People have been suggesting I do this one for a while. This is my list of recommended places to get a good steak in Downtown Memphis. This is not an all-inclusive list; I’m only including restaurants where I’ve personally eaten, or have an overwhelming number of good recommendations from others. Yes, I’m biased, but I do know Downtown.
If you’re really hungry and have money to spend, my top recommendation would be Texas de Brazil. It’s all-you-can-eat, priced in the mid-$40s. Servers bring about a dozen different meats to your table, and if you request they slice you off a piece. My favorites are the filets and the Brazilian picanha. They also have one of the best salad bars in the city. If you have vegetarians in your group, they can easily make a meal off the salad bar alone (which they can purchase without the meat at a reduced price).
I’ve been told that The Grill Room, the fine-dining wing of The Daily Grill in the Westin Hotel, has some of the best steaks in town. That’d probably be my top recommendation if you want more of a traditional sit-down dinner rather than what Texas de Brazil offers. This would be a great choice for corporate dinners too.
Capriccio in the ground floor of the Peabody is an Italian steakhouse that has an excellent reputation.
Now, there are also a number of restaurants Downtown that aren’t steakhouses per se, but do cook a mean steak.
I had a filet from The Majestic Grille earlier this year and it was absolutely outstanding. Definitely worth going back for. I need to try their ribeye at some point; the chef, Patrick, tells me it’ll wipe away memories of eating bad ribeyes at Bonanza when I was a kid.
Blues City Cafe has some huge steaks that can be split among several people. They have a Porterhouse (2 1/2 or 3 lb.), a T-bone (2, 2 1/2, or 3 lb.), and massive sirloin (4, 5, or 6 lb.), as well as normal-sized Memphis Strip and low-carb Strip Steak options. Blues City is especially recommended between the months of July and October, as they tend to hire Romanians who come here on their summer break. A little eye candy with your steak is always a bonus.
I had a filet at EP Delta Kitchen not long after it opened last year and can definitely recommend it. If you’re not a person who enjoys the nightclub scene I recommend you make your reservation for no later than 8 PM at EP’s.
I have not personally tried either of these, but I have heard “best steak in Memphis” from numerous people about two Downtown restaurants: Stella and Grill 83. Stella is at the corner of Main and Monroe; Grill 83 is inside the Madison Hotel. They’re both great places but have very different atmospheres: Grill 83 is more cosmopolitan and trendy, while Stella is more comfortable and inviting.
That’s my list as it stands as of today. I may update this post and bump it from time to time. If there are places I left off that you think I should try, let me know.