In a modern era of dining when eaters with refined, worldly palates expect more from their cuts of meat, upscale steakhouses have become increasingly opulent in their quest to present the perfect cut. We took a look at menus around the globe and found a number of places where your evening's steak will cost you somewhere between a car payment and a mortgage payment.
Prices and availability are subject to change.
Where: Charlie Palmer Steak in Washington, D.C.
You can get a New York Strip here for $78, but expect it to be just 18 ounces. The bone-on Black Angus ribeye is 24 ounces, which should be enough for any hungry eater. But if that's insufficient protein, add a broiled half lobster tail for $28.
Where: La Maison de Aubrac in Paris
It's a big ol' beef rib that can feed three or four people. The owners of this steakhouse have raised cows for three generations and stand behind their product. Meats are aged three weeks and served with bearnaise sauce, candied onions, and little else.
For more great travel guides and dining tips, please sign up for our free newsletters.
Where: Alexander's Steakhouse in San Francisco
Alexander's offers a classic Porterhouse cut — filet mignon and a New York Strip with a bone between them dry aged for 45 days and served with blue cheese, hollandaise, and bordelaise sauces.
Where: Al Muntaha in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Once known for its 10-ounce wagyu sirloin, the Al Muntaha in Dubai's Burj Al Arab hotel now woos its clientele with fare more reminiscent of Europe and the U.K. But you aren't here for the beef: You're here to sit 700 feet above sea level on an artificial island.
Where: Prime 47 in Indianapolis
A dry-aged KC Strip Steak at this Indianapolis steak mainstay goes for $94 with a dry-aged 22-ounce rib-eye fetching $95. But Prime's wagyu menu starts at $88 for just 8 ounces and hits $140 for this 34-ounce slab. And a 4-ounce Japanese A-5 wagyu tenderloin filet will set you back some $116. Cipher that!
Where: Nobu Dallas
Nobu prices its high-grade Kobe at $39 an ounce, with a 4-ounce minimum. You can either have it grilled or set aflame directly at the table, or you can protect your investment and have it cooked in back.
Where: BR Prime in Biloxi, Mississippi
The Beau Rivage casino hotel is still an MGM property, and it brings a bit of Vegas flair to Biloxi via its BR Prime steakhouse. Aged by the restaurant's master butcher, this 40-ounce rib-eye would qualify as a chateaubriand in most restaurants, but is a high-roller feast here on the Mississippi.
Where: Killen's Steakhouse in Pearland, Texas
Ronnie Killen's Steakhouse just south of Houston has been at this for over a decade, and it knows exactly what its oil-moneyed clientele likes. In this case, it's high-grade wagyu from the Kagoshima prefecture, and just 6 ounces of it is $165, nearly what you'd pay for 32 ounces of SRF bone in rib-eye ($175).
Where: Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse in Cincinnati
Restaurateur Jeff Ruby has given Cincinnati high-end dining worthy of cities several times its size by simply doing what works. In this case, his steakhouses emulate the Art Deco look of their older contemporaries in New York while providing a showstopper menu including a 6-ounce filet mignon that out-prices anything listed on the menu both by its total price and its price per ounce. Do the math: That's $28 an ounce.
Related: The Best Under-the-Radar Steakhouse in All 50 States
Where: Les Tantes Jeanne, Paris
This tiny spot in Montmartre is a quiet corner of French gastronomy that's built on a menu steeped in black angus beef, Rubia Gallega, wagyu filet, Kobe filet, and Kagoshima beef. While it's easy to taste around the entrees here for less than $100, that same amount won't get you far on an exceptional steak menu featuring Kobe beef with grade 12 marbling.
Where: Barclay Prime in Philadelphia
This particular wagyu comes from the bloodline of the Kuroge Washu breed of bull from the Hyogo Prefecture of Japan, which allows it to carry the legendary Kobe moniker. Though maybe you want to go a bit wild Philly-style and try the $140 Wagyu Cheesesteak: wagyu rib-eye, foie gras, onions, and truffled Cheese Whiz on a fresh baked sesame roll served with half a bottle of champagne.
Where: Zuma in Las Vegas
Birthed in London, this restaurant chain went global by emulating the laid-back izakaya pubs of Japan. But very few of those laid-back pubs will ever have 32 ounces of $235 wagyu just sitting around. Another steak of unspecified size checks in at $45 an ounce.
Where: Bifteck Kawamura in Tokyo, Japan
You may think awards are overrated, but Kawamura doesn't. It buys award-winning beef at events including the Kobe Beef Fair and presents you with that cow's ID number and certificate of authenticity before you eat. For this price, you're getting 7 ounces of the best of the best.
Where: Nusr-Et Steakhouse in Miami
Yes, it's named after the "salt bae" who became a viral sensation for his panache while seasoning. Turkish butcher-owner Nusret Gökçe's Instagram fame led to numerous restaurant branches, but a $275 steak on a menu the Miami Herald considered "overpriced," even though other steak choices on the menu top $500.
Where: RPM Steak in Chicago
Built by Bill and Giuliana Rancic, Chef Doug Psaltis, and Lettuce Entertain You, the RPM Steakhouse takes its selection seriously. While a $260 Australian tomahawk would be the pinnacle of most other steakhouse menus, this 28-day dry-aged porterhouse beats it by a bit.
Where: SW Steakhouse in Las Vegas
The SW Steakhouse is one of the few spots in Sin City that serves Hyogo Prefecture, 100-percent Tajima cattle Kobe beef. As for the cut, take your pick of loin, strip, rib-eye, or rib cap, and it's $75 for each additional ounce.
Where: Empire Steak House in New York
It's exceedingly rare that a restaurant serves actual A5 Wagyu beef in the U.S., so Empire Steak House's locations in New York capitalize on it. A 12-ounce rib-eye also comes in at the same price.
Where: Rare Steakhouse in Everett, Massachusetts
Hyogo Prefecture in Japan is supplying this casino restaurant too, and Rare is parceling out this rib-eye 4 ounces at a time — though you can add more ounces $78 a pop — to earn the distinction of The Daily Meal's most expensive restaurant in the state a few years back.
Where: Old Homestead Steakhouse in New York
You can get 6 ounces for $175, and the restaurant will sell more than a dozen on a given night, but those looking to really splurge will want to order the 12-ounce option. A lack of grazing inhibits muscle development and leads to an incredibly tender steak. But $350 isn't even close to the highest price that Japanese beef has fetched in this city.
Where: Aragawa in Tokyo
Aragawa prides itself on minimalism and locally butchered Tajima and Kobe beef. That's all it serves, and it only seasons it with mustard and pepper after cooking it over charcoal. Almost hidden in Tokyo's Shinbashi district, it's worth finding if you're serious about steak.
Where: Fleur by Hubert Keller in Las Vegas
For whatever reasons, Fleur closed in 2023, but it's still worth a posthumous mention given the sums involved. They would put $100 worth of wagyu beef into a burger. This meal from the Mandalay Bay casino's restaurant was notable not only because of its $100 patty, but because it was served with foie gras, truffles, and a bottle of 1995 Petrus that could be worth $5,000 on its own. Shockingly, it was an off-menu item.