Best Steak in Sydney

Updated 1 week ago

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Australia raises some of the best beef in the world. Victorian farmer David Blackmore brought Wagyu here in 1989 and now counts Thomas Keller (French Laundry, USA) and a number of other high-profile international chefs as customers. Then there’s South Australia’s Mayura Station, Tasmania’s Cape Grim, Victoria’s O'Connor Beef and many other world-class cattle farms employing ethical, sustainable practices.

And while steak has fallen out of favour in recent years, there are still plenty of spots to find a good grilled steak in Sydney. At these top spots, you can usually choose your preferred breed, feed (grain or grass), cut, ageing time, condiments and, of course, how you’d like it cooked (no more than medium, please).

  • Beyond a short list of sides, there's really only one thing on the menu at this Tuscan steakhouse: premium T-bones, sold by weight. They're cooked over a mixture of ironbark and charcoal, then served medium-rare.

  • While it would be remiss to ignore the excellent seafood and poultry at Rockpool, its Blackmore Wagyu and Cape Grim steaks (all dry-aged in-house) are grilled to something approaching perfection. They’re enhanced by the menu of classic sides, and a tome-like wine list to rival any in the country.

  • Lennox Hastie’s flame-powered fine diner has no modern cooking appliances, and dishes have no rich sauces to hide behind. The menu is simply a list of ingredients, from light to heavy, some sold by weight. There’s usually one cut of beef for the whole night, carved to order.

  • Argentina loves beef like no other country on earth. Get a taste of its culture here, courtesy of owners Elvis Abrahanowicz and Ben Milgate, and their traditional Parilla grill.

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  • The open kitchen here is all part of the show, with the wood-fired grills erupting regularly as they char up premium beef supplied by Wagyu champion, David Blackmore. There’s even a Wagyu tasting menu on offer for intrepid carnivores.

  • Descend the stairs into a labyrinthine den of lush velvet booths, flowing booze and a menu that champions Riverine rib eye.

  • Each of the four kitchens at this dazzling fine diner harnesses a different element: smoke, steam, ice and fire. In the fire department, expect dry-aged cuts from the likes of O’Connors and Rangers Valley beef, plus a 270-day T-Bone that’s well worth the price tag.

  • Wagyu and Black Angus steaks are fired on an odourless binchotan grill, so the meat's natural flavour is left intact.

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  • The Mediterranean-style menu revolves around the kitchen’s charcoal oven and a 900-kilogram wood grill. The wood grill is reserved for charring meats, which might include spatchcock or a one-kilogram grass-fed T-bone.

  • Former Merivale chefs “Big” Sam Young and Grace Chen built an Instagram following with their private cheffing experiences, centred around full-blood Wagyu steak sourced from Haverick Meats in Banksmeadow. It’s more of the same at their cosy neighbourhood bistro – visit for haute cuisine with an Asian bent.

  • There are two superb Rangers Valley choices here, weighing in at 300 grams or one kilogram. You can even add foie gras for some extra ritz.

  • Steak frites is king at this sophisticated Parisian bistro. Beef is sourced from Rangers Valley in New South Wales, and vary in size and cut – from a 200-gram chargrilled sirloin to a Wagyu tomahawk that feeds up to three people

  • Purchase a Cape Grim steak and devour in-house. Or take it back to the ranch and grill it yourself. There's also a second location in Bondi.

  • Aside from the grand old oak tree, the tomahawk steak is undeniably this pub’s most enduring feature. They’re hefty, ostentatious things you could easily split between three people – but the excellent in-house butcher and grill deals out plenty of smaller cuts, too.

  • You may double take when you see Wagyu steaks at the fish market, but stop here for a personal and comprehensive meat shopping experience.

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  • There’s no velvet or faff at this humming diner from the team behind Bistecca and the Gidley. Order a Riverine sirloin steak – butchered and aged in-house – and it’ll be on your table in 15 minutes. The brutalist, art-filled space also packs in a bar with the energy of east London, and serves what might be the coldest Martini in Sydney.