After wrapping our roundup of the region’s must-visit dive bars, we swung hard in the opposite direction — sharpening our knives and digging into the best steakhouses in the Northeast.
Medium rare, juicy and smothered with truffle butter — when a steak is good, it’s really good.
Imagine a bone-in tomahawk, dripping with béarnaise, or a few decadent ounces of luxurious A5 wagyu. The coveted protein, properly prepared, can be euphoric.
With fancy holiday dinner season on the horizon, then, we — the USA Today Co. food writers in the Northeast — have pooled our expertise to help you find the best.
Bardea Steak | Wilmington, Delaware
Details: 608 N. Market St., Wilmington; bardeasteak.com
A marble sculpture of a white Chianina bull, the oldest and biggest bovine breed in the world, rests near a fireplace in Bardea Steak’s 120-seat main dining area. It perhaps best sets the tone for what James Beard-nominated chef/co-owner Antimo DiMeo has been working to accomplish ‒ modernizing Old World tastes for today’s memorable eating experiences at this downtown Wilmington restaurant.
The restaurant was just listed as one of the Top 50 Best Steakhouses in North America for 2025 (it placed No. 49) by the World’s Best Steak Restaurants website. It’s the only restaurant named in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. Anonymous reviewers checked out 1,200 steakhouse restaurants globally and only 50 were selected in North America.
Bardea Steak’s menu has undergone significant changes since its June 2022 opening. Small plates are listed as “snacks.” Check out the creamed chipped beef croquette, $15, made with Wagyu Bresaola, truffles and sausage gravy. An excellent table-sharing option is the $180 steak tasting. Breed choices include Australian Wagyu, Holstein, Piedmontese, and Grassfed Angus. An 8-ounce filet is $59. Sides include loaded potatoes and mac and cheese. — Patricia Talorico, Wilmington News-Journal
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River Palm Terrace, Edgewater
Details: 1416 River Road, Edgewater; 201-224-2013, riverpalm.com.
When it comes to North Jersey steakhouses, River Palm Terrace has become almost synonymous with the term. A 42-year-old special occasion spot with white tablecloths and fine wines, the upscale chophouse rolls off the tongue each time a local asks another where they can get a stellar cut of meat. Under soft lighting — and between classic green booths — the filet mignons and accompanying sides come seasoned with a taste of history and tradition.
Since day one, River Palm has been wowing diners with dry-aged steaks (such as ribeyes and porterhouses) topped with house-made sauces (like cognac cream peppercorn) and preceded by seafood appetizers. Later, though, the team added elevated sushi rolls to the menu, which are now almost equally popular. Whether in search of a delicate slice of sashimi or a hearty bite of New Yoek Strip, then, eaters can find both at the timeless restaurant. — Kara VanDooijeweert, NorthJersey.com
One Rare Italian Steakhouse | Scarsdale, New York
Details: 16 East Pkwy., Scarsdale; 914-330-8488, oneraresteakhouse.com
The fact that One Rare Italian Steakhouse in Scarsdale is certified by the Japanese government to serve Kobe beef should be your first clue this isn’t your everyday steakhouse. Add in the modern interior and whimsical centerpiece tree that changes with the seasons, and you’re in for a treat.
Executive chef and partner Admir Alibasic, who’s been cooking for 19 years, talks about meat the way a seasoned reporter talks about a trusted source: with respect, knowledge, and an obsessive need to get everything right. For him and his team, nothing is overlooked — from the amount of time a cut needs to age to the marbling that melts at just the right moment to the subtle minerality in the fat.
And that’s just part of the story. Alibasic also likes to add a touch of playfulness to certain dishes like his mac and cheese trio (with four cheeses, truffle and short rib); Wagu sliders (caramelized onions, tomato, special sauce, havarti cheese) and short rib brunch bowl (rice, cabbage slaw, sunny side egg, corn and avocado salsa and peanut sauce). — Jeanne Muchnick, lohud and The Journal News
Stage Left Steak | New Brunswick, New Jersey
Details: 5 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick; 732-828-4444, stageleft.com.
Stage Left Steak, owned by two longtime friends, has been a landmark since it opened more than 30 years ago. But even though it’s a classic, don’t call it conventional.
The restaurant serves distinctive items such as wagyu sirloin on a 500-degree Himalayan salt brick; bone-in sirloin; double English-cut lamb chops; and jamon Iberico (a long-cured ham made from acorn-fed Iberico pigs), in a refined yet creative space with themed dining rooms lined with wine, cloud murals, quirky artwork and more.
That novel spirit extends to its drinks, too. Stage Left Steak was one of the first restaurants in the world to embrace what we now know as the contemporary cocktail movement, said co-owner Francis Schott, and it maintains a collection of more than 300 whiskeys and more than 600 wines. — Jenna Intersimone, MyCentralJersey.com
Redd Wood | Brighton, New York
Details: 1690 Monroe Ave., Brighton; 585-319-4194, reddwoodroc.com.
Redd Wood, which opened in March, blends American steakhouse fare with a French influence, served in a dining room divided into intimate seating areas of booths and banquettes.
Steaks are brushed with rendered beef fat, seasoned, started on a wood-fired hearth, finished in a special oven and sliced to order. Be sure to order one with the decadent pommes aligot (cheesy mashed potatoes). — Tracy Schuhmacher, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
The Butcher’s Block, Long Branch, New Jersey
Details: 235 West Ave., Long Branch; 732-795-3903, thebutchersblocknj.com
Tom D’Ambrisi didn’t seek out a high-profile location when he opened The Butcher’s Block on a Long Branch side street that runs along train tracks, next to his family’s wholesale meat business. But the steakhouse quickly became one of the state’s most popular restaurants, and D’Ambrisi has expanded and found new ways to keep things new — like last summer’s live-fire outdoor dinner series.
The popularity of The Block, as it’s known, is due in part to ambiance. The restaurant comprises multiple rooms indoors and a beautiful outdoor patio, all a mix of brick, wood and glass softened by chandeliers, fireplaces, plants and candles. The restaurant is rustic yet modern, both inside and out, and unlike any other at the Shore.
As for the food, the menu is built around the butcher shop, where diners choose their cut. Sides like garlicky broccoli rabe, hand-cut fries, and Brussels sprouts with hot honey and Cap’n Crunch cereal (a quirky but popular dish) round out the menu alongside pastas, small plates and entrees of meatballs and pork Milanese. — Sarah Griesemer, Asbury Park Press
The Franklinville Inn | Franklinville, New Jersey
Details: 2526 Delsea Drive, 856-694-1577; The Franklinville Inn | Franklinville, NJ
A classic gem of a spot, The Franklinville Inn is known for its steak and seafood. Top dishes have been crab bisque, crab cakes, filet mignon and three cuts of prime rib.
It is one of those special places that people enjoy going to for their special occasions and events in their lives, whether it’s a birthday, Mother’s Day or something else. The inn, which has dining areas on several floors, also has a fireplace.
It also managed to overcome a fire at the start of the year, and recovered nicely.
In 2014, OpenTable named the Franklinville Inn one of the top 100 restaurants in America. Winners were selected from more than five million reviews submitted by OpenTable diners for approximately 19,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In 2025, it was named one of the top 100 most romantic restaurants, also by OpenTable. — Celeste E. Whittaker, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Best steakhouses in the Northeast? These top spots are worth the drive
Reporting by Patricia Talorico, Kara VanDooijeweert, Jeanne Muchnick, Jenna Intersimone, Tracy Schuhmacher and Celeste E. Whittaker, USA TODAY NETWORK / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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