The UK’s best steakhouses

The award-winning Falcon Steakhouse in Gloucestershire is known for a number of things, including winning ‘Pub of the Year’ x3 and ‘Best place to eat out in the Cotswolds’, so it’s safe to say they know they’re stuff. The steakhouse sits in a glorious corner-street yellow building adorned with flowered-windowsills and Falcon Steakhouse imagery. Inside, the atmosphere is warm, cheery, and utterly aromatic. Snag a leather seat and get ready to enter a food coma.

Let’s get straight to the steak. The main menu is served seven days a week from lunch until late. You have eleven steaks to choose from, ranging from sirloin and ribeye to the rump and tomahawk challenges. There’s a number of sides to add on; our favourites include the buttered and dauphinoise potatoes, chimichurri, creamed wild mushrooms, homemade onion rings, and charred chilli butter. Add on a side of peppercorn sauce, Falcon’s beef drippings, or classic stilton sauce and dig in! As the saying goes at The Falcon, ‘enter as a customer, leave as a local’.

Family-run since 1981, The Palmichael team have perfected the art of a good steak. Found in the small town of Burton Latimer, the restaurant brings elegant, stylish Italian dining to locals and passersby. You’ll be offered a warm welcome before taking a seat inside the relaxed dining room, with the option to dine al fresco in the Italian-styled front patio when the weather calls for it.

Celebrating both British and Italian, the menu is authentic, with modern twists, and relies on the very best quality British and Italian ingredients. Think parma ham, parmigiano reggiano, buffalo mozzarella, and egg pasta sourced from Italy, alongside Hereford steaks and fresh seafood from Brixham, Plymouth, and Billings gate market. There are six different steaks on the menu, including sirloins, fillets, steak Diane (with sauted mushrooms, Italian brandy, and cream), mare e monte (with 3 king prawns, roasted garlic & fresh chilli butter), and filetto Rossini (with chicken liver pate, toasted crouton, Barolo wine jus). Go for a classic and add a peppercorn sauce or red wine jus, or branch out and try it the Italian way at The Palmichael.

A fairly new kid on the block in Glasgow, Meat Joint Scottish Steakhouse is sister-restaurant to Mini Grill – who has be dubbed Glasgow’s best steakhouse. A newcomer to Sauchiehall Street, Meat Joint delivers the authentic steakhouse experience in a serene and relaxed environment. Inside, the space is refined, rustic, and romantic, as well as full of Scottish charm.

The menu veers from Mini Grill’s, with some twists and turns on traditional Scottish fare. Expect to see Aberdeen Black Angus meat, including Cote de Boeuf, fillet, sirloin and the ‘Butler Steak’, as well as Chateaubriand and Tomahawk steaks. All of which are dry-aged for 28 days, and then served with a mixed salad, roast tomato & mushroom, skin on
chips & peppercorn sauce. Feel welcomed to add on truffle fries, red wine jus, caparroné, king scallops for a surf and turf, or baked mac and cheese.

After operating in hospitality for more than 40 years, #5 Romilly Crescent has been home to Cardiff’s brand new steakhouse since late 2023. With hanging shrubbery, comfy booth seating, and a warmly lit interior, No.5 Pontcanna is a cosy and casual spot for a family dinner, catch-up with friends, or indulgent date night.

The evening menu is served Thursday through to Saturday, so make sure to book in between then if you want to get your chops around one of their succulent steaks. From the mains you’ll have your pick between a sirloin, rib-eye, fillet, or porterhouse T-bone – all Welsh beef and dry-aged for a minimum of 28 days. Your steak comes cooked to your liking, alongside seasoned homemade chips or a jacket potato and watercress. Though you can opt to add a side of their monterey jack mac and cheese with a chorizo crumb or the honey roasted garlic carrots which we highly recommend. With either their classic peppercorn, chimichurri, or wild mushroom and whisky sauce, you’ve got yourself a bang up steak dinner.

In the heart of the picturesque County Down, you’ll find The Poacher’s Pocket – a lively, artisanal pub and wine shop, serving up the traditional dishes of the UK. Exuding modern country charm, The Poacher’s Pocket uses only the finest locally sourced seasonal produce to create ever-changing high quality menus for their little nook of Northern Ireland.

For steak, you’re going to want to check out the main menu and head to From The Grill. There you’ll find their chargrilled 10 oz Hannan’s 35–day salt-chamber aged sirloin served with bone marrow and black garlic butter, peppercorn sauce, watercress, and triple cooked beef fat chips, as well as their chargrilled 10 oz Hannan’s 35-day salt-chamber aged ribeye steak served identically. If either of those sound like too much of a challenge, we have to recommend their chargrilled steak sandwich on focaccia with crispy onions, sweet onion jam, and pepper sauce for something still decades and rich, but a little bit lighter.