The 16 Absolute Best Steakhouses In Chicago

From 1865 to 1971, Chicago was the proud meatpacking capital of the U.S and processed over 18 million animals during its peak year of production. The bustling Union Stockyard, which employed a whopping 45,000 people, was a tourist sight in and of itself. Visitors toured the endless pens, packing, and processing plants. They stayed at the StockYard Inn and dined on prime steak at the Inn's elegant Sirloin Room, one of the city's first dedicated steakhouses, where diners selected their own steaks and then watched as they were branded with their initials.

Though the stockyards declined after WWII, the city's love of a good steak only swelled, and Chicago defined the classic steakhouse dining experience: expect comfy, roomy booths, classic sides (like creamed spinach and massive baked potatoes), and top-quality cuts of meat. Here are our picks for the best steakhouses in Chicago, from old-school standbys to modern twists on the quintessential Chicago steakhouse experience.

The founders of Fogo de Chão grew up on a traditional Southern Brazilian farm, where they mastered the churrasco grilling tradition — the art of roasting high-quality cuts of meat over an open flame — that they'd eventually introduce to over 20 countries around the world. From its first location in Porto Allegre, Brazil, the Fogo concept was first introduced to the U.S. in Dallas, Texas. Its massive Chicago restaurant, located in the River North neighborhood, seats more than 300 guests.

Fogo de Chão offers an all-you-can-eat steakhouse experience with fire-roasted meats delivered directly to your table. To attract the meat-laden chefs dressed in their gaucho best, each diner receives a card with red (STOP, I'm full!) on one side, and green (bring on the meat!) on the other side.

Beyond meat, the massive salad bar offers an endless variety of soups, salads, exotic vegetables, imported cheeses, bread, and apps, including smoked salmon, Italian and Brazilian cured meats, and feijoada, a traditional black bean stew with sausage typically served with yet another Brazilian specialty, farofa (baked yuca flour with bacon).

Try the signature cocktail at this restaurant, the caipirinha, a sweet-and-sour cocktail spiked with lime and cachaça, a Brazilian-made rum-like liquor.

Tango Sur also brings the flavors of Argentina to the table, with a focus on asado, long strips of flank-cut beef ribs a la parrilla (grilled). The highlight of the menu here is the Parrillada Para Dos, which serves Tango Sur's specialties — chorizo (pork sausage), morcilla (blood sausage), chinchulines (chitterlings), and mollejas (sweetbread) on a tabletop grill for two.

Start with the empanadas, Argentine turnovers filled with your choice of beef, chicken, corn, ham, and cheese, or spinach and cheese. Tango Sur also features relleno, or stuffed steaks: the vacio relleno is a flank steak stuffed with chimichurri and served with roasted sweet potatoes, while the lomo relleno is a filet mignon, stuffed with ham and chimichurri and served with portobello mushroom marsala. The steaks here are more budget-friendly, and BYOB means you can bring your own wine to pair for a more affordable steakhouse experience. Bonus: Tango Sur offers all of its dishes to-go, so you can bring a taste of Buenos Aires into your own home.

The tagline "Come for the stone crab, stay for the steak" would be fitting for Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, the Chicago outpost of a Miami icon.

Joe's Stone Crab started out as a small lunch counter serving the catch of the day in 1913 and morphed into one of the oceanside's city's most beloved restaurants. Then Richard Melman and the Lettuce Entertain You team opened a Chicago home base, serving up the same succulent stone crab along with great steaks in a formal yet comfy setting.

For your surf n' turf extravaganza, start with Joe's specialty, Florida stone crab claws, served chilled with house mustard, or king crab also served chilled but with a generous pour of melted butter. Then, move on to the signature 'Filet & Tail,' a 6-ounce filet mignon served alongside a 10-ounce North Atlantic lobster tail. The entire menu is also available to go. Insider's tip: Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab hosts a cocktail hour Monday through Friday, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Cocktails are served with small bites, all ranging from $5 to $7.

American radio and television sportscaster Harry Caray, the announcer for the Chicago Cubs for 15 years, is a Chicago icon, best known for singing a rollicking rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch. Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse is dedicated to his legacy. Housed in a historic landmark building in River North, the restaurant is filled to the brim with Cary, Cubs, and Chicago memorabilia. But it's best known for its thick, USDA prime, aged steaks, and classic Italian-American dishes. It's also a go-to steakhouse for anyone who wants to catch a sporting event while dining, thanks to the plasma-television-packed bar.

Harry Caray's signature steaks meet Chicago steak lovers' high standards and are selected from the finest Midwestern USDA Prime beef and wet-aged for up to 28 days or dry-aged for up to 45 days, but the apps and sides here have an Italian twist. Start with the Tuscan charcuterie board, a shareable favorite, loaded with Genoa salami, soppressata, bresaola, speck, pecorino toscano, dolcelatte gorgonzola, taleggio, cerignola olives, artichoke hearts, crostini, and tomato jam. The menu also features several hand-cut plates of pasta, including the steak-centric tenderloin linguini, hand-rolled linguini with beef tenderloin, and a luscious cream sauce spiked with sherry and mushrooms.

The restaurant also houses a speakeasy located near the former office of Chicago Outfit mobster Frank Nitti.

Located at the edge of Chicago's downtown Loop is Prime & Provisions. The vibe here is clubby; its masculine energy extends into the heated & covered outdoor cigar lounge, while the steaks here are among the best in the city.

You can even see the steak that's about to make its way to your plate in the chandelier-capped, Himalayan salt-lined 500 square-foot dry-aging room. But despite the overall glam factor, the focus here is on serving high-quality steaks. DineAmic Hospitality's David Rekhson and Lucas Stoioff, along with Executive Chef Partner, Joseph Rizza, experimented for months with various all-natural dry-aging processes. The 100% all-natural USDA prime black Angus beef steaks here are seared in a 1,200 F broiler and served on a sizzling hot plate. Sauces are a no-go here, too, and steaks are instead served with a dash of sea salt and a pour of Wisconsin all-natural grass-fed butter, thus highlighting natural flavors. Take your pick from every steakhouse potato dish under the sun: whipped potatoes, brûléed sweet potatoes, truffled french fries, and the biggest baked potatoes this side of Idaho.

Gibson's Italian-focused River West dining hotspot, Gibson's Italia, bills itself as a steakhouse that combines "casual elegance with Italian influences and a world-class tour of beef." Indeed, the steaks served here meet the same high standards of Gibson's Gold Coast original. And the ambiance offers just as much prime people watching in addition to prime steaks, albeit with a bright and modern atmosphere, with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto the Chicago River canyon scape.

The most significant difference between Gibsons Bar and Steakhouse and Gibson's Italia is the menu. Antipasti (charred octopus, meatballs, cotto e crudo platters), hand-rolled pasta, and entrees like chicken parmigiana and veal milanesa replace nostalgic, American steakhouse appetizers and sides. The dessert menu offers classic steakhouse sweets with an Italian twist, like spumoni baked Alaska, a flourless chocolate cake layered with pistachio nougatine, chocolate ganache, spumoni gelato, meringue and luxardo cherries, and an over-the-top tiramisu (espresso-Marsala soaked savoiardi layered with mascarpone cream and dusted with cocoa).

The wine list here offers an array of Italian vintages, plus contemporary cocktails, in a beverage menu so extensive it's contained in a 44-page Beverage Book.

We love Chicago Chop House for its historic atmosphere – check out the dining room photos of Chicago's most famous citizens throughout history. Housed in a late 19th-century brownstone in Chicago's River North neighborhood, Chicago Chop House has been serving classic steaks, fresh seafood, and decadent desserts with live piano entertainment since 1989. Start with classic steakhouse apps — calamari, crab cakes, shrimp cocktail, and scampi — before indulging in Chicago Chop House's signature cuts of Miyazakigyu A5 filet cut (5 ounces), Mishima Wagyu reserve Manhattan New York strip (12 ounces), Australian Wagyu AA8-9+ Grade Delmonico. And don't forget nostalgic sides like hand-cut french fries, bacon cheddar mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, and farm-fresh creamed corn. Seafood options include maple-glazed salmon, Alaskan king crab legs, and broiled Chilean sea bass.

The dessert menu sticks with the classics, too, like baked Alaska, carrot cake, and New York cheesecake. Chicago Chop House's beautiful courtyard and boozy cocktails make it a perfect pick for a steak-centric Sunday brunch. The weekend Prime Rib Special pairs au jus prime rib, charred upon request, with horseradish cream, garlic mashed potatoes, and truffled creamed corn. Sign up for the Chicago Chop House VIP card for discounts and specials throughout the year.

Gene & Georgetti is hidden in the shadow of the El's Brown line, in a classic 1870's wood-frame house. Gene & Georgetti was the realization of the American dream for partners Gene Michelotti and Alfredo "Georgetti" Federighi. While working as a bartender, Michelotti encountered his future business partner Federighi, who was working as a chef. In 1941, Gene & Georgetti opened its doors, with Alfredo handling the kitchen and Gene working the front and holding down the bar.

The steaks here are graded in the top 2% for marbling and texture, wet-aged for a minimum of 21 days, and broiled at 1,400 F to seal the flavor. "We've been doing it this way for 80 years," boasts the culinary team. Billing itself as a "Tuscan-style' steakhouse, the best steak on the menu is by far the 48-ounce Fiorentina. Don't miss the many seasonal Tuscan specialities on the menu, including polenta con porcini, prosciutto and burrata, and tortellini in brodo.

The restaurant is still in family hands: Gene's daughter Marion and her husband Tony Durpetti work hard to keep the restaurant in the family while treating its staff and customers like family. Step up to the second floor, where you'll find a mural depicting the neighborhood as it was when the steakhouse opened, a primarily Italian-American area anchored by the Church of the Assumption.