Steakhouses are a meat lover’s paradise, but not every sizzling plate is worth the hype or the price. Some menu favorites sound fancy, but leave your wallet lighter and your taste buds unimpressed. Before you order that "chef's special" or stack your plate high with extras, take a pause. This guide spills the secrets steakhouse servers wish you'd already known.
Well-Done Steak
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Ordering a well-done steak at a steakhouse is like asking a chocolatier for plain toast. It squeezes out the juices and flavor you're paying top dollar for. Even celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay call it a crime. If you're nervous about pink centers, try medium or medium-well—it's safer and way tastier.
Filet Mignon
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Filet Mignon has that VIP menu placement, but it's the most overrated steak cut. Sure, it's tender, but that's about it. Compared to ribeye or strip, it lacks flavor because it has almost no fat. Chefs often wrap it in bacon or douse it in sauce to give it some personality.
Steak with Steak Sauce
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Steakhouses spend serious time sourcing and aging their meat, and slapping steak sauce on it is like squirting ketchup on sushi—disrespectful and confusing. Those sauces are often sugar bombs loaded with preservatives and salt that overwhelms the meat. If you want more flavor, compound butter or a peppercorn crust will do the work.
Wedge Salad
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On paper, it seems harmless: a salad with bacon, blue cheese, and creamy dressing. What could go wrong? Well, everything—starting with the fact that it’s literally just a quarter head of iceberg lettuce. It’s hard to eat and the dressing does all the work while the lettuce contributes cold crunch. That’s it. You’re mostly paying for presentation.
Blooming Onion
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The blooming onion is a deep-fried carnival disguised as an appetizer. One onion clocks in at about 2,000 calories and over 130 grams of fat, most of which you inhale before your actual meal arrives. It's also often greasy and inconsistent. Plus, it fills you up fast and leaves less room for what you actually came for: steak.
Grilled Fish
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Most steakhouses don't have the same access to ultra-fresh seafood as a fish-focused spot. If you're avoiding red meat, there are better alternatives, but if you want excellent fish, you're better off saving the seafood craving for a coastal restaurant.
Fried Chicken
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Fried chicken can be magical, but not at a steakhouse. It's often a menu filler to appease picky eaters or kids. Unlike steak, which is generally made to order, fried chicken might be pre-fried and kept under a heat lamp. Save the moment for a proper soul food joint or chicken shack.
Raw Oysters
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Unless you're sitting oceanside with a menu that reads like a marine biology lesson, skip the raw oysters at a steakhouse. They are delicate and high-risk, especially if they’ve traveled far and sat too long. A bad oyster can wreck your night with food poisoning, so save the craving for a trusted seafood spot.
Seared Tuna
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It sounds fancy and sleek with its pink center and sesame crust, but seared tuna is another steakhouse misstep. When done well, it's subtle, silky, and clean. But a kitchen built for beef usually offers tuna that’s overcooked, fishy, or drenched in soy glaze to cover up the flaws. Tuna's delicate nature requires precision that some steakhouses don't prioritize.
Daily Specials
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"Chef's Special" sounds exciting... until you realize it's code for "what we need to get rid of today." Not always, but often enough to raise a brow. You'll rarely know how long the dish has been prepped or if the kitchen's improvising. Specials can surprise—in both good and bad ways.
13-Ounce Ribeye
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Bigger isn't always better. A 13-ounce ribeye might sound great, but sometimes it's just too much. Unless you're splitting it or arriving truly ravenous, it's likely to leave you stuffed, sluggish, or packing up half your dinner in a greasy takeout box.
Tasmanian Chili
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Let's talk chili—specifically, the kind some chains import from "Tasmania" to add a little global flair. The flavor tends to punch you in the throat with heat, then vanish without a trace. It's more filler than a feature—designed to be ladled over fries or tucked under the cheese so that you won't notice the bland base.
Burgers
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It's tempting, especially when the burger's got fancy toppings or a name like "The House Smash." But if you're at a steakhouse and ordering a burger, you're missing the point. Most burger patties are rarely given the same attention as the actual steaks. You could get a better burger at a dedicated joint for half the price.
Mac & Cheese Bites
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Deep-fried mac and cheese sounds like a good idea after two cocktails, but reality sets in fast. These little golden nuggets are mostly breading with a squirt of barely-there cheese. We recommend going for the real baked version—cheesy, gooey, and actually satisfying. They don't belong on a linen-covered table next to a porterhouse.
Salted Caramel Cookie Skillet
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This dessert arrives loud in cast iron, caramel, and a scoop of ice cream. It looks like dessert heaven, but it’s mostly sugar, filler, and regret in disguise. After steak, sides, and maybe a drink or two, this sugar bomb hits like a brick. If you're craving something sweet, ask about lighter desserts—or just sip a dessert wine.
