Hi, just moved into town. Looked through various threads and couldn’t find any discussions around best steak in GTA.
We come from the US across several different cities (NYC, Houston, Boston, etc).
Even if it turns out not as good, would still love to know where to go for a great steak. As different steakhouses have different cuts of steak they are known for, please also let us know which cut is best at the recommended spots.
Thank you very much!!
I’d say Barberian’s for me. Ribeye. Old fashioned steakhouse.
Jacobs & Co is good but I haven’t been in a long time, and I’m kind of avoiding it due to management style (as in not paying the little guys on time).
I’ve not been to Harbour 60, which tends to be an expense account steakhouse.
I haven’t tried STK.
In the burbs, Octagon and Le Castile continue the old school steakhouse tradition.
[Toronto] The places in Toronto that you visit over and over again
Had a really good overall experience and bone-in striploin (Canadian Prime I believe) bathed in a very savoury demi-glace at Prime Seafood Palace. The steaks were cooked over a live wood fire vs. the screaming hot broiler that a more typical steak house would use. They also have a porterhouse to share that I think would be great as well.
Stock Bar is the only place I’ve been to during the pandemic that has a focus on steak, as we have only been eating on patios. Because Cumbrae’s is involved, the meat will likely be good and well-raised. The steak frites we had was a top sirloin cut and was tasty, juicy, and at the medium rare we asked for.
Pre-pandemic, we occasionally went to steakhouses. Jacobs & Co was the best experience, but like Phoenikia mentioned, we won’t patronize them anymore due to how the management mistreats suppliers and employees. Barberian’s is very old school and was disappointing on our visit - the steak itself (can’t remember the cut) was underseasoned and overcooked. BlueBlood was pretty good, but quite pricey. We split a 40 oz Canadian porterhouse (better value this way) from Alberta that was appropriately cooked and well-seasoned.
I know The Keg is a chain, but they do a pretty decent job for the money. They are reliable - I’ve been to 3 locations in Toronto (York St., Yonge & Eglinton, Leslie St.) and they were all comparable. Ruth’s Chris, another chain, did a decent job the one time I was there years ago. They even provided a halal steak (preordered) for my friend.
Barberian’s is my favourite. Well-aged steaks with a good amount of char from the grill. New York Striploin is my preferred cut. The wine cellar may be the city’s best, if that matters to you.
I also like Hy’s, partly for the show — Caesar salads, steak Diane, bananas Foster are all prepared tableside.
I admit I haven’t been to a number of places already mentioned here (Harbour Sixty, Blueblood, Prime Seafood Palace) — too expensive for me.
Ruth’s Chris uses USFDA for meat. Very nice stuff.
Although we appreciate the quality of USFDA, we have really liked beef from various smaller Canadian farms too.
Welcome to you - is your avatar a virescent green bee?
I haven’t tried Ruth’s Chris or Morton’s.
Out of the steak places currently in business in Toronto, I’ve only tried Barberian’s and Jacob’s & Co.
The only steak I’ve ordered in the past 3 years was takeout from a suburban Keg, which wasn’t great.
I’ve been making ribeye at home 3 or 4 times a month, and occasionally a T-bone, NY Strip or sirloin. I currently like the Joe Beef Butcher’s Blend seasoning the best. Not a fan of the Joe Beef BBQ sauce.
Why yes it is. I’ve had them on the sunflowers that I plant at my house.
Bumping this thread because of this weird list of the “best Toronto steakhouses” in The Star:
The list comprises Barberians, Sammarco, Linny’s, Animl, and Côte de Boeuf if you hit a paywall.
I call this list weird in part because one of the restaurants, Sammarco, isn’t open yet, and doesn’t look to be anywhere near opening based on the construction hoardings that were still up when I walked by the other evening.
The list made me think that deluxe steakhouse (or “steak & sushi” in some cases) is the category du jour in Toronto dining - Blue Bovine at Union Station, Aera at The Well, Black + Blue on King … places selling $90 steaks with $20 sides are all the rage.
Yeah it’s an odd list IMO. I have tried Barberians a while ago and while it’s old school I didn’t enjoy it at all. Ruth Chris has done the trick with the prix fixe set when I didn’t have access to a BBQ in the winter in the past. Morton’s I have only tried the US locations.
Le bifteque (if people still recall) downtown was good value and outback before they closed down.
I personally think these lists must have some advertising revenue linked to it as they are bizarre at times. Same as these social media influencers at times who rave about a place which at best would be sub par (not to mention dubious taste and lack of exposure by these ‘experts’) life changing the best I have had in my life seem to be the go to phrases. All this for a free meal and maybe few $ sound like a good deal if you are a restaurant owner I suppose but I digress.
Now I just buy a prime rated steak and grill it at home no matter what season 
I liked the ribeye at Barberian’s a lot, but it’s been a decade since I visited.
All this talk of steak made my pickup a prime rated striploin from loblaws 
will enjoy it for dinner tonight
We’d like to try Linny’s and Prime Seafood Palace.
IMHO, for quality and value, nobody beats ’ FISH & LOAF '…( but sadly will be closing end of February and hopefully relocating up north to Markham )
Rare to see, featuring on menu:
Dry aged Argentinian Grass Fed Beef ( ribeye & striploin ) ( photo )
Dry age Spanish Galician Grass fed beef ( ditto )
Dry age Australian Grass fed and Wagyu ( ditto ) ( photo )
Japanese A5 Miyazaki Wagyu
Price points
Linny’s does look interesting - I’d like a taste of the pastrami.
I dined at Prime Seafood Palace two years ago and enjoyed the food, the service, and the decor. Prime rib was really tasty with a side of good hot Yorkshire pudding to mop up the jus. Could have done without the boring Q107 classic rock playlist on the sound system but I’m picky about music in restaurants.
Nice marbling!
Taking note of caviartothegeneral’s rec of Hy’s, we finally tried this place prior to something at the Four Seasons Centre. Overall, everything was pretty darn good. Probably our best old school steakhouse experience in Toronto in awhile.
The cocktails were surprisingly fun:
We started their cheese toast for two, “Famously irresistible since 1955”. It’s basically garlic bread with melted mild cheese. Nothing revelatory, but enjoyable.
Of course we had to order some of the dishes prepared tableside, starting with their Caesar: crisp romaine dressed with garlic, anchovy, egg yolk, Dijon, lemon juice, Tabasco, parmesan, olive oil, and black pepper, plus buttery croutons. No bacon (maybe because Hy was of Russian Jewish background).
We had a couple of glasses of wine with our steaks:
Our next tableside preparation was the Steak Diane: thin beef tenderloins, cooked in clarified butter, then flambeed with brandy, Dijon mustard, fresh mushrooms, and shallots, served with green beans and roasted potatoes. Delicious and very rich.
We also had the 22 oz porterhouse, grilled medium rare, and served with a fully loaded baked potato. Nicely seasoned and juicy.
For dessert we had the Bananas Foster, with the bananas sauteed tableside with butter, brown sugar and fresh orange juice, then flambeed with dark rum and served with vanilla ice cream. I felt the bananas wre a little on the green side, but this was exactly the way my wife likes them.
We also had Hy’s Famous Cheesecake (from 1955) with a berry compote. Creamy and not too sweet.
