Tre Dita
401 E. Wacker Dr., Loop
In this era of big, glitzy steakhouses, there’s nowhere we’d rather splurge than Tre Dita. Located on the second floor of the St. Regis Chicago, this Tuscan spot is a collaboration between Los Angeles chef Evan Funke and Lettuce Entertain You. That hospitality group has long had its finger on what the dining public wants, and it’s especially true here. Servers are knowledgeable and smooth, yet entirely approachable. We are enamored with the all-Italian wine list, but the cocktail program is equally great. The food is superb, whether it’s thick tangles of pici cacio e pepe or the steaks, which Funke sears over a wood fire. The signature cut is the massive bistecca alla Fiorentina ($290), but the New York strip ($89) is so good — served sliced, drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with flaky salt — that if you opt for it, you won’t feel like you missed out. And the sleek room features gorgeous views of the river and city. This place gets the modern steakhouse just right. — A.C.
Bavette’s Bar & Boeuf
218 W. Kinzie St., River North
Bavette’s reminds you in every detail that a steakhouse is about so much more than steak. Here, Hogsalt has perfected its low-lumen aesthetic of goth fantasia meets English tavern. Slip into a tufted leather booth amid a profusion of lampshades seeping golden light, and once your eyes adjust, you’ll note all that awaits — from the iced shellfish display at one end of the room to the golden-hued bar on the other. It’s all a bit off script, which is this restaurant’s signature charm. Maybe you want an offbeat steak, like a bone-in filet mignon, or perhaps you’re feeling the lobster frites. There’s an entire menu of old-fashioned variations, a terrifically deep wine list, and a cadre of servers who seem to glide through the dining room on wheels. If you can’t secure a reservation (still hard after 13 years), go early to snag seats at the bar. That’s almost more fun. — J.K.
Asador Bastian
214 W. Erie St., River North
At Doug Psaltis’s Basque-inspired steakhouse, tucked inside the 142-year-old Flair House, you don’t order your standard filet or strip. Rather, a server comes to your table in the darkly intimate dining room proffering a silver tray on which the night’s cuts are laid out for you to choose from. The beef on offer: four varieties of txuleton (Basque bone-in rib eyes), along with nightly specials, like Tajima (Pennsylvania-raised Japanese cattle) or Australian wagyu, all with little tags letting you know their weight and provenance. Select one and pay by the pound; it’ll return perfectly cooked, sliced, and topped with a guindilla pepper. There are glam touches to accompany all this: caviar churros, truffle tortillas españolas, a chocolate-hazelnut cake adorned with gold leaf. Sound expensive? It is. But the experience here is unlike any other in town. — A.C.
Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse
1028 N. Rush St., Gold Coast
The city’s official street grid has Chicago spreading out in all directions from the corner of State and Madison, but let us tell you: The real heart of our town is the bar at Gibsons. The rotating cast of characters primes you for an iconic meal: the regulars, the smooth servers in their white coats, the piano player, the sad drunk, the retirees who traded in their Wilmette split-levels for high-rise condos, the tourists, the unnoticed celebs, the hangers-on. Here we are, too, with a shrimp cocktail and a basket holding soft bread and softer butter. Also, dirty martinis, each one really about two and a half martinis by volume. Maybe we’ll order the famous W.R.’s Chicago Cut bone-in rib eye and a wedge salad (they’ll chop and toss it if you ask). But first we’ll sit here and just enjoy the scene. — J.K.
El Che Steakhouse & Bar
845 W. Washington Blvd., West Loop
When you book here, ask to sit at the counter. Set next to the chefs, in front of the blazing Argentine asado grill, these two seats give you a front row to what John Manion and his team do so well. Anything that comes off that grill is deliciously charred and smoky, whether it’s the rotating selection of steaks — maybe a boneless American wagyu rib eye or tira de asado (Argentine beef short ribs) — or especially the seafood, like oysters with Parmesan breadcrumbs and pickled Fresnos and the lobster tail with spicy butter and shallots. To drink: Start with the El Che Martini. Then move onto sommelier Alex Cuper’s superb South American wine list; you’re guaranteed to find something you’ve never tried before. — A.C.
Gene & Georgetti
500 N. Franklin St., River North
Chicagoans talk about this venerable corner joint (est. 1941) like it’s the doddering old aunt of the city’s steakhouse scene, a onetime hangout for power brokers that’s now running on fumes. We’ve got news: It’s really good again. Following the death of owner Tony Durpetti last year, his daughter, Michelle Durpetti, and her husband, Collin Pierson, have kept improving the menu with better ingredients and daily specials, like a roasted shrimp cocktail with aïoli. Try the handmade linguine with clams and the gorgeous crusted charbroiled steaks. The bar still hops with regulars, and the dining rooms wear their age like a dowager countess. This is steakhouse royalty. — J.K.
Maple & Ash
8 W. Maple St., near north side
For 10 years this double-decker behemoth has defined a certain niche: steakhouse as scene. You go here not despite the high decibel level but because of it. You are there to be noticed. So dress up and party like it’s 2015. The food is still good, the freebies still fun. Before you’ve even had a chance to crack the menu, you’ll be greeted with a sweet citrus martini, a bowl of caviar-topped onion dip with ridged chips, and some scrumpdillyicious Parker House rolls slicked with butter, herbs, and spice — all gratis. Use that bread to soak up the garlic butter from your fire-roasted seafood tower. If you’re too busy preening to choose your meal, go with the dealer’s choice option called I Don’t Give a F*@k (their symbols, not ours). In this case, it’s not just the house that always wins. — J.K.
Swift & Sons
1000 W. Fulton Market, West Loop
When you close your eyes and imagine a steakhouse, this Boka Restaurant Group spot is likely what you envision: round leather booths, sleek-suited servers, big steaks splayed on cutting boards, and roaming trolleys serving cocktails and dessert. Yet with Chris Pandel in the kitchen, this spot pushes the steakhouse boundaries even further. Yes, he makes a great wedge (the lemon vinaigrette pops), and the New York strip is perfectly crusted. Get those. But save space for plates like crispy potato and ricotta pierogi with peperonata crema, sausage-stuffed chicken schnitzel, and salmon tartare with green apple. Ten years in, this place still hits. — A.C.
RPM Steak
66 W. Kinzie St., River North
From the chilled forks that accompany the cheddar-frico-topped Caesar salad to the white-jacketed servers filleting Dover sole tableside, a meal here exudes luxury. And yes, go have a blowout dinner with a buttery Westholme wagyu strip, the ember-roasted seafood tower, and sautéed spinach under a cloud of Parmesan. But this plush Lettuce Entertain You spot can work well on any budget: We’re just as happy heading to the bar for a pour from wine director Richard Hanauer’s list and the wagyu double cheeseburger. And if you want to do it really affordably, head to the weekday happy hour, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., for $10 martinis and deals on food. — A.C.
Boeufhaus
1012 N. Western Ave., HUMBOLDT PARK
Is Boeufhaus a proper steakhouse or a chef-driven neighborhood bistro that specializes in dry-aged beef? Does it matter? Let Brian Ahern offer whatever farm’s beef he deems worthy, dry-age it far longer than other chefs to unlock its flavors and suppleness, and serve it with a classic sauce of your choice. (Pick the béarnaise.) If you’re not feeling steak, he also makes a fine cavatelli with merguez and fried ceci beans, and the bowl of fried perch nuggets alone is worth a visit. — J.K.
Bonyeon
651 W. Washington Blvd., West Loop
We go to steakhouses for many reasons, but when it is really and truly simply about the beef, book the omakase at Bonyeon. For $255, Sangtae Park offers a menu with 14 courses — 10 of which are beef and fully explore the flavors and textures of various cuts. This parade of bovinity includes yukhoe (beef tartare with smoked egg yolk served with a tiny cow cracker), tenderloin with rich bone marrow miso, and marinated galbi with pineapple kimchi (a play on Korean barbecue). You may want to have a salad for lunch that day. — A.C.
The Alston
750 N. State St., River North
It’s big, brash, and eager to separate you from as much of your money as it can — even while not delivering the consistency and wrinkle-free service the prices demand. Yet we’re sneaking the Alston onto this list because when Jenner Tomaska’s cooking hits its marks, it’s as good as or better than any. His dry-aged New York strip is a paragon of how it’s done, the crust redolent with wood smoke, the flesh rested into velour. His duck à la presse served tableside is the dish of the season. And the room, with its ceiling of digitally morphing imagery, earns all the wows. — J.K.
