BEST STEAK IN LA? OTHER THAN CUT

[Mdee2]

Looking for somewhere for a birthday dinner....guy loves steak...for a number of reasons passing on cut...He goes to Lodge all the time so that's not "special?....ideas?

[tigemini]

depends on the cut of steak you want... filet mignon i can always count of morton's... and new york cut you will get the best at dan tana's. it's huge, like a brick, and it's awesome. old hollywood feel and possible celeb sighting as well. great steak.

[JE33]

Others apparently disagree, but I've eaten at all of the restaurants mentioned above in the last several months (except Taylor's), and did not think any of the steaks were as good as Capo on Ocean Ave. in Santa Monica.

In terms of a place to have a birthday dinner, this is easy. STK or BLT is your call.

[wilafur]

i agree, capo is very very good. their rack of lamb is divine.

[carln]

One word...Wolfgang's.

[fishjunky]

I like Pacific Dining Car in downtown. They are as old school as you can get in L.A. and open 24hrs. . Plus they have there own butcher that ages the meat and prepares the different cuts. One more thing, this place cost $$$$$ , you get what you pay for.

[feedthebelly]

went to STK the other day. steaks pretty delish there too.

[grubtrotters]

I ate at STK last night and thought it was more sizzle than steak. High celeb quotient. The duck was good. The shrimp appetizer, too. The steak was OK, but nothing special.

http://grubtrotters.com/2008/06/04/st...

[maudies5]

Second week in a row that I have dined at Wolfgangs. I can not imagine another steak which even comes close. Perfection!

[grubtrotters]

I have had good steaks at BOA. Not as good as Cut, but tasty nonetheless. BLT also got a nice review in the LA Times this week. I have only attended a cocktail party there with appetizers, but I ate a great meal at the BLT in D.C. Taylor's has a cool, retro vibe, but the food quality is not quite at the level of some other places I have been to in LA.

[lakeshow318]

second BOA. it's also a plus that you can watch the sun set over the pacific.

[jay 1]

have not been to cut or wolfgang's, but i enjoy boa (santa monica) and jar conistently and significantly more than mastro's. depending on your mood, boa in santa monica can be a bit of a scene, and jar more relaxed, but i find both to have great steaks, drinks and sides consistenly. maybe he "massive" steak is what i don;t like about mastro's it's always more chewy than tasty to me.

[wilafur]

i am the dissenter on BOA (SM). fun vibrant scene, but the rib eye i had so much gristle, i could only eat 2/3 of it max. what a waste.

[cyborgzerozeronine]

Jar is fabulous; however, it's not the place for obscene portions if that is what you are looking for.

[maudies5]

Wolfgangs! Best steak in town. Beats CUT by a mile

[Mel Gee]

If Cut offers the benchmark steak in Los Angeles, then we're in trouble.

Since you ask for "best steak," not "steakhouse," I have to say that the finest I've had in my home town in a long time was the excellent juicy, flavorful, and rosy-red piece of beef at the far end of the Water Grill tasting menu recently. Unlike a few of the other dishes on that predominately fish and seafood menu, it was delicious and cooked perfectly. I assume that they offer the same cut (small "c") a la carte. By the way, one of the several desserts -- was it a tropical-fruit sorbet? -- was so delicious that my plate went back to the kitchen shelf unwashed. Honest.

[barno]

If you want good food hands down, try Fleming's. It's underrated. Food never disappoints and the service is great. There is one on Rosecrans in Manhattan Beach. Less of a scene than Mastro's too, so less BS to deal with.

[booksandbites]

Hate to disagree, but took my mother in law and the family to the Rosecrans Flemings about a month ago and was deeply disappointed. The food was overpriced and mediocre at best. The porterhouse special -- and a pricey special at that -- was a very poor quality of meat and almost tasteless. My wife's filet: maybe okay, but again, for the money, not a very good cut of beef. The mashed potatoes were glooey and too salty. And the cheesecake dessert was a complete rip off. A tiny, tiny, cube of something vaguely like cheescake for $10!! Sorry, I don't mind paying a lot for a good meal or a good dessert, but in this case we got neither. I would never go there again and would strongly advise that you go someplace else if you want a good steak, decent sides, and anything close to value for your money.

[gph2os]

I had a bad experience with El Segundo Fleming's as well. Waiter spilled sauce on one of the diners and not even an offer of free dessert or other effort to make up for ruining a pair of slacks other than half-hearted "sorry." Didn't even offer to pay for dry cleaning. Weak. Steak is OK, but falls below top end steakhouses in LA (Cut, Wolfgang's, Palm, Mastro's). Wine list horribly overpriced.

[soccerandlost]

From my personal experience: BOA Santa Monica, Jar, and Mastro's (probably in that order). But after seeing this thread and a number of other threads today, I plan to check out Wolfgang's very, very soon.

[gph2os]

Wolfgang's, Wolfgang's, Wolfgang's. It's all abot the beef -- and this is as good as it gets in town. Mastro's steak not quite as good as Wolfgang's (but still a great steak) but one helluva scene upstairs at the bar.

[ExtraCheesePlease]

Ditto ditto ditto ... Wolfgangs is my favourite steakhouse right now. Been there twice this week alone.

[ghozimoto]

agree with Wolfgangs -- the porterhouse for 2 or more is great. You get so much meat that you end up with steak for the next day. grill it up with some onions and mushrooms and stick it on a roll with some cheese for pure happiness

[Sgee]

Top on my list for next steakhouse to try. Think the owner is a former Peter Luger employee who branched out on his own.

[jlrobe]

JAR

[blackbookali]

Jar is really, really good, but the steaks are not massive which is part of the steakhouse draw for me. Still, a great restaurant and a reminder that I need to go back.

[grubby]

Mastros is always great. Excellent Food and Service. Right behind is Flemings. Neither one will disappoint.

[Obessed]

Craft was amazing. I also always enjoy The Palm.

[prainer]

Mastro's or JAR will not disappoint - Mastro's is loud and a big scene - JAR is low key, comfortable and you can hear each other when you talk.

[SecretHeadquarters]

Taylor's for no frills, good steak (I usually go prime rib, extra horseradish sauce please). If you go, ask to be seated in Dory's section, she makes the whole experience and is one of the best servers around.

[Griller141]

Just got back from Taylor's in La Canada and can't complain. There have been many better steaks, but for about $100 for two with a good bottle of wine, this experience is hard to beat. The steaks are fine if not great. If you are out for a good steak dinner and a nice experience, rather than a religious foodie revelation with the disappointment potential that involves, this is a no frills, no complaints, comfortable place.

[blackbookali]

I cant say its the "best steak" I have ever had but Mastros is my favorite place to get steak . . . and I make steaks at home all the time . . .

[Robert Hobbs]

Went again last night. Got the 18oz bone-in. Love it more every time I get it.

[whycook]

Mastro's won't disappoint. I took my boyfriend and he loved it. The service was flawless and there were affordable wines to compliment steak which melted in your mouth. SIdes verged on too much butter & salt for my tastes - but my boyfriend thought it was just right.

[DeePocketChopra]

Jar on Beverly: Kansas City Strip or Rib-Eye...unf@#*ing believable...hip room/gr-8 service.

Taylor's on 8th St. : Filet Mignon like fist; delicious and groovy room.

[AliLovesLA]

I used to love Taylor's on 8th St., for their great old-school atmosphere (leather booths, dark bar), stiff drinks, and eminently edible steaks (not the best, but definitely well-priced compared to Musso's et al.; I always get the Culotte, with the occasional bone-in rib-eye). But after some 8 years of fandom, I may have made my last trip to Taylor's. It's bad enough that the Molly salad is no longer free with the meal; now the meat is sub-par and the service mediocre at best. I went last week with some friends, and not only were all our steaks overdone (a steakhouse should know the difference between medium-rare and medium), they tried to charge us for four extra drinks. It took arguing with four different people to have the erroneous charges removed. And as we noted, the guy at the bar was new and the older female waitresses were nowhere to be seen on this busy weekend night. Adieu Taylor's... we're back on the hunt.

[Tom P]

Wow, so sorry about your experience. I love it, too, and have never had such a time there. While I wish the molly salad was free, I still get it every time and love it. And my bill still runs much lower than any steak place in town. I tend to get the filet (I was never a huge fan of the culotte) and the filet always is very good. Sorry it chased you away, though I understand.

[stevenclaire]

I haven't been but my husband says Mastro's............

[Mikale]

I Second Maestro's. I went to the BH location 2 weeks ago and had the most amazing bone-in ribeye and bone-in filet (shared by 2 of course) i've ever had. The sides were incredible: tuna tartare and lobster mashed with a spicy ceasar salad.

If you want romantic get a spot on the entrance floor. however if you want some music and a crowd sit in the second.

[cincyn]

I have always liked Nick and Stef's in downtown. Over the years they have been consistent and I have never been disappointed.

[anothernotch]

Second Nick & Stef's. I could not agree more with cincyn, always a solid meal.