Face the facts: you may be a master of the barbecue grill, but it's next to impossible for you to buy top restaurant-quality beef or broil it at temperatures as high as these places can. From old-fashioned meat joints sporting red leather booths to modern chophouses that serve globally-inspired fare, those that made the cut all have one thing in common: great steak. So tuck into your favorite cuts, or try new ones, at one of our top ten steakhouses in Miami/South Florida, presented in alphabetical order.
Face the facts: you may be a master of the barbecue grill, but it's next to impossible for you to buy top restaurant-quality beef or broil it at temperatures... more
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1
The Capital Grille
Rivergate Plaza, 444 Brickell Ave., Miami, FL 33131 / 305-374-4500
Steak lovers have been raving about this upscale national chain since it opened in 1996. The dining room is opulent and comfy, rich with dark mahogany wood, high-backed upholstered chairs and private booths. The focal point of both the room and the menu is an enormous glass-enclosed meat locker where patrons can examine their upcoming meal. It's more than just a display case, though, as the beef is dry-aged here, then taken by executive chef Innocent Utomi and his kitchen crew and turned into sirloin, porterhouse and Delmonico steaks: big, juicy, pricey. Patrons are likewise privy to large North Atlantic lobsters, grilled seafood steaks and dessert classics like crème brûlée and Key lime pie. The Capital Grille is strong on dinner, prominent as a power lunch hub, and at any meal period offers the same grandiose satisfaction as more famous national steakhouses.
2
Chima Steakhouse
2400 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 / 954-712-0580
A prime example of Brazilian rodizio (barbecue), worth the literal and metaphorical salt, Chima is named for chimarrâo, a national drink that symbolizes hospitality and friendship. Likewise Chima, with its multiple dining rooms and settings, including a patio, is very welcoming. Servers are quick to plop some traditional cheese rolls down on the table and direct diners to the gazillion-item salad bar. Tempting though it is, go easy on the prosciutto, hearts of palm salad and feijoada (black bean stew) with farofa (toasted cassava flour) you find there---the dozen cuts of meat and poultry that are paraded around the dining room on skewers are truly worth your attention. Seasoned and roasted, such items as pork loin, rack of lamb and filet mignon, of which you can eat unlimited quantities for the set price, are sliced to order on your plate until you say nay. Of less interest are side dishes such as pallid creamed spinach, and desserts are clearly an afterthought. But for those of carnivorous intent and prodigious appetite, Chima is a treat.
3
Graziano’s
394 Giralda Ave., Coral Gables, FL 33134 / 305-774-3599
When this Graziano’s less stylish parent first opened, not even an out-of-the-way location in a West Dade mall prevented many of Miami’s top chefs from flocking to the un-picturesque spot for the town’s tastiest traditional Argentine-style beef, roasted on a wood-fired rotisserie-grill. This downtown Gables location has décor that’s more open, light, contemporary and upscale. But the asado---which, unlike offerings at many parrillada places, includes fresh fish, Patagonian prawns, free-range chicken, pork and lamb as well as an assortment of sausages and steaks (the latter served à la carte or in a huge traditional mixed grill)---is still done the proper old-fashioned way. The wine list, hipper than that at many trendier restaurants, features hot vintages from Italy, Spain and South America, and includes some real bargains. Desserts are geared toward the notorious Latin sweet tooth, but an admirable cheese plate, listed as a starter, is a satisfying savory end.
4
Morton's, The Steakhouse
1200 Brickell Ave., Miami, FL 33131 / 305-400-9990
The South Florida Morton's locations, owned by a subsidiary of Morton's Restaurant Group, have added classic dishes to a menu that hadn't changed since the steakhouse chain opened in 1978. We are talking about additions such as steak au poivre with five-peppercorn Cognac cream sauce, filet Oskar, and filet Diane. As for the rest of Morton's steaks---they're wet-aged, making them milder-flavored than dry-aged beef. But skillful searing at super-hot temperatures, for a beautifully crusty exterior and juicy interior, still makes the beef among the best in the city. Patrons not in the mood for meat can indulge in lobsters, seafood specials and an extensive raw bar. Service is tops as well, the staff given a thorough education and training weeks before they're even allowed to approach a table. If steak is king at Morton's, dessert soufflés are queen---and a princely wine selection ranges from new-world Sauvignon Blancs to old-world Burgundies. People-watching is prime here, too, the city's power players congregating over cocktails and lunch in the traditional hunt-clubby room’s low leather booths, which lend themselves to passive eavesdropping.
5
The Palm
9650 E. Bay Harbor Dr., Bal Harbour, FL 33154 / 305-868-7256
The Palm is part of an upscale chain that doesn't feel like a chain. It has a clubby, exclusive aura. The Palm, however, delivers more than attitude. We recommend the GiGi salad, a chilled agglomeration of rock shrimp, onions, string beans and tomatoes in house vinaigrette. The mammoth lobsters here are, well, they're indeed mammoth lobsters, huge and sweet, for which The Palm enjoys renown. The shoestring onions are hard to stop eating. Oddly, while the steaks are good, in this city where quality steakhouses have popped up like, well, mushrooms, you can do better. If you like to save the best for last, get the crumbly, not-too-sweet, stick-to-your-ribs cheesecake.
6
Prime Blue Grille
315 S. Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33131 / 305-358-5901
Intended as the progenitor of a projected national chain, this restaurant rejects the traditional nineteenth-century blueprint that most steakhouses still follow---dark men’s-clubby décor, big hunks of cholesterol---for a concept that founder Jim Dunn calls more “female-friendly.” This translates, in part, into a light, expansive, multi-level setting, with a floor-to-ceiling glass wall that provides all tables with panoramic river (and Miami skyline) views. But mostly it means a menu that features as many seafood as steak entrées, prepared in a manner that befits fish that’s wild-caught (not farmed) and fresh (never frozen): quick cooked to a slightly smoky turn, by Prime Blue’s intensely hot wood-fired grills and ovens. On the burger portion of the menu, there are yellowfin tuna and crab options as well as beef patties. And except for a classic steak tartare, contemporary fish and shellfish preparations rule the appetizer list: lump crab cakes served atop fresh creamed corn; Asian-accented jumbo sea scallops, bathed in tangy fermented black bean sauce; grilled calamari with a fennel, orange and chorizo salad; ginger-soy-marinated tuna sashimi. There’s also a raw bar, featuring eastern and West Coast cold water oysters. Oh, right. There are steaks, too. And they’re dry-aged and butchered on-premises as in the best traditional bastions of beef. But the red meat also comes with a modern twist: it’s all sourced-organic stuff, raised hormone- and antibiotic-free, from Brandt Beef. Hint: Whatever you eat, the most idyllic seats in the house are outside, on the second-floor balcony.
7
Prime One Twelve
The Browns Hotel, 112 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach, FL 33139 / 305-532-8112
Located in The Browns Hotel (back in 1915, Miami Beach's very first), Prime One Twelve draws crowds that would have overwhelmed the neighborhood back then. The dining rooms are done up in sexy saloon-chic style, and the steakhouse fare is first-rate. The restaurant dry-ages its USDA Prime beef for 21 to 28 days and offers all the large, beloved cuts like T-bone, porterhouse and the like; you can also try a $20 Kobe beef hot dog or $30 Kobe burger. Sides are separate, expensive and irresistible, from broccoli rabe with chilies to rum-baked sweet plantains to four-cheese truffled macaroni. Chef-composed seafood creations---which include starch and veg sides---are prepared with no less love here, so the non-carnivores can derive their own pleasure with dishes like a fresh wild Alaskan salmon floating in a soft lemon nage, with asparagus and caper whipped potatoes. The vast menu delivers a load of knockout starters, too, which are sizeable enough to make a light meal on their own; try a salad of Fanny Bay oysters, spinach, frisée and smoked bacon. Desserts such as a runny-centered chocolate pudding cake with sweet cream and liqueured Amarena cherries bring a satisfying meal to a fine finish.
8
Shula's Steak House-The Original
7601 Miami Lakes Drive, Miami Lakes, FL 33014 / 305-820-8102
As expected at restaurants bearing the name of Don Shula, longtime coach of the Miami Dolphins, the décor is darkly masculine, with football photos on the walls and without flowers on the tables. The regular menu is printed on a football. Servers present raw steak cuts to illustrate the relative differences among 12-, 24- and 48-ounce servings. Emphasis is on the hardy stuff, such as Angus beef (go for the aged), with a couple of fish choices thrown in for the beef-phobic. Oysters come plump and fresh on the half-shell. Ordered à la carte, salads are chock-full of ultra-thick slices of tomatoes, as other vegetables in gargantuan portions, arrive in less-than-perfect condition. Perfection, however, is successfully and generously dedicated to the steaks. Most popular with the more macho meat-eaters is the porterhouse, while the dainty direct their dining toward the filet mignon. Also located at 5225 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, 305-341-6500; and PGA National Resort, 400 Ave. of Champions, Palm Beach Gardens, 561-627-4852.
9
Smith & Wollensky
1 Washington Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139 / 305-673-2800
This branch of the respected restaurant in Manhattan has a good location going for it: a colossal old house on the southernmost tip of South Beach. Be sure to reserve a window table, or one in the outdoor café, for the best view of cruise ships steaming by on adjacent Government Cut. Diehard carnivores and wine connoisseurs unite as America's reclaimed meal of choice, steak, continues as a time-honored standard here. Dry-aged porterhouse and tenderloin rule, but the sizzling pork loin is a standout. The $75 seafood platter includes tender shrimp and a feast of the day's raw-bar selections. Wine aficionados rejoice over the generous and premium inventory of international wines. And even novices will appreciate S&W’s occasional dinners (about one per month) presented in conjunction with selected wineries, that offer five courses with paired wines.
10
Tuscan Steak
431 Washington Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139 / 305-534-2233
Posh retro-modern décor, blending state-of-the-art lighting with faux-rustic brick walls, dark woods and plush leather booths, create a fine milieu for this quintessentially South Beach take on an Italian steakhouse. Mammoth martinis from a bar running the length of the dining room suggest that drink is as significant to the experience as food, and it’s true that the potent cocktails are not kid stuff. That said, huge platters of food accessible enough for all ages, and served to share, make the place a good choice for family dinners. Chef Benjamin Rottkamp (whose past posts range from Joachim Splichal’s Zucca to Talula in Sobe) creates some specials, but the menu’s mostly tried-and-true crowd-pleasers: the signature assertively (if not authentically) marinated “Florentine” T-bone steak, served pre-sliced for American-style convenience; wonderfully airy gnocchi, with rich Gorgonzola cream or fresh tomato-basil sauce (served, like most pastas, in whole or half portions); numerous items liberally dosed with white truffle oil---garlic bread, mashed potatoes, risotto, glazed duck, even an à la carte serving of oil only. Desserts include cheesecake, chocolate mousse and similar predictable choices, but no worries; the addictive amaretto-infused mashed sweet potatoes are dessert-like enough that it’s unnecessary to try to find room, somewhere, for the extra course.
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