The Resy Guide to D.C.’s Essential Steakhouses

Hollinger’s opened last year in downtown Silver Spring and offers up a classic surf-and-turf menu. That includes a raw bar, fresh seafood, sourced from the Chesapeake Bay, premium-quality steaks, and hyper-seasonal local produce, using only the finest ingredients from the Mid-Atlantic region.

Executive chef Marjorie Meek-Bradley dishes out classic cuts of steak, including New York strip, ribeye, and a massive tomahawk (serves two or more). Pair this with a few sides, like their buttery biscuits or grilled potato salad with smoked trout, and it’s a feast of epic proportions. This is also a bar with one of the largest Madeira collections in the U.S.

Call 202-864-2199 for reservations.

This massive steakhouse can accommodate big parties like family get-together and business meals with the boss. The menu features USDA prime steaks and Snake River Wagyu beef, seafood towers, and a triple-stacked chopped BLT salad featuring Great Hill blue cheese, house smoked bacon, balsamic tomatoes and buttermilk pepper dressing.

This steakhouse has been around the block for almost three decades and doubles as a micro-brewery with a selection of styles from pale ales to hoppy IPAs and stouts. The location adjacent to Capital One Center also makes it an easy pre- or post-game celebration with a steak. Pick from either filet, sirloin, New York strip, or bone-in ribeye. There’s also the option to prepare it to order as steak Oscar (with bearnaise, jumbo lump crab, asparagus) or gorgonzola (with Worcestershire butter cream, shiitakes, and gorgonzola butter).

Trio is a neighborhood haunt where it’s easy to become a regular thanks to consistent, family-run service that’s been a fixture in the Dupont Circle neighborhood since 1950. It’s also the every-person’s steakhouse. Order up steak frites, which is topped with Montreal seasoning, port jus, and accompanied by sides of green beans and fries for only $26.

Harvest Tide is a popular steakhouse from the beaches of Delaware that recently washed its way ashore to Capitol Hill’s Eastern Market in what was formerly Aqua Al 2. The intimate dining room makes this a perfect place for special occasion dining, whether you prefer a wood-fired pizza or a big juicy steak. The ribeye and New York strip are dry-aged for 21 days in the restaurant’s meat locker, delivering mouthwatering bites from start to finish.

This old-school steakhouse, recently recognized by the James Beard Foundation as an American Classic, will celebrate 75 years of service in April, namely as a fixture in this LGBTQ+ neighborhood.

Everything about Annie’s menu says old-school steakhouse. One of the top dishes to try is the “bull in a pan,” a juicy sirloin tips dish with sauteed onions and bell peppers. Just be sure to save room for dessert. There is an enormous slice of coconut cream pie with your name on it.

More info here. Call 202-232-0395 for reservations.

This steakhouse located inside the Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC has been a fixture in Georgetown thanks to its star-powered influences of chef Michael Mina, see-and-be-seen clientele, and the culinary talents of executive chef Robert Curtis. It’s a sleek and modernist space, with outdoor firepits and al-fresco dining in the courtyard. The wine list curated by Winn Roberton is impressive with more than 900 labels from new American to old world wines.

Call 202-944-2020 for reservations.

From steak tartare to smoky cocktails, Guerra Steakhouse seeks to thrill the senses with theatrical dishes. There are several steak selections including a decadent tomahawk ribeye. It’s 38 ounces of meat and easily feeds a small party with your choice of a salad and side including the extravagant lobster mac-n-cheese.

Call 571-431-6726 for reservations.

This may be the most approachable steakhouse in Washington with three locations spread across town: Cleveland Park, Bethesda, and Arlington. Ordering here is also pretty simple. A $29 set menu includes rustic bread, mixed green salad, and Medium Rare’s award-winning culotte steak with fries served in a peppery-mustard secret sauce. Securing a table is even easier — this steakhouse welcomes walk-ins for dinner and weekend brunch.

Reservations: Call 703-243-2020 for Arlington; 301-215-8379 for Bethesda, and 202-237-1432 for Cleveland Park, preferably after 1 p.m.

Just a few blocks north of the White House sits a new steakhouse with throwback vibes that comes to DC by way of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Rare Steakhouse and Tavern is really a two-in-one restaurant, with a downstairs tavern for casual lunches or happy hour, plus a formal fine-dining restaurant upstairs. Regardless of the table or mood you’re in, the menu features USDA prime, dry-aged steaks, exquisite wines, and even some Midwestern charm — including Wisconsin’s famous fried cheese curds.

Call 202-800-9994 for reservations.