11 Chain Restaurant Ribeye Steaks, Ranked Worst To Best

Ribeye is undoubtedly one of the most popular and sought-after cuts of steak. But because it is, it’s often strongly critiqued. Restaurant-goers expect a lot from the chef when they order a ribeye. Many establishments offer boneless and bone-in cuts in a varied weight range, and how it’s cooked can change the outcome. Whether it’s seared on a flat top or grilled over open flame, the resulting crust and internal doneness can vary. Most steakhouses season their ribeye simply with salt and pepper, but others choose to use a house spice blend. With all the methods that exist for creating a fantastic steak, it can be difficult to determine where to find the perfect ribeye.

We put together a list, counting down to the best, of good steakhouse chains to order a ribeye from to help you choose what might be your next favorite. Ribeye is my go-to choice when dining at a steakhouse, and I’ve eaten at a few of the listed establishments. I have my own favorite — the perfect steak is often a personal experience — but I combed thousands of online reviews to get the general thoughts of restaurant-goers. Not every steakhouse chain offers the same menu at all of its locations, so check with your local restaurant for availability and price. Each steakhouse chain has winning and losing locations, so the individual restaurant is also an important factor to consider.

Outback Steakhouse offers a 13-ounce boneless ribeye and an 18-ounce bone-in ribeye, neither of which have impressed steak eaters, myself included. Though many customers stated Outback is a reliable source for grabbing a steak when dining out, others felt it was a disappointing experience. Those who enjoyed their ribeye described it as melt-in-the-mouth delicious and the best steak they’ve ever had. Personally, I haven’t had that kind of dining experience at Outback, along with many other patrons who thought the ribeye was tough, dry, chewy, and gristly.

Outback Steakhouse — though it’s an iconic chain — lands last on our list because it just doesn’t deliver on its ribeye. While some folks noted it was full of flavor — likely due to butter that’s used as a key steak seasoning — others complained their steak was too salty and over-seasoned. The cut’s quality and size were called into question, with some stating it was a tough, dry, and chewy piece of meat, which echoed my own experience. Whether folks thought the ribeye had too much fat (is there really such a thing?) or was overrun with gristle, Outback’s ribeye just can’t compete with the rest of our list.

LongHorn Steakhouse features a 12-ounce boneless ribeye, which it states is its best seller, as well as a 20-ounce bone-in ribeye that’s called the Outlaw. The Outlaw is seasoned with a smoky char and fire-grilled, while the boneless option is seasoned and seared on a flat top grill. I previously took on the challenge of taste-testing LongHorn’s most popular cuts of steak and found the boneless ribeye to be excellent. It had a well-balanced protein-to-fat ratio and was fork-tender. I thought it had a little too much seasoning, but not so much that it ruined the taste of the steak. Other restaurant-goers reported the same — it was a little too salty and a bit spicy.

Online reviews were pretty mixed across locations — comments said everything from the ribeye being the worst steak ever to it being an amazing piece of meat. I thought it was an excellent ribeye for the money, but wouldn’t tout it as one of the best in comparison to other steakhouses. Other steak lovers also mentioned LongHorn’s ribeye as a good value, with its tender, tasty bite, making it a delicious meal. But there were many customers who experienced a chewy, dry, tough, and gristly piece of meat instead. Compared to the rest of the steakhouse chains mentioned, LongHorn just doesn’t measure up, which has earned it a spot low on our list.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House frequently gets a lot of praise for its steak cuts, but its ribeye selection received less-than-stellar online reviews. Ruth’s offers a 16-ounce boneless, 26-ounce bone-in, and 40-ounce tomahawk ribeye. Restaurant patrons felt the ribeye was everything from impressive to disappointing. As previously mentioned, the chef at each location can make a big difference and some locations received comments about the ribeye being mediocre and nothing special. Customers commented on their ribeye as dry, tough, and chewy. Restaurant-goers at other locations praised their ribeye as delicious, tender, juicy, perfect, and awesome.

Oftentimes, it comes down to whether the chef cooks the ribeye to your preference. Unfortunately, plenty of reviews noted getting a steak that was either under or over cooked. Ruth’s Chris didn’t land higher on our list because a majority of reviews stated that good or bad, the ribeye wasn’t worth the price. If you want to know what Ruth’s Chris steak to order or skip, we recommend trying the 26-ounce bone-in ribeye for consistency in doneness, as well as a better value.

Due to thick Italian accents and a misunderstanding when registering the name, what should have been La Parma became The Palm Restaurant. Just like its name, the restaurant is ripe with history, catering to tycoons, leaders, artists, and stars. Its timeless menu offers a prime-cut, 16-ounce boneless ribeye, 22-ounce bone-in ribeye, and 36-ounce tomahawk ribeye. This upscale dining establishment is generally highly regarded, but it lands midway on our list for its ribeye selection. While most patrons thought the ribeye cut was delicious, amazing, outstanding, and perfect, others felt it wasn’t worth the price. There were complaints about quality and cooking consistency.

The Palm Restaurant is still well-liked by many as some reviewers noted that their ribeye was the best steak they’ve ever had. Many patrons felt it was cooked perfectly, resulting in a flavorful, tender, and excellent tasting steak. However, there were quite a few restaurant-goers who didn’t have a favorable ribeye experience, citing a lean, room temperature, thin, bland, and dry steak. One reviewer even mentioned ordering the ribeye was a “huge mistake.”

Texas Roadhouse offers a 12-, 14-, and 16-ounce Ft. Worth ribeye and a 20-ounce bone-in ribeye. When I want a fatty cut of steak but don’t want to spend a fortune, I order the Ft. Worth ribeye from Texas Roadhouse. I’ve gotten it at multiple locations in Florida and Texas and have never been disappointed. It has always been cooked perfectly, resulting in a fork-tender, flavorful, lip-smacking-good piece of meat. While I love the Ft. Worth option, Tasting Table previously ranked the standard bone-in ribeye the best cut of steak at Texas Roadhouse. All that being said, I didn’t rank the Texas Roadhouse ribeye higher on this list because I took into account numerous customer reviews from other locations across the states.

Much like myself, many steak lovers experienced a perfectly seasoned, well-charred, and juicy ribeye from Texas Roadhouse, while others noted a thin cut of steak with too much gristle, which wasn’t cooked properly. The majority of reviews stated the ribeye was a win, with its rich, robust, beefy flavor, but still, some patrons found their ribeye to be dry, hard, chewy, and tasteless. I’d still recommend trying a ribeye from your local Texas Roadhouse because you’re more apt to be pleased than disappointed.

Saltgrass Steakhouse is a Texas original, paying homage to both the Longhorn cattle and Salt Grass Trail that the cattle followed each winter. The restaurant outgrew the Lone Star State of Texas and now has additional locations across the U.S. Saltgrass offers certified Angus beef steaks that are seasoned with a house spice blend, grilled over open flame, and topped with fresh garlic butter. The menu features a 12- and 16-ounce Pat’s ribeye, plus a 21-ounce bone-in ribeye.

Saltgrass lands midway on our list because the ribeye selection is a favorite with many restaurant-goers. But while the ribeye at Saltgrass never disappoints some patrons and even exceeds expectations for others, reviewers noted bland, dry, and rubbery meat and others commented on their steaks being tough and gristly. The positive words outweigh the negative ones and steak lovers hailed the ribeye as delicious, tender, and flavorful, with great steak seasoning. Reviewers also noted the ribeye was a good value and they highly recommend it. Descriptions like “out of this world”, “to die for”, phenomenal, and sublime littered the review sections.

Mastro’s Restaurants serves a range of ribeye steaks for meat lovers. Its impressive menu features a 22-ounce bone-in ribeye and 23-ounce, dry-aged, bone-in ribeye, plus a 32- and 40-ounce tomahawk ribeye that’s sourced from Australian Wagyu Westholme Cross Cattle. This upscale dining establishment, which enforces a dress code, knocks it out of the park with its ribeye offerings, according to some customers, who noted it as awesome, amazing, stupendous, and the best steak ever. One customer raved that it was “a 10,” while others described their ribeye as tender, juicy, flavorful, melt-in-the-mouth, and top-tier delicious.

Mastro’s made it into the top five because most reviewers said the restaurant delivered on its hearty cuts of ribeye, emphatically praising the ribeye steak cuts. But though Mastro’s impressed customers in most locations, some restaurant-goers weren’t quite as enthused and felt the ribeye didn’t stand up to the hype, which places it closer to midway on our list. There were those who experienced tough, poor-quality cuts that weren’t cooked correctly. Some folks thought the ribeye was very good — exceptional even — but over-valued and not worth the hefty price.

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar’s ribeye selection has won over plenty of customers, earning a top-five spot on our list, but not enough compliments to land in the top three. Serving prime-grade beef, Fleming’s offers steak lovers a 16-ounce dry-aged ribeye, 20-ounce bone-in ribeye, and 35-ounce tomahawk ribeye meant for sharing. Though there were meat eaters who received a ribeye not cooked to preference, most patrons noted receiving a perfectly cooked, well-seasoned ribeye.

With customers using words like phenomenal, exceptional, amazing, superb, and stunning, it’s no wonder one patron said it was a buttery dream. Others applauded the high quality meat, recommending the ribeye as an excellent choice that’s well worth it. There were more positives than negatives with restaurant-goers praising the ribeye’s deep, flavorful crust, nice, smokey char, and melt-in-the-mouth, juicy, tender meat. But some customers were left disappointed, with dry, tough, and gristly steak.

Morton’s The Steakhouse offers a selection of ribeyes: a 14-ounce dry-aged, 16-ounce boneless, 22-ounce bone-in, and 16-ounce prime Cajun ribeye. Plus, depending on location, you can find a 36-ounce tomahawk ribeye and a 14-ounce Westholme Wagyu ribeye from Northern Australia. Morton’s is a favorite among customers for its unbelievably delicious, outstanding, and unmatched quality of steak. Heralded by one reviewer as a cut of steak that dreams are made of, Morton’s ribeye has wowed restaurant-goers with its tender, juicy, flavorful meat.

Though plenty of customers praised Morton’s for serving delicious, tremendous, and amazing ribeye, some patrons were a little disappointed having received a mediocre cut that was chewy, not very flavorful, and didn’t even have the highly revered fat cap. For this reason, Morton’s ribeye selection didn’t rank any higher or achieve the coveted top spot on our list. But there was an overwhelming amount of positive comments regarding a perfectly cooked and very tasty ribeye that was well worth every penny.

Smith & Wollensky is a popular, high-end steakhouse that showcases the best of steak, serving prime-grade beef and American-sourced Wagyu. Its menu features a 26-ounce bone-in ribeye au poivre — a wet-aged steak seasoned with peppercorns — and 28-ounce dry-aged, prime bone-in ribeye, with or without a Cajun marinade. For a special upgrade, there’s also a 16-ounce black-grade Wagyu ribeye and a 44-ounce black-grade Wagyu tomahawk ribeye.

Customers raved about the ribeye selection, helping to rank this steakhouse close to the top of our list. Reviewers mentioned enjoying “arguably the best”, most perfectly cooked, and phenomenal steak ever, with its incredible crust, tender meat, and wonderful flavor featuring the perfect amount of seasoning. One restaurant-goer even claimed it as one of the finest steaks they ever had, while another rated it first-class. Most visitors to Smith & Wollensky had only good things to say, but this restaurant didn’t get the top spot on our list because there were some patrons who didn’t have a great experience, citing a ribeye cooked incorrectly, of poor quality, and not worth the price.

The Capital Grille is the absolute best steakhouse chain to dine at and provides some of the most delicious dishes you’ll ever want to order, including — you guessed it — the bone-in ribeye. Easily ranked as our top pick, The Capital Grille serves a 22-ounce bone-in ribeye that’s hand-carved by its in-house butcher. According to customers, you just can’t go wrong when ordering the ribeye and patrons highly recommend it. You also have the option for a porcini-rubbed, bone-in ribeye that has a 15-year-aged balsamic sauce as a topper. If you’re looking for something a little more special, there’s also the tomahawk veal chop.

It wasn’t difficult to rank The Capital Grille ribeye as number one — it was difficult to find anyone who said anything bad about it. Restaurant-goers raved about their entire dining experience, noting the ribeye was perfectly cooked and it delivered a tender, juicy, melt-in-the-mouth, delicious bite that was to die for. The Fort Myers location was the only one that had hiccups; some customers revealed they received a chewy and tough piece of meat that wasn’t up to par. But overall, steak lovers couldn’t say enough good things about The Capital Grille’s ribeye and highly recommend it — using descriptors like divine, amazing, fabulous, out of this world, and spectacular. You can look forward to a ribeye that’s well-marbled and worthy of dreaming about.

To evaluate each steakhouse chain, I analyzed thousands of reviews from multiple sources to gauge customer opinions of the ribeye selection. I also incorporated my own dining experiences and those of other Tasting Table food experts. Ultimately, the winning ribeye received the most accolades and least, if any, critiques.

While I considered all online reviews, I disregarded some customers who claimed their ribeye was too fatty. This is a hallmark of the cut, and the marbling and fat cap are expected. Though even ribeye can range in fat content, we suggest that if you prefer a leaner steak, opt for a New York strip or filet instead.