best steaks sydney
Whether you’re a ribeye or scotch fillet fan, these are where you need to head to get your red meat fix in Sydney.
Over in the Harbour City, steaks are a dime a dozen, but the best steak restaurants in Sydney offer much more than rump cap and pub salad. From prime ribs to free-range chicken, Australia produces some of the best meat in the world, and our steak offerings, particularly in Sydney, are no slouch. Last year, five Sydney institutions featured in the top 50 of the World’s Best Steak Restaurants for 2023.
That is helped in part by the change in approach to the humble steak over the years. How tender or juicy a steak is, makes up only a small part of how it’s judged. There’s been a lot more thought, and care put in before the steak hits the grill, let alone your plate. Chefs are putting more effort into narrowing down the best places to raise cattle, whether that be Mayura Station in South Australia, Cape Grim in Tasmania, and many others. But chefs are also experimenting with methods of preparation like dry ageing, and of course, turning their focus to cuts that were once not considered part of the fine steak agenda.
Whether you’re searching for a Riverine Black Angus Rib Eye, or a dry-aged Wagyu like no other, Sydney is where you’ll find it. Now very much a hub for the best steaks in the world, here are the Sydney restaurants and institutions you’ll want to make a booking at next time you’re feeling inclined.
Firedoor
Address: 23/33 Mary Street, Surry Hills
There’s something very raw and exhilarating about working with fire. The unpredictability of nature’s most destructive chemical reaction, used to cook? Sign us up. Lennox Hastie has been fascinated with the unique flavour cooking with fire brings to food, and the steaks are, understandably, a highlight. Located in the heart of Surry Hills, the restaurant isn’t quite fine dining, but not a casual spot either. Instead, like cooking with fire, it sits in perfect balance. Hastie was one of the earliest proponents of dry ages, and each day, various cuts will be ready for cooking, and they are not to be missed.
The order: The chefs menu covers all bases, but make sure to add the dry aged option on the day.
Bistecca
Address: 3 Dalley Street, Sydney
The third-highest ranking Sydney restaurant in the top 50 of the World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants list, Bistecca is all steaks, and no nonsense. Here, the famous Florentine cut, the T-bone ‘bistecca’ is the champion dish. After locking your phone away for the meal, the dim lighting in this Sydney CBD institution sets the scene for one of the more theatrical, but amazing steaks you’ll ever try. Order steak by weight — per 100gm — and then select your sides. Washed down with some of the finest Italian ones this side of the equator, it’s like stepping into Tuscany. It’s a classic style of steak, not as intense as dry-aged options, but it’s filling, and very delicious.
The order: The Bistecca alla Fiorentina
Rockpool Bar & Grill
Address: 66 Hunter Street, Sydney
Cemented in the top-ten in the World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants list, Sydney institution Rockpool was named at eighth-best in the world — the highest Australian entrant. Neil Perry’s lavish, marble-adorned restaurant Rockpool has been a fixture on fine dining lists for over 15 years. The steaks here are dry-aged in house and sourced from Australia’s top producers, including David Blackmore’s Wagyu project, Cape Grim, and Coppertree Farms. These steaks are full-bodied, caramelised, intense, and fantastic. Across the board, you can hardly put a foot wrong.
The order: The in-house cut Blackmore Rubia Gallega
The Gidley
Address: 161 King Street, Sydney
Another prime Sydney steakhouse embracing a dimly-lit, whiskey-soaked vibe, the Gidley’s opulence extends to its fine steaks, too. The Gidley’s menu is tight, choosing instead to champion a selection of top-quality options. Sibling restaurants Bistecca and Alfie’s both have their own signatures, and here it’s the ribeye. Charged by the gram on the bone, or with two weight options, without the bone; things are kept pretty simple. The steaks are smoked and have a rounded, powerful flavour, particularly delicious when cooked medium rare, and made only richer with the bone in. How you do the sides is crucial, lighter is better in our eyes.
The order: Ribeye on the bone
Alfie’s
Address: Shop 2, 4-6 Bligh Street, Sydney
Even though the steakhouse doesn’t seem like that old of a principle, Alfie’s is still here to shake it up. Swapping the lavishness of NYC-inspired steakhouses, for a stripped-back and well-lit restaurant, covered in contemporary and colourful art. Alfie’s has one cut, which is done very well. Here, the Riverine sirloin is the go-to, cut to 250gm size, and cooked over ironbark and charcoal on a custom grill. The best bit? It’s guaranteed to land hot on your table 15 minutes after ordering. Not limited to just great steak, the bar also serves a house Martini at negative-ten degrees celsius, billed as the coldest in all of Sydney.
The order: The Riverine sirloin
Clam Bar
Address: 44 Bridge Street, Sydney
Joining other Sydney destinations Pellegrino 2000 and Bistrot 916 is Clam Bar. Rather than the Italian or French inspiration from the other venues, here it’s all about New York City. Beginning with plenty of stunning raw seafood, the steak is where the mains excel. The chefs use a specialised charcoal oven where all steaks are cooked on the bone. All of the condiments are as rich and flavoursome as you’d expect, and the sides will ensure you leave the venu with the belt a little tighter than before.
The order: The New York strip
Kingsleys Woolloomooloo
Address: 10/6 Cowper Wharf Roadway, Woolloomooloo
Everything you’ll eat at Kingsleys is a celebration of Australia. The picturesque location in between Potts Point and Mrs Macquarie’s Chair offers one of the leading surf ‘n’ turfs in the country, a style of steak few countries do better than us. The steaks are good enough to earn Kingsleys the second-highest spot in the previously mentioned top 101 list for the best steaks in the world. Even though it’s one of the best steaks in Sydney, the extensive menu isn’t limited to cow cuts. There’s also plenty of other options, including crab linguini, and the always delicious Moreton Bay bugs.
The order: The 1.5kg 120-day grain fed Tomahawk
Woodcut
Address: Crown Sydney, Level 1/1 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo
Inside The Crown in Sydney, you’ll find the sprawling steakhouse from Ross Lusted. The award-winning chef has crafted a unique dining experience worthy of its grand location. The fragrance of coals and smoke imbues the room with a raw and inviting feel, and the steaks are up to the experience. There’s all sorts of cookware around the kitchen, each bringing unique flavours to the food. There’s no skimping on luxury here, this is a premium restaurant with prices to boot. The grass fed dry-aged O’Connor sirloin is a great start, but the Stone Axe full-blood wagyu will change what you think you know about steak.
The order: Stone Axe Full Blood 9+ Wagyu sirloin steak
Ester Restaurant and Bar
Address: 46-52 Meagher St, Chippendale
Ester is one of those rare places where you will almost always leave having tried something new, even if you’re returning to the restaurant for an umpteenth time. A rotating menu, and an even faster rotating drinks list, Ester’s classics are made all the better with the one-offs and seasonal additions to the menu. Served alongside innovative natural-focused wine, the pairing is unique in the landscape of Sydney steak restaurants. Everything at Ester looks amazing, and if you get there when the steak is on, you won’t regret ordering it. The special offerings depend on what is available from the Sydney restaurant’s producers on the day, and will be served with unique sides, but there will almost always be some form of steak on the set menu.
The order: The 9+ Wagyu. Served with pickled onion, black pepper sauce and jalapeño onion emulsion
Hubert
Address: 15 Bligh St, Sydney
Soundtracked with the appetite-inducing hum of live jazz, Hubert is Sydney’s answer to the bustling Parisian bistro in the heart of the city. A restauranteur’s restaurant, Hubert is simple and delicious. The steak is served (almost) as they do in Paris, simply, but the team has added bone marrow butter alongside, which makes it all the better. Skipping the long steak menus adorned with grass-fed nicknames, and prime rib roast you don’t want, Hubert puts the essentials in front of you. It’s impossible to mess it up.
The order: The Stockyard sirloin steak
Porteño
Address: 50 Holt St, Surry Hills
A Sydney restaurant teeming with South American panache, Porteño is quite simply, one of Sydney’s best steaks. Like many other top joints, Porteño dry ages everything on-site, so when it’s ready to cook, it travels a very short distance from the room out back. As the team will tell you, medium rare is the recommended level, and they are fantastic, some steaks featuring up to five weeks of dry age. The steak menu is changing, with a range stretching from the best scotch fillets to skirts, and the always-solid T-bone.
The order: The Manning Valley 42 day dry aged Sirloin, MB3+