There’s something primal about the experience of walking into a steakhouse. That intoxicating smell of searing meat fills the air, leather booths beckon you closer, and the menu promises indulgence. Yet here’s the thing most people don’t realize: not everything on that glossy menu deserves your hard-earned money.
Professional chefs who know these kitchens inside and out have strong opinions about what actually delivers on flavor versus what’s just riding on reputation. Some dishes showcase a steakhouse’s true talents, while others are disappointing detours that leave you wishing you’d stuck with the classics. Let’s be real, nobody wants to drop a small fortune on a meal that underwhelms. So what should you confidently order, and what should you politely pass on? I’ve gathered insights from culinary experts who’ve spent years perfecting their craft. Get ready to become the most informed person at your table.
Filet Mignon: The Safe Bet That Delivers
When it comes to steak selections, filet mignon cooked medium-rare remains a buttery, reliable choice that good steakhouses know how to execute perfectly. This cut offers tenderness that melts in your mouth, and the medium-rare finish keeps it flavorful and juicy. I think what makes this dish special is its simplicity. You’re not gambling on complicated preparations or hoping the kitchen gets creative flourishes right.
Because most home cooks rarely prepare filet mignon at home, ordering it at a quality steakhouse guarantees you’re getting expertise you can’t easily replicate in your own kitchen, especially when paired with sides like fries or creamed spinach. The beauty lies in letting professionals handle the expensive cut with precision. Sure, some food snobs dismiss filet mignon as boring or lacking bold flavor compared to fattier cuts. Yet there’s undeniable appeal in its refined, subtle taste that doesn’t assault your palate.
Fresh Oysters: The Perfect Appetite Awakener
Starting your steakhouse meal with fresh oysters makes perfect sense, especially at coastal locations where establishments take pride in their daily mollusk offerings, with briny, shimmering oysters serving as an ideal way to begin. There’s something magical about that initial salty burst cleansing your palate before the richness of beef arrives. Think of it as a strategic move for your taste buds.
Many high-end steakhouses source exceptional oysters that you’d struggle to find elsewhere. If multiple varieties are available, ordering a medley for the table with all the accompaniments allows everyone to sample different flavor profiles, though purists can skip the mignonette while others douse their oysters in lemon. I’ve found that oysters create anticipation, a moment of oceanic brightness that makes the upcoming steak feel even more indulgent by contrast.
Crab Cakes: Worth the Premium Price
Steakhouses typically excel at achieving the proper crab-to-filler ratio in their crab cakes, delivering actual crab meat rather than breadcrumb cakes, and they often serve them with tasty, tangy tartar sauce for dipping. This appetizer represents quality control at its finest. When a restaurant specializes in premium ingredients, that attention extends beyond just the beef.
Honestly, I’ve been burned by disappointing crab cakes at mediocre seafood joints where you bite into mostly breading. Steakhouses charging premium prices can’t afford that reputation damage. Their crab cakes usually showcase generous chunks of sweet crabmeat held together with minimal filler, achieving that delicate golden crust on the outside while remaining tender inside. It’s hard to say for sure, but I suspect the higher price point forces kitchens to maintain standards that casual restaurants might skip.
Caesar Salad: When Done Right
If the restaurant makes crispy croutons in-house and uses real Parmesan, Caesar salad becomes worthwhile, with those little details making all the difference between a meal enhancer and just some lettuce taking up space on your plate, as a properly made Caesar with fresh anchovies, real Parmigiano-Reggiano, and house-made croutons becomes a worthy companion to your steak. The key word there is “if.” Not all Caesar salads are created equal.
Before ordering, ask your server about the croutons and cheese. Are they freshly prepared or pre-packaged? This simple question separates memorable salads from forgettable ones. When executed with care, the combination of crisp romaine, garlicky dressing, sharp cheese, and crunchy bread creates textural complexity that complements rich steak beautifully. Skip it entirely if they can’t confirm quality ingredients.
Steakhouse Fries: The Ultimate Companion
No matter how steakhouse fries are seasoned – whether with truffle, Parmesan, or simple salt and pepper – they pair nicely with steak and can be dipped in some of the meat’s juices, with something deeply satisfying about crispy potatoes soaking up those incredible beef drippings, as the perfectly cooked steak creates flavorful juices and golden fries become the perfect vehicle for capturing every drop. Let’s be honest, this is comfort food at its finest.
I know it sounds crazy, but fries might be the most underrated order at a steakhouse. People obsess over which cut of beef to choose while overlooking the supporting players. Those crispy, salty potatoes transforming into flavor sponges for your steak’s juices? That’s culinary symbiosis. Whether they’re shoestring thin or thick-cut steak fries, they deliver satisfaction that fancy vegetable sides sometimes can’t match.
Chocolate Lava Cake: The Classic Finale
Finishing the meal with chocolate lava cake makes sense, as this intense, dense cake has somehow become a steakhouse staple, offering a warm, lava-centered chocolate dessert topped with fast-melting vanilla ice cream that provides the perfect contrast, with enough spoons needed so everyone at the table can have a bite. After all that savory richness, your palate genuinely craves something sweet and comforting.
Sure, it’s predictable. Some might even call it basic. Yet sometimes predictable is exactly what you need to close out a perfect steakhouse experience. After all that savory richness, your palate craves something sweet and comforting, and it’s predictable but sometimes predictable is exactly what you need to close out a perfect steakhouse experience. The temperature play between molten chocolate center and cold ice cream creates a memorable ending that leaves you satisfied rather than stuffed.
Clam Chowder: Skip This Heavy Starter
Unless you’re dining in New England, skip the clam chowder, as this pretty heavy appetizer choice is often so dense and heavy that you’re not likely to have room for the main event if you order it. Think about it strategically. You came to a steakhouse for the steak, not to fill up on creamy soup before your entrée arrives.
I’ve made this mistake before, getting seduced by the comfort of a bread bowl filled with thick chowder. By the time my ribeye arrived, I could barely finish half of it. That’s just poor planning. Creamed spinach is a savory dish people often order, but chefs say to skip it because at many chain or corporate steakhouses, creamed spinach often turns into a watery, bland, overcooked mess, usually held in a steam tray too long, losing that fresh, vibrant flavor and turning mushy. Save your appetite for what the kitchen does best.
Tuna Steak: Leave It for Sushi Restaurants
Order tuna when you’re at a sushi spot, not a steakhouse, as unless you’re at a sushi restaurant, tuna often turns out dry and severely lacking flavor, especially when pan-seared, and even when served raw, tuna can be disappointing if it’s not super fresh and well-dressed, so you’re better off sticking to the other kind of steak in a steakhouse. Here’s the thing: steakhouses aren’t seafood specialists, despite what their sprawling menus might suggest.
Why risk disappointment with a secondary offering when you could order from their area of expertise? The infrastructure, supplier relationships, and kitchen skills at steakhouses revolve around beef. It’s advised against ordering seafood at a steakhouse, especially if it’s not a surf-and-turf specialty restaurant, because while many steakhouses offer seafood options, they often don’t hold a candle to what you’d get at a dedicated seafood restaurant. Your money deserves better than mediocre tuna.
Wedge Salad: Annoying and Overpriced
The wedge salad is not everyone’s cup of tea, as wedge salads are annoying to eat, and while the more classic steakhouse salad is a bacon-topped wedge, it requires – seriously, requires – knife work to get through, with the iceberg lettuce never having the proper amount of dressing, and if you’re already eating steak for your entrée, you don’t need more meat in your salad. I’m with the chefs on this one. Fighting with a hunk of lettuce isn’t elegant dining.
The wedge salad has to be the most divisive thing on a steakhouse menu, with some people loving them and others hating them, but regardless of where you stand, you can probably agree they’re overpriced, as you’re basically paying for a corner of lettuce that costs mere pennies, a couple of extras sprinkled on top, and blue cheese dressing, which isn’t worth forking out twenty dollars or more for. The dressing pools at the bottom, the toppings tumble off, and you’re left wondering why you paid premium prices for what’s essentially a quarter head of iceberg with bacon bits.
Chicken Breast: Missing the Point Entirely
Chicken breast is never a first choice anywhere, as it wouldn’t be ordered from any restaurant, steakhouse or otherwise, because the desire is for flavor and richness of dark meat, and why would anyone risk a dried-out piece of poultry when dining at and paying higher prices for a restaurant that specializes in perfectly cooked red meat. You’re essentially asking a violin maker to fix your guitar.
Let me put it bluntly: ordering chicken at a steakhouse is like going to a pizzeria and ordering a hamburger. While fried chicken can offer comfort and satisfaction, it may not reach the quality standards that steakhouses uphold with their specialized focus on premium meat dishes, as the chefs at these establishments often excel in grilling or roasting meats, honing their skills to perfection in these areas, while frying chicken requires specific techniques to ensure it’s crispy outside and juicy inside, and steakhouse kitchens may have different expertise or equipment for frying chicken. Trust their expertise and order what they’ve mastered.
