This Historic NYC Steakhouse Still Hums With '60s Power-Lunch Vibes (Mad Men Fans Will Recognize It, Too)

If you've ever wanted to lunch like Don Draper — the best steak in town, a perfect martini, a richly old school setting, and some of New York's most powerful patrons around you — get ready to book a reservation at Keens Steakhouse. The New York City institution teems with history and "Mad Men" vibes; the show actually filmed there during Season 3. Like other restaurants that transport you back to the "Mad Men" era, Keens checks several boxes: It would have already been a long-running institution by the 1960s, it's centrally located in Manhattan, the digs are comfortable yet elegant, the service is unparalleled, and they make a mean steak and a meaner martini. 

In fact, Keens is not only one of the best steakhouses in NYC, it's one of the city's oldest restaurants. Albert Keen opened it in midtown Manhattan in 1885, but it had existed even before that as part of the Lambs Club theater group, which was managed by Keen. That connection and the eatery's proximity to theaters made it a popular hangout for the arts crowd, and other VIPs followed. 

This was also due in part to the "Pipe Club" at Keens. Members, who kept their long-stemmed tobacco pipes there to enjoy when they came to drink or dine, included Theodore Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, Buffalo Bill, Will Rogers, J.P. Morgan, and Albert Einstein. Keens became a place that NYC's most influential people would socialize, make deals, and more — in short, an ideal gathering place for those "Mad Men."

The interior at Keens screams "power lunch destination." It's richly paneled in dark wood with exposed brick walls and burgundy leather furnishings; extravagant art adorns the walls and those pipes, representing nearly 150 years of "Pipe Club" hobnobbing, still hang from the restaurant's ceilings. Visually, it makes all the sense in the world to have Don Draper hold meetings over martinis there on "Mad Men." And once you visit, you'll feel that retro mover-and-shaker energy.

The menu matches the atmosphere. Keens is now owned by restaurateur Tilman Fertitta after it was first purchased —  and rescued from tough financial times — by George Schwarz in 1978. But the lunch and dinner options have remained traditional: raw oysters and shrimp cocktail, blue cheese puffs, crabcakes, Caesar and wedge salads, and of course, lots of meat. 

Keens is as well known for its mutton, which it has served since its opening, as it is for its steak, which comes in all manner of cuts and preparations alongside options like baked potatoes and creamed spinach. Hot fudge sundaes and decadent bananas foster grace the dessert menu, and there's also a pub menu with more laid-back fare like burgers, smoked bacon sandwiches, and steak salads, though the latter is $42 compared to the dining room menu's $73 mutton chop and $69 prime New York sirloin. If you find yourself in NYC, head to 36th Street to experience one of the country's best steakhouses and channel your inner Don Draper.