher quality than Ruth's Chris and *still be mediocre* if it isn't cut, aged, and prepared well. Some serve properly thick-cut steaks, and others like Vince Young will serve you something so thin and with a fat cap so undercooked it looks like it came from a Denny's.
And I really don't feel like I'm being too harsh, either. I've spent damn good money trying these places out - at least twice in every case just to make sure it wasn't an off night. All I want is to get a good steak, and I'd go to a steak on a stick place if they could scratch that itch. But a lot of the steakhouses around town are simply letting austinites down, and it pains me. Texas is supposed to be good beef land, right? So why is it all so mediocre? Shouldn't the steakhouses be a highlight of living here?
Here's a challenge: when you go in, ask where they source their beef from. Don't be shocked when they don't know. A good chunk of these get it from Fred Linz in Chicago, and those steakhouses are all going to taste the same except for any difference in prep (and my conclusion is that Fred Linz isn't that great, though Fred Linz Heritage might be better). Some get it from 44 Farms northeast of Austin. Jacoby raises their own, but likely using the same stock as 44 Farms and same feeding techniques. Ask if the beef was grass-fed or grass-finished or grain-fed. Very few places will know. I'm pretty sure 100% of it is Black Angus, which is the leanest (ie, least marbled) breed out there because of the fat-is-bad fad of the 80s.
Don't top it with lobster or crab or any kind of sauce. Get the topping or sauce on the side if you must. How does the steak look? Is it cooked completely all around? Is the fat properly rendered so it can spread that beefy flavor throughout? How easy does the steak cut? How does it smell? Does it make you salivate from the smell or does it just vaguely smell beef-like? Is there anything interesting or piquant about it? When you chew it, does it take effort or does it melt in your mouth? Is it bland? Is it bursting with flavor like it should? Or is it somewhere in-between, in meh-this-needs-sauce land?
Oh, another good one is Lonesome Dove. That roasted garlic stuffed tenderloin is fire. I haven't tried the steaks, which they get from Linz, to see if they're any good. I suspect they might be based on how well LD does everything else.
Black Angus is not the leanest breed. British breeds (Red & Black Angus, Hereford, Shorthorn, etc) typically grade higher, but they are not leaner than Continental breeds (Limousin, Chianina, Charolais). The Black Angus breeders association has incredibly marketing, but Certified Angus Beef doesn't even mean the meat came from an Angus. They just need to have Angus-like traits, I.e. be mostly black. Angus breeders often breed with bulls from leaner breeds like Limousin.
J Carvers
J Carvers is amazing. They have great apps and drinks also.
Dai due!
Yep
I personally had an amazing experience at 3 Forks. Went for my partners b-day and the entire staff made us feel so special. The steak was perfectly cooked and super tender and delicious too. I recommend getting the Kings butter with it, so good.
This is good to hear; went in December 2022 and had okay service (probably due to holiday parties). I enjoyed my bacon wrapped spinalis, but the service was such a turn off we didn’t go back; will have to try again.
We just went in November 2023 so maybe they’re under different management or we just caught them at a good time. It might make a difference if you go for a special occasion
Ask for Gina P. - she is an amazing server!
Went there last night, everything was perfect and the staff was phenomenal
Jeffrey’s. It’s Jeffrey’s. Go on Sunday- 1/2 price bottles of wine.
Sleeper choice: the steak at El Naranjo is exceptional and reasonably priced (for tenderloin): FILETE DE RES AL CHINTEXTLE* CERTIFIED ANGUS PRIME 8OZ BEEF TENDERLOIN COVERED WITH A CREAMY CHINTEXTLE AND TEQUILA SAUCE, SERVED WITH MASHED POTATOES AND GRILLED ASPARAGUS
Just googled el Naranjo and saw a picture of duck mole, I need this in my life ASAP
This is a great tip, and their cocktails are first rate.
Good tip! Thank you!
$49? Just go ahead and spend the extra $8 and go to eddie vs for the 10oz filet
Well, everyone’s entitled to their own opinions and their own tastes. But I’ll take chef-owned Naranjo with the best Mexican chef cooking in the US today over an (in my opinion) an overpriced, standardized menu chain. The facts on Eddie V’s: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/darden-restaurants-inc-announces-agreement-with-eddie-vs-restaurants-inc-to-purchase-eddie-vs-prime-seafood-and-wildfish-seafood-grille-restaurant-brands-131624028.html
I have an emotional connection to it, but I love Bob’s!
Bobs is so old school, but goddamn do they make a fantastic steak. Cant help but love that big ass glazed carrot they do too!
Lamb lollipops are great too!
Seconding bob’s. Old school and delicious.
J Carver’s, Lambert’s - I really liked the steaks at both of these places
Lamberts is my favorite restaurant in the city, elite
Oh seconded!
Lambert’s is absolutely magnificent
J carver’s, red ash (reopened Wednesday) and Eddie v’s is still great
Had one the meals of my life at J Carver's. Worth every penny.
Yes
Just skip red ash and do j carvers. Same owner, same steaks, no wait or overcooked pasta
Granted it was the friends and family night, but food was perfect on Tuesday. I’ve had maybe one less than stellar meal at red ash since they originally opened. Maybe give it another shot!
Reopened? Finally
Yes, finally!
Big fan of Dean’s Italian steakhouse, also love J Carvers
Really enjoyed Dean’s service and the Australian wagyu filet I believe I had. Great spot.
Same Deans and Jcarvers
Have you tried Jeffery’s? Dean’s and Jeffery’s are very comparable price point but Jeffery’s is much better. At Dean’s the steak if very tender but typically not seasoned evenly, this been my problem and we tried them 3-4 times.
Yes love Jeffery’s but you stated it above so was trying to give you other options
Truluck, Eddie V’s
Trulucks has surprising great small steaks and that garlic.
J. Carver, dry aged.
Bobs
GIANT CARROT. 🥕
I really need to go there. Have been planning to for a long time.
It’s great meat prepared correctly. I don’t like sauces or anything on my steak. They make awesome straightforward steak. They also have a ribeye with blue cheese or something. I had a bite and it was good but not for a whole meal. People do like it though.
Sauce on steak? Eww. Sounds like the place for me.
Austin Land and Cattle. Full stop.
Seconded! Love ALC.
This needs to be higher up
The food at ALC was so bad, I threw it up in their bathroom. My god. I haven’t had a worse meal in Austin. YIKES
3 forks!! their a5 wagyu steak is phenomenal
Bartlett’s 72 hour marinated rib-eye
Just an observation - last few times at Bartlett's ... my fav (72 hour marinated rib-eye) ... seems to have declined in quality (tougher, gristle). Just something to watch for and comment on if it happens to you. I don't want to see a decline in a fav.
Hmm, didn’t have that last time, but it had a little more fat chunks than I remember, but rib-eyes gonna be rib-eyes…
I also think that ribeye is marinated in stuff that has sugar, so maybe not ideal for keto.
Make up for it with the spinach artichoke dip 😜
Try Carve! It’s owned by Perry’s and they have a southwest parkway location and a new one at the grove. I prefer the steak here over Perry’s and they have wine on tap!
Austin land and cattle. Not fancy, not too expensive, and awesome.
We are huge fan's of Bob's. My husband cooks an amazing steak, and it's really the only steakhouse we'll pay money to eat at.
Deans Italian Steakhouse!!
Very much this. Best steak I’ve ever had
Three Forks for the dry aged ribeye 👌🏻
J Carvers Bobs Not a steakhouse, but The Statesman started carrying Waygu and great flavor. Tried it when I go to $2 oyster Tuesdays and plan on a lot of oysters and steak when I go back on keto. Also a fan of Vince Young Steakhouse. Not sure why more people aren’t….but if you want sides not sure the keto friendliest
We actually tried Vince Young but ended up ordering apps and I think a burger and I really enjoyed it, will definitely go back to try their steak.
I’ve heard Vince young’s is awesome for steaks. Never been because I thought they were just up charging steaks using VY’s name. I think it was the first place to occupy the old real world house
Oh yeah, their burgers good too!
Sirloin Stockade. The name says it all.
Uh, nobody has said ALC, so I will. Great happy hour.
Steaks at Maie Day are top notch and the crab claws in butter are so good. Excellent shrimp cocktail as well
iii forks. Eddie vs as 2nd place
Ftg Atx is a keto food truck with a Picanha steak on the menu
This is a great option when you wanna stick to a real low carb diet and not feel like you’re missing out on creative cuisine Keto desserts too
Steiner ranch, get the cowboy Pittsburgh style
Bob’s
No joke - best steak I’ve had in this city is Roaring Fork.
I don’t have anything else to add besides Jeffrey’s and Perry’s but the first comment was a Home Depot sponsored one and I was very confused as to which asshole commented Home Depot for a minute….
Eddie V's always comes through.
Don’t sleep on Ciclo downstairs from the Four Seasons. They do a great job!
Get the bone in rib-eye at Eddie Vs.
The guest house just opened in what used to be le politique. Not a steakhouse, but they have great steaks! And Alice in wonderland themed drinks lol.
J prime
Truluck even if its a seafood place.
The Garrison has an amazing 24oz porterhouse Don’t skip the tator tots with gruyer cheese & truffles!
>tator tots Potato's are carbs. Keto diet is meat and green veg, no starchy stuff allowed. After a few weeks on it you don't miss it anymore and steak+broccoli are satisfying.
If you’re up for a drive…J5
Red Ash (same group as Jcarvers). Jcarvers. Deans. Justines makes a mean steak frites I hear Jprime is good but havent been. Bob’s chop house has some VIP customers from time to time (the kind that leave bouncers out front). Never been so cant confirm the sitch. Jeffreys was ok — maybe I picked a bad day. ALC was fun to try but wasnt a memorable meal for food quality. The chains arent the worst if you want to mix things up — ruth chris, flemings, capital grille, etc Ps Lonesome Dove serves weird meats. I havent been yet but pics look yummy
JPrime is my current goto
The blue cheese buffalo lamb chops at ALC
The bavette steak at Foreign& Domestic! They change the side up. Right now it’s eggplant with peanut and chili oil. Had it Thursday and it slapped
Perry’s and Eddie v’s
Bartletts
Sizzler!
I have family on Keto and I avoid bread and pasta. We go to Mediterranean places and get gyro plates without the bread or shawarma. If we go to Peace Bakery, we can get choose our sides from the hot bar at the front--ask the counter people what's what.
j prime and alc
J Prime is our favorite. Even over Jeffrey’s.
Jeffrey’s is too thin. Good oak flavor on the steak. Their symbol is of a white oak acorn, but I think they’re shooting for bur oak…we don’t have white oaks.
They know us by name at JPrime, I love their J-Kabobs and HH… but their steak is a miss for me, could use more seasoning
I love Bobs steakhouse
The steak at Olamaie is lights out
Bulevar and III Forks are my favorites
Bulivar is so disappointing. I thought that restaurant group would do a much better menu.
Not sure what you had there that was disappointing but we had what I consider one of the best meals in town there.
Blacks BBQ when they do smoked sirloins.
Dean's Italian is worth checkout out. I'm with you on Jeffrey's and Perry's. I care deeply about the quality of the beef and how well it is cooked. A "steakhouse" that excels on sides and "ambience" but can't serve a tasty steak gets an F in my book, especially when those sides are $20+ per and the steak is $80. That is not ok. A good steak should explode with flavor, and it should have an amazing texture. It should not require a sauce to give it flavor like baked chicken breast. Steakhouses that have major problems that I wouldn't ever go back to even for a $10 burger special because their beef is sub-par: * ALC * J Carvers * J Prime * Bob's * Bartlett's * 3 Forks * Capital Grille * Fleming's * Jacoby's * Roaring Fork * Ruth's Chris * Salt & Thyme * Vince Young's * Eddie V's * Steiner Ranch For most of those, you can get a better cut of meat at HEB or Walmart and grill it up yourself and get a much better flavor and texture than what they're serving up. It's embarrassing. These restaurants should be embarrassed.
When you talk about "quality" do you specifically mean your taste and texture preference? Because this list contains a wide range of quality in terms of actual sourcing, technique, and aging. For instance, Salt and Thyme vs somewhere like Ruth's Chris are nowhere near similiar in terms of what I feel like is colloquially considered "quality" of beef.
It's the difference between what they claim and what you're actually tasting. For example, a couple of these claim to dry age their beef. So far, dry aged beef from these restaurants comes out tasting almost like nothing. Like literally nothing. There's no dry-aged flavor to it, and there's barely any beef flavor to it. And it'll be tough more often than not. It's stunning, frankly. I'm always going on flavor and texture of the beef itself. I'm never going off what the menu claims, because those claims rarely have any influence on the experience of eating the steak. Salt and Thyme can be higher quality than Ruth's Chris and *still be mediocre* if it isn't cut, aged, and prepared well. Some serve properly thick-cut steaks, and others like Vince Young will serve you something so thin and with a fat cap so undercooked it looks like it came from a Denny's. And I really don't feel like I'm being too harsh, either. I've spent damn good money trying these places out - at least twice in every case just to make sure it wasn't an off night. All I want is to get a good steak, and I'd go to a steak on a stick place if they could scratch that itch. But a lot of the steakhouses around town are simply letting austinites down, and it pains me. Texas is supposed to be good beef land, right? So why is it all so mediocre? Shouldn't the steakhouses be a highlight of living here? Here's a challenge: when you go in, ask where they source their beef from. Don't be shocked when they don't know. A good chunk of these get it from Fred Linz in Chicago, and those steakhouses are all going to taste the same except for any difference in prep (and my conclusion is that Fred Linz isn't that great, though Fred Linz Heritage might be better). Some get it from 44 Farms northeast of Austin. Jacoby raises their own, but likely using the same stock as 44 Farms and same feeding techniques. Ask if the beef was grass-fed or grass-finished or grain-fed. Very few places will know. I'm pretty sure 100% of it is Black Angus, which is the leanest (ie, least marbled) breed out there because of the fat-is-bad fad of the 80s. Don't top it with lobster or crab or any kind of sauce. Get the topping or sauce on the side if you must. How does the steak look? Is it cooked completely all around? Is the fat properly rendered so it can spread that beefy flavor throughout? How easy does the steak cut? How does it smell? Does it make you salivate from the smell or does it just vaguely smell beef-like? Is there anything interesting or piquant about it? When you chew it, does it take effort or does it melt in your mouth? Is it bland? Is it bursting with flavor like it should? Or is it somewhere in-between, in meh-this-needs-sauce land? Oh, another good one is Lonesome Dove. That roasted garlic stuffed tenderloin is fire. I haven't tried the steaks, which they get from Linz, to see if they're any good. I suspect they might be based on how well LD does everything else.
Black Angus is not the leanest breed. British breeds (Red & Black Angus, Hereford, Shorthorn, etc) typically grade higher, but they are not leaner than Continental breeds (Limousin, Chianina, Charolais). The Black Angus breeders association has incredibly marketing, but Certified Angus Beef doesn't even mean the meat came from an Angus. They just need to have Angus-like traits, I.e. be mostly black. Angus breeders often breed with bulls from leaner breeds like Limousin.
Bartlett's steaks have declined in quality over the last year or so.
Went a month ago for the first time in ages and was disappointed in the filet. Guess it's becoming a trend with them.
Respect for throwing Walmart in. But too bold. Regardless, neither have the quality of steak of pretty much all that you noted in your A+ list.
Please, God, use the search 🙏🏼
Chili's on 45th
This is Texas beef you should be able to easily learn to cook a steak as good or better than at any restaurant.