9 Overrated Steakhouse Chains, According To Reviews

Calling something overrated is a fine line to walk, as it essentially all comes down to expectations. If you enter a restaurant that someone has hit with sky-high praise, even some small inconvenience can have you thinking that the place isn't all it's cracked up to be. Using that logic, claiming that an establishment is overrated can at times seem to be very nitpicky.

But when it comes to a trip to a steakhouse, especially those of the high-end variety, any little mistake can prove to be disastrous for both a diner's experience and a restaurant's reputation. For most people, treating oneself to an expensive steak from a restaurant is an opportunity to splurge, and the more money that a customer forks over, the less likely they are to tolerate anything going wrong.

All that to say, some of the steakhouses on this list may be surprising to see, as there are a few big names that are well known in the world of steak. But if enough customers have issues with a chain, it doesn't really matter how many accolades they've earned or how well they seem to be doing financially — if customers consistently don't like what they're getting, the place probably isn't all that its cracked up to be. These steakhouses surely have their fans, and it'd be inaccurate to say they're undeserving of any kind of praise — they simply might be getting a little too much.

Saltgrass Steakhouse may be the victim of enough people calling it underrated over the years that it has actually become overrated. While it's by no means an inexpensive restaurant, its prices are much lower than many of the other chains that appear on this list. That's not to say that you'd be slumming it at Saltgrass, as the chain's website boasts an entire page listing awards it's received over the years.

Saltgrass is typically seen as among the better options for a more affordable meal, but expecting it to be something more than that is where problems can arise. Saltgrass proudly advertises that it serves Certified Angus Beef steaks, but at least one TripAdvisor review called that into question when they were served steaks with too much gristle and silver skin to be enjoyable. They aren't the only diners to have had that thought, as a different Yelp review complaining about a tough-to-eat steak accused the chain of lowering the quality of the food to make more of a profit.

The reviews seem to suggest that Saltgrass is an example of the old adage of getting what you pay for — though unfortunately, what you're paying is still fairly expensive. Perhaps the experience can be summed up best by a Yelper who wrote, "It was not the worst meal, but I would expect to pay maybe $40 for this quality, vs [...] $150."

On its website, Morton's The Steakhouse says that it strives to exceed the expectations of its guests — but unfortunately, it appears to come up short too often to have that type of claim. The term 'overrated' pops up quite frequently among the distinguished chain's reviews, with both the atmosphere and the food itself not hitting the mark for customers. The setting may not seem as important to some as the food, but one Yelper who wrote that the food was delicious still called Morton's overrated and only gave their experience three stars. When someone says that an establishment has an, "old, wealthy male club white collar feel to it," it doesn't seem to be a place that everyone would enjoy.

As is the case with most of the others on this list, Morton's has a required dress code, and high menu prices that match the vibe. Despite literally writing the book(s) on cooking steak, it seems that Morton's is not above messing up an order of their USDA Prime beef. It's possible that you can even cook it better yourself. A blogger in Portland found that their two $50 steaks were, if anything, below average, and another blogger had heard that Morton's was overrated, and was able to confirm that status for themselves after their visit. It appears that in the end, Morton's steak is really nothing special.

Marketed as a newer, trendy restaurant that emphasizes vibes, STK Steakhouse seems like the place to go if you're wanting to avoid a conversation with your dining companions. Just point to your ear and say 'The music is too loud!' If you like having a DJ with your steak, then it might be the place for you, as STK proudly has a DJ at every venue. Even positive reviews mention that the music is so loud that it's hard to hold a conversation, which may be great ambience for some, and overstimulating for others. As one Reddit user wrote, "No one goes to STK for the steak, it's a club cosplaying as a steakhouse."

But enough about debatable vibes, it's time to focus on the food, and the price tags that come with it. Even in the world of high-priced beef, STK features some truly eye-popping prices. The amounts vary by region of course, but it leaves little wiggle room for the food to be anything short of perfect. Alas, STK has garnered plenty of reviews that suggest it's still working on achieving that high level.

Many reviews reference the prices when listing their grievances with their meal, and even when there's nothing particularly wrong with the food, many reviews still end up being unfavorable. If you're looking for vibes STK might work for you. For everyone else, including those in the Dallas area looking for a steakhouse, you may be better off taking your party somewhere else.

It's safe to say that the feeling you should have when leaving an upscale steakhouse should not be one of confusion. However, for at least one TripAdvisor reviewer, that was how they and their dining companion felt upon leaving The Capital Grille. After titling their review "Soooo overrated..." they wrote about how they were having a hard time processing all the good reviews they'd read versus the lackluster experience they'd just had.

According to its website, The Capital Grille strives for an experience of comfortable elegance, and a prestigious award from Wine Spectator in 2025 seems to back their claim. Heck, it even won some over at Tasting Table enough for us to name them the top steakhouse chain in 2024 — but with all those accolades it seems that quite a few reviewers were expecting something more. 

Paying top dollar for an OK meal appears to be the main issue for people, as the problem appears to be that the experience doesn't meet the expectation of the spectacular meal they had built up in their heads. As one Yelper wrote, "I had high expectations for this place and was not overly impressed. While the service and food was good, it wasn't great."  If you're now on the fence, maybe Capital Grille offering a happy hour for the first time in its history will entice you to give it a try — but based on reviews, it seems to be too little too late for some.

It turns out that people have bigger issues with Ruth's Chris than just the confusing name — and it's not making mistakes with the dress code. Ruth's has been a heavy hitter in the world of high-class steakhouses for decades now, but it's not above the occasional misstep. It's reputation was enough to lure in one Yelp reviewer who left after a disappointing experience, despite claiming that they came into the restaurant wanting to love it. Over on TrustPilot, variations of the word 'disappointing' frequently popped up in reviews, and of course, overrated made an appearance in other Yelp reviews, seem to sum up the experience with the written equivalent of a shrug.

Like STK, the prices for Ruth's USDA Prime beef steaks can raise eyebrows even among all these other expensive chains. Logically, this has to play into the factor of how people judge their meal, as a Reddit thread claiming that Ruth's is terrible wrote that an incredibly disappointing meal came out to a total of $400. Piling on to the criticism, a number of comments noted that they had much better steaks at the exponentially cheaper Texas Roadhouse.

Another Reddit user made a post about the Darden Restaurant Group acquiring Ruth's back in 2023, accusing the ownership group of pinching pennies when it came to quality. While there's no evidence of direct correlation, it's something to keep in mind if you've noticed a difference in the chain before and after the acquisition.

While it still maintains over 15 locations, The Palm Steakhouse has fallen a long way from the successful heights it once reached, even filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019. The Palm is a legacy restaurant that first opened back in 1926, and that reputation has likely lured in at least a few customers looking for a hint of history with their steak. Despite its storied past however, it appears that some diners have confirmed that the chain is still on the decline.

One Yelper invoked the magic word of 'overrated', writing that they weren't happy when their bill came out to over $100 per person for a meal that wasn't anything to write home about. Another out-of-towner lamented that their opportunity to splurge in New York City was spent at The Palm for a meal that was ... OK. A reviewer for TripAdvisor wrote that they had been to The Palm on multiple occasions, and always left with the same thing — disappointment.

In response to a Reddit post asking which restaurants were getting by on their past reputation, one former employee submitted The Palm as their choice, alleging a downgrade in quality after the chain was acquired by the Landry's Hospitality group. With all this in mind, it shouldn't come as a surprise that The Palm landed near the bottom of a Tasting Table ranking of chain restaurant ribeye steaks. Based on the reviews available out there, it might go even lower for other people.

We have to hand it to Fleming's — it seems to be killing it in the wine department, as evidenced by receiving multiple Awards of Excellence from the esteemed magazine Wine Spectator. However, the Wine Bar is only part of its name, and according to reviews, the Steakhouse aspect seems to be lacking. Despite trotting out USDA Prime cuts of steak, Fleming's has left far too many diners disappointed with their expensive meal.

One TripAdvisor reviewer called the restaurant overrated, and was upset with not only the overpriced dishes they received, but the hotel concierge who recommended Fleming's in the first place. Another TripAdvisor user who thought along the same lines even pitched a potential new slogan. As they wrote in their review, "If you want to spend a lot for good but not great food, Flemings is for you."

That's not to say that people didn't enjoy other parts of their time at Fleming's, as numerous reviews shouted out the excellent service they received. But even among those who were complimentary about the people and ambience had issues with the food, with one Yelper complaining that their tough and dry steak was only part of the problem with their so-so meal.

Looking over its website, it does look like Fleming's prioritizes excellent service, which is refreshing to see in spite of the occasional poor culinary execution. Regardless of the lackluster reviews though, Tasting Table still hopes that Fleming's can save their declining business.

Featuring 28-day wet-aged Prime steaks as the headliners of its acclaimed menu, Mastro's Steakhouse has the kind of high-end reputation that makes it seem like it can do no wrong. So it can be quite surprising to come across a Yelp review that makes the statement, "The food! Oy, the food!" — and not mean it in a good way. Excellent service earned Mastro's three stars for that reviewer, because they had nothing but bad things to say about the food they referred to as over-seasoned and drenched in a surplus of butter to hide "inferior quality meat."

The dreaded word 'overrated' made its appearance in another review that even claimed that the food was good and gave the experience four stars. However, the fact that it wasn't anything out of the ordinary had them declaring that they would not be making a return visit. Well, that and the fact that Mastro's charges $5 for bread that would be complimentary in most other establishments rightfully annoyed them to no end. A TripAdvisor reviewer also thoroughly enjoyed their steak, but still considered Mastro's to be overrated due to the ambience.

It can be difficult to make sense of it all until you realize that just a little 6-ounce cut petite filet will run you $60. After that, it becomes easier to see how little room for error there is for these restaurants with those kinds of prices.

One thing that stands out when looking through reviews for Del Frisco's is the amount of people who claim that the fancy steakhouse is not as good as it used to be. A former Del Frisco's employee alleged that the drop-off came after the chain was bought by Landry's and billionaire Tilman Fertitta — who in addition to Del Frisco's and The Palm, also owns Mastro's and Saltgrass Steakhouse as well. Of course the acquisition can't be blamed for all the problems, as some reviews were calling Del Frisco's overrated well before the ownership change.

Still, the disappointment is palpable in some reviews that claim to have enjoyed the Del Frisco's experience in years past, only to be met with a meal that featured subpar quality and execution. It doesn't seem to be much better for recent first time visitors either, with a three-star Yelp review in 2024 claiming that the only enjoyable parts of the night were the service and the bread.

By now it's hopefully obvious that Del Frisco's isn't the only expensive steakhouse dealing with disappointed customers. In reality, the problem for most of the entries on this list can be summed up in the words of a single Yelp review for Del Frisco's. As they wrote, "When you're paying $$$ for dinner, the service and food both need to be exceptional. Instead, we left disappointed, uncomfortable, and questioning why we chose this spot over others."