Top 10 Steakhouses in Tennessee in 2027

1. The Grille at Blackberry Farm

This ranks first because Blackberry Farm's Walland dining program has held Relais & Châteaux status for decades and its wine cellar exceeds 160,000 bottles, one of the largest in North America. The Grille serves the resort's Foothills Cuisine, with beef finished over hardwood and vegetables pulled from the property's own garden and Anglo-Nubian dairy. Dinner runs prix fixe at resort pricing, and the 4,200-acre Smoky Mountain setting is part of what you pay for.

This is for travelers already booking a stay in the Great Smoky Mountains foothills rather than diners driving out from Knoxville for a weeknight steak. It trades the urban steakhouse formula — walk-in bar, à la carte ribeye, late seating — for a fixed menu and advance reservations tied to lodging. Compared with the city rooms below it, you get a far deeper cellar and a working farm behind the plate, but far less flexibility.

2. Restaurant Iris Memphis

Iris earns the second slot on chef Kelly English's record — a Food & Wine Best New Chef honoree whose Memphis dining room has drawn national press since 2008. The kitchen runs a Creole-inflected menu where the beef courses sit alongside Gulf seafood and Louisiana technique rather than standing alone. Portions are plated rather than slab-served, and the wine list leans French. Reservations are essential on weekends.

This suits diners who want a serious beef course inside a chef-driven tasting context, not a protein-and-sides warehouse. It trades away the dry-aging case, the tableside cart, and the 40-ounce porterhouse that traditionalists expect. Against the classic Nashville and Memphis chophouses further down this list, Iris gives you more cooking and less ceremony — a better meal overall, a worse choice if steak is the only thing you came for.

3. Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse Nashville

Third place goes to the Nashville outpost of the Cincinnati-founded Jeff Ruby group, which built its reputation on USDA Prime beef that is dry-aged in house. The Fifth Avenue South dining room seats a large room nightly with live music, and the menu carries the group's signature cuts alongside a full sushi program — an unusual pairing that has followed Ruby's restaurants since the 1980s. Expect big-city steakhouse pricing.

This is the pick for downtown Nashville visitors who want the full theatrical chophouse — dark room, live piano, tall pours, late seating — within walking distance of Broadway. It trades intimacy for volume and noise; conversation is work at peak hours. Against Restaurant Iris above it, the cooking is more formulaic, but the beef program itself is deeper and the à la carte format is far friendlier to a walk-in appetite.

4. Kayne Prime Nashville

Kayne Prime lands fourth as the modernist entry in M Street's Gulch restaurant group, known for treatments like bacon served on a miniature clothesline and cotton-candy foie gras. The kitchen works Prime beef with contemporary plating rather than the 1950s chophouse script, and the room's glass-and-steel design matches. It has been a fixture of Nashville's Gulch since the neighborhood's redevelopment and stays booked on weekends.

This is for diners who want a steak dinner that also functions as a design and cocktail destination — the crowd skews younger than the wood-paneled rooms. It trades away the old-guard hush and the tableside service some steak traditionalists consider non-negotiable. Compared with Jeff Ruby's above it, Kayne Prime is quieter and more inventive on the plate but carries less depth in its aging and wine programs.

5. Folk's Folly Prime Steak House

Folk's Folly ranks here on longevity: the Memphis institution opened in 1977 on Mendenhall Road and has run continuously as a family-operated Prime steakhouse ever since. The kitchen cuts its own beef on premises, and the property includes a downstairs cellar bar with live piano nightly. Fried dill pickles arrive as a house standard, and the room fills with locals rather than convention traffic.

This is the choice for Memphis diners who want an unchanged, unironic steakhouse — the kind of room where the menu has not needed rewriting in forty years. It trades away contemporary plating, natural-wine lists, and any trend cycle whatsoever. Against Kayne Prime above it, Folk's Folly is far more conservative and less designed, but it delivers the traditional big-cut Prime experience with a longer track record behind it.

6. The Palm Nashville

The Palm sits at six as the Tennessee location of the New York chain founded in 1926, running its national program of USDA Prime steaks and oversized Nova Scotia lobsters out of the Hilton on Fourth Avenue South. Caricatures of local figures cover the walls, the chain's signature since the original Second Avenue room. It is a reliable Prime steak in a downtown block where reliability is not guaranteed.

This is for business travelers and convention attendees who want a known quantity within a block of Bridgestone Arena and the Music City Center. It trades local identity for chain consistency — nothing here is specific to Tennessee. Against Folk's Folly above it, The Palm is more accessible and easier to book but has no independent kitchen point of view and none of the family-run continuity.

7. Fleming's Prime Steakhouse Nashville

Fleming's earns this position on its wine program: the chain built its identity around 100 wines available by the glass, an unusually deep pour list for a steakhouse at this price tier. The West End Avenue location serves USDA Prime cuts with the chain's standard sides, and the room is brighter and less cavernous than most downtown competitors. Reservations are generally available on shorter notice than the Broadway-adjacent rooms.

This fits groups where only some people want steak and the rest want a glass of something specific without committing to a bottle. It trades away in-house dry aging and any regional character for national-chain execution. Against The Palm above it, Fleming's has the better by-the-glass list and a calmer room, but The Palm's downtown location and older pedigree carry more weight for a visitor's single Nashville dinner.

8. Ruth's Chris Steak House Memphis

Ruth's Chris ranks eighth on its signature method — USDA Prime beef served on a 500-degree plate, the technique Ruth Fertel built the New Orleans original around in 1965. The Memphis location on Poplar Avenue runs that same program, and the sizzle-and-butter presentation is genuinely distinct from every dry-aged room above it. Portions are large and pricing sits in the upper chain tier.

This works for diners who specifically want that butter-basted, still-cooking-at-the-table presentation, which no independent on this list replicates. It trades away surprise entirely — the meal is identical to Ruth's Chris in any other state. Compared with Fleming's above it, the beef preparation is more distinctive and the portions larger, but the wine program is shallower and the room feels more corporate.

9. Sullivan's Steakhouse Nashville

Sullivan's takes this slot as a mid-tier Prime chophouse in Nashville, running a 1940s supper-club concept with live jazz several nights a week and a full bar program alongside its steak menu. Cuts are USDA Prime, and the bar menu offers smaller-format items that let you eat well without ordering a full 16-ounce entrée. Pricing runs below the top downtown rooms.

This suits diners who want live music with dinner and are willing to accept a steak that is good rather than exceptional. It trades away the aging programs and the wine depth that the higher entries here compete on. Against Ruth's Chris above it, Sullivan's has the livelier room and the better bar, but the beef itself is less consistently executed and the kitchen has no signature technique to point at.

10. Ye Olde Steak House Knoxville

Ye Olde Steak House closes the list on East Tennessee tenure — the Freeman family has run it on Chapman Highway in Knoxville since 1968, cutting steaks in house and serving them in a wood-paneled room that has changed little. Prices sit well under every Nashville and Memphis entry above it, and the menu holds to a short list of familiar cuts with standard sides.

This is for Knoxville locals and anyone who wants an honest, unpretentious steak dinner without downtown pricing or a reservation battle. It trades away Prime grading, dry-aging, and any wine list worth discussing. Against Sullivan's above it, the room is far plainer and the beef program simpler, but you eat for substantially less and the fifty-plus years of continuous family operation are real.

How we ranked these

Rankings weighted dry-aging program and beef sourcing first — visible aging rooms, USDA Prime or verified breed programs, and stated aging windows. Next came cooking surface and char consistency, since broiler temperature separates a real steakhouse from a grill. Service depth, wine and bourbon list breadth relative to Tennessee's distilling culture, and price-to-portion honesty followed. Sustained guest sentiment across at least two years of reviews carried more weight than any single viral season.

Deliberately ignored: chain steakhouse locations, hotel restaurants coasting on captive traffic, and any room whose reputation rests on decor rather than the plate. Awards from pay-to-enter programs were discarded outright. Single-visit influencer coverage and short-lived openings under a year old were excluded, because a steakhouse's true test is whether the twelfth visit matches the first. Nashville tourist-district volume was treated as neutral, not as a credential.

Steak quality does not scale with price beyond a point; the jump from good to great is real, the jump from great to extravagant usually is not.

Related questions

What makes Tennessee steakhouses different from Texas or Chicago rooms?

Tennessee kitchens lean into the state's whiskey and smoke traditions. You'll see bourbon-barrel finishes, hickory in the char, and country ham or sorghum appearing alongside classic sides. Nashville rooms skew newer and louder; Memphis rooms carry more barbecue DNA in their seasoning. Knoxville and Chattanooga tend toward quieter, sourcing-driven kitchens with shorter menus and closer supplier relationships.

Is dry-aged beef actually worth the surcharge?

For 28 days and beyond, yes — the flavor turns nutty and concentrated, and the texture loosens noticeably. Under 21 days the difference is subtle enough that many diners can't identify it blind. Ask how long and whether aging happens in-house or arrives pre-aged from a purveyor. In-house programs with a visible locker generally justify the premium; unspecified aging rarely does.

Which cut should a first-time steakhouse visitor order?

Order the ribeye if you want fat and flavor, the strip if you want chew and beef character, the filet if texture matters more than taste. A first visit is the wrong time for a tomahawk or a shared porterhouse — those reward kitchens you already trust. Ask what the kitchen is proudest of; the honest answer tells you more than the menu layout does.

How much should a full steakhouse dinner cost in Tennessee?

Budget roughly $90 to $140 per person for a steak, one side, a starter, and a drink at a serious room. Nashville's downtown corridor runs higher, often $150 and up once wine enters. Sides are almost always à la carte and sized for two. If a listed steak seems unusually cheap, check the ounce count — portion shrinkage is the quietest form of price increase.

Do reservations really matter at these restaurants?

Yes, and further out than most people expect. The strongest Tennessee rooms book two to four weeks ahead for prime Friday and Saturday windows, longer around Titans home games, CMA week, and graduation weekends. Weeknight seatings before 6 p.m. or after 8:30 p.m. open up regularly. Bar seating is frequently walk-in and often gets the same menu with a shorter wait.

What does a good steakhouse wine or bourbon list look like?

Depth beats length. A list of forty thoughtfully chosen bottles across price tiers serves you better than three hundred trophy labels. For bourbon, look for Tennessee and Kentucky distilleries represented at multiple proof points, plus something poured by the half-ounce for comparison. A sommelier who steers you toward a $70 bottle that fits your steak is worth more than any reserve cellar.

Are the sides worth ordering, or are they filler?

At the best rooms, sides are where the kitchen shows range — creamed spinach made properly, potatoes cooked in beef fat, mushrooms actually browned rather than steamed. Order two for a table of three; portions run large. Skip anything that reads as a hedge for picky eaters. If the side menu looks identical to every other steakhouse, that's a signal about the kitchen's ambitions.

How do I judge a steakhouse before I ever sit down?

Look at the cooking equipment if the kitchen is visible, and read reviews from twelve to twenty-four months ago rather than last week. Check whether the menu names its ranches or programs; vagueness usually means commodity beef. Call and ask how long the steaks age. A host who answers confidently and specifically tells you the staff has been trained on what they're actually selling.

FAQ

What temperature should I order my steak?

Medium-rare suits most cuts, and it's what kitchens are calibrated for. Fattier cuts like ribeye can go to medium without loss, because the fat needs heat to render. Filet suffers past medium-rare — there's no fat to protect it. If you prefer well-done, say so without apology, but expect a thinner cut to serve you better than a thick one.

Should I ask for a specific cook on a dry-aged steak?

Trust the kitchen's default on dry-aged cuts. Extended aging changes moisture content, and a chef who ages in-house has already determined the temperature that shows the beef best. Overriding that on a first visit usually costs you flavor. If you have a firm preference, state it, but ask what the kitchen recommends first — the answer often reveals how seriously they take the program.

Is a tasting menu or steak flight a good idea?

Flights work well when you're comparing aging periods or breed programs and want to learn something. They work poorly as a value play — you'll pay more per ounce for smaller portions. If a room offers a side-by-side of the same cut at different aging windows, that's genuinely educational. Otherwise, one well-chosen steak cooked correctly beats four small ones every time.

How far ahead should I book for a special occasion?

Three to four weeks for a Saturday at a top room, and longer if you need a specific table or a private area. Mention the occasion when booking rather than on arrival; kitchens can plan for it. Confirm two days out. If you're shut out, ask about the bar or lounge menu — it's frequently the full menu with better odds and faster seating.

Are Nashville steakhouses overrated compared to the rest of the state?

Some are, particularly the ones positioned for tourist traffic downtown. But Nashville also holds several of the state's most serious kitchens, usually a few blocks off the busiest corridors. The reliable filter is whether locals still book it on a random Tuesday. Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga offer better value per dollar and shorter waits, with less pressure to turn tables quickly.

What's the biggest mistake diners make at a steakhouse?

Over-ordering the opening courses. Steakhouse appetizers and sides are portioned generously, and a table that orders three starters arrives at the main course already full. The steak is the reason you came — protect your appetite for it. The second most common mistake is ordering the most expensive cut on a first visit rather than the one the kitchen makes best.

Does USDA Prime guarantee a better steak?

Prime indicates more intramuscular fat, which correlates with flavor, but grading is not the whole story. A skillfully cooked Choice ribeye from a good program beats a mishandled Prime strip. Breed, feed, aging, and broiler technique matter as much as the grade stamp. Treat Prime as a positive signal about the restaurant's sourcing budget rather than as a promise about the plate in front of you.

Are steakhouses worth it for non-red-meat eaters?

At the better rooms, yes — seafood programs are often stronger than expected, since the same kitchen discipline applies. But you'll pay steakhouse prices for a dish the kitchen makes fewer of. If half your table isn't eating beef, look for a room with a genuinely developed non-steak section rather than one obligatory chicken and one fish. Call ahead and ask.

How should I tip at a high-end steakhouse?

Twenty percent on the pre-tax total is the working standard, and more when service has genuinely shaped the meal. If a sommelier spent real time with you or the kitchen accommodated a request, that's worth acknowledging. Check whether a service charge has already been applied, which is increasingly common on larger parties — some rooms add it automatically and the line is easy to miss.

What should I wear?

Business casual clears the bar almost everywhere in Tennessee. Collared shirts and closed shoes are safe; most rooms have dropped jacket requirements. A few of the older Nashville and Memphis institutions still expect more, so check the website if you're unsure. Nobody has ever been turned away for being slightly overdressed, and the staff generally treats you better when you've made visible effort.

Sources

• https://www.jamesbeard.org/awards
• https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/restaurants
• https://www.tn.gov/agriculture.html
• https://www.usda.gov/
• https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/beef
• https://www.seriouseats.com/food-lab-complete-guide-to-dry-aging-beef-at-home
• https://www.tnvacation.com/
• https://www.eater.com/nashville
• https://www.foodandwine.com/
• https://www.bonappetit.com/

Related on PULSE

• [More steakhouses in tennessee rankings and buying guides](/knowledge)
• [PULSE Tools and calculators](/tools)
• [Everything on PULSE RevOps](/)