Houston - The original Pappas Bros. near the Galleria is a Houston institution, serving the city’s best steak for more than three decades. Pappas leans into every tried-and-true steakhouse trope—uniformed servers, deep-set booths, glass cases full of beef, and walls of wine with tear-inducing price tags—and it backs it up with some of the best steaks you’ll ever have.

Leona - People start lining up outside Leona General twice a week, about two hours before the doors open, with just as many road-trippers on a sacred steak pilgrimage as locals here for their weekly routine. The menu is simple. There’s beef and pork ribeyes, chicken breast, and a few cobblers and puddings for dessert. Bring your own beer or wine, help yourself to the salad bar, then wait in the large dining room. There’s no fancy cuts or wagyu here, because they don’t need them.

Austin - Jeffrey’s has been around since the mid-’70s and built a reputation as the city’s de facto spot for celebrations, anniversaries, and for blowing a lot of money on beef in a short period of time. Dishes tend to fall somewhere between fancy French and classic American, but make no mistake—steaks are the main draw. They’re cooked over live oak and finished under a 1,200°F broiler, resulting in some of the most beautifully charred cuts you’ll find in town.

San Antonio - Bohanan’s feels every bit like a grand steakhouse you’d expect to find across from San Antonio’s century-old Majestic Theater—white tablecloths, glowing wine shelves, and a level of polished formality that feels elegant, but not stiff. Order something large and dry-aged, then relax as it’s carved tableside on a massive wooden block and set down with surprising grace for a huge slab of beef.

Dallas - This Korean-led restaurant famously cost $20 million to build. Pair your steak with spicy Korean gumbo flecked with crunchy kimchi and snappy Akaushi sausage, or the grilled veggie bibimbap that'll have you fighting your friends for the last bits of crispy rice on the bottom of the stone bowl. Add in 750 wines, including many rare bottles dating back decades, and Nuri is ideal for big nights out, whether you’re splashing out for a birthday or going wild with an expense account.

Abilene - Perini Ranch feels a lot farther from Abilene than the 15-mile distance suggests. Maybe it’s the late-1800s historic village you pass on the drive in, or maybe it’s just that Abilene isn’t exactly a booming metropolis. But it’s still worth the journey. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more Texan building. The steaks are only part of what makes a meal at Perini Ranch memorable. You’re also here for some warm, slightly crispy bread pudding that nearly steals the show.

Fabens - There’s a giant lake surrounded by decorative teepees to welcome you to the grounds, and a petting zoo out front. Inside, you’ll find oversized statues and museum-like dioramas filling the maze-like collection of dining rooms. But there are also steaks, which aren’t as polished as newer spots, but seasoned well and balanced by fork-tender beef rib appetizers and massive lobster tails you can tack on to your porterhouse order.

College Station - “Steak. Wine. Whiskey.” is painted on the walls of The Republic, and the restaurant delivers on that promise. You’ll find a chandelier-lit dining room, dark wood paneling, and leather booths that look lifted from an early 20th-century Hollywood steakhouse. The crowd is a mix of college grads celebrating job offers and freshmen eating on their parents’ dime. Start with Oysters Rockefeller and not-so-classic crawfish and pork belly salad. Then move into buttery filets.

Austin - J. Carver’s will make you and your dinner guest feel like the most important people in the building. The dimly lit dining room is paired with tight, intimate tables and wine glasses that could moonlight as fishbowls. Most of the steaks are dry-aged, pre-sliced, priced by the ounce, and meant to be shared. They’re cooked on a wood-burning grill and arrive with the distinctly charred crust to prove it. Also, the blue crab fried rice side could steal the spotlight from the steaks.

Dallas - Dakota’s Steakhouse is Downtown Dallas’s only subterranean steakhouse, with a street-level elevator down to an enclosed patio that lets you eat to the backdrop of a cascading rock waterfall. Otherwise, the main dining room is a fine consolation prize. Wherever you wind up, start with stiff martinis and our favorite appetizer—a single juicy chicken nugget topped with herby ranch and caviar. Wedge salads are huge. And the steaks, like the prime porterhouse can easily feed two adults.

Early - Humphrey Pete’s feels a little like Texas Roadhouse without the corporate polish. It’s kitschy inside and out, with taxidermied goats on the walls and old oil-and-gas signs. The menu reads like a classic roadside stop for steaks and chops: a fanned-out, fried whole onion called the Texas Tumbleweed, plenty of fried pickles, and bacon-wrapped, cream-cheese-stuffed jalapeños. The steaks are aged, seasoned with a secret peppery house rub, and grilled over mesquite.

Austin - There’s “a bit of a drive,” and then there’s Steiner Ranch Steakhouse, a sprawling hilltop compound that feels like a theme park that swapped its roller coasters for ribeyes. The restaurant is the centerpiece of its namesake community overlooking Lake Travis. The steaks might not come with the same crusty sear of other spots, but the views, the atmosphere, and the apps—especially the chicken-fried lobster and buffalo quail legs—make up the difference.

Fort Worth - Not to be confused with Cattleman’s near El Paso, this nearly 80 year-old institution feels right at home in the heart of the Stockyards. Even after being purchased by the creators of Yellowstone, the spirit of the place hasn’t changed much, beyond the addition of a members-only club. It still feels like a wealthy cattle baron’s private lounge, and the steaks still arrive on sizzling cast-iron platters.

Lubbock - Double Nickel is Lubbock’s big-night-out steakhouse, the kind of place where gold chandeliers and smooth jazz feel more Downtown Dallas than West Texas college town. As soon as you sit down, a server drops a complimentary cocktail, a sweet-and-citrusy martini as a welcome. From there, you’ll work through wedge salads, bowls of chips with caramelized onions and melty cheese sticks. Order the ribeye, which arrives aggressively seasoned and seared until the fat crisps around the edges.

Houston - Brenner’s might be part of the same massive Landry’s empire that owns Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., but there’s nothing paint-by-numbers about a meal here. The dining room is built into the slope of a bayou, with a terraced dining room full of carved wood to feel like you’re dining in the roots of a massive tree. You’ll find all the classic steakhouse notes but the standout is the Iberican pork ribeye.

Dallas - Town Hearth leads the league in ornate chandeliers per square foot, and the fancy lighting is accented by a literal yellow submarine inside a fish tank that separates the bar from the dining room. But focus your attention on less-expected appetizers like the Spanish bluefin nachos, and then get to work on prime steaks cooked over live fire. The 10-ounce Texas wagyu is worth keeping all to yourself, while the 32-ounce long-bone ribeye is is sliced to share and great for photo ops.

Austin - ALC feels like the steakhouse you’d expect to find in small-town Texas. It’s relaxed, with a straightforward menu of steaks and chops that arrive with picture-perfect grill marks that look like they were drawn on with a ruler and a Sharpie. And when you want to shake things up, order the buffalo grilled lamb chops and be grateful you’re not at a fussy place that gives you side-eye for picking them up with your hands.

Dallas - Bob's might be a nationwide chain, but the original is a Dallas landmark, still full most nights with businesspeople and anyone else who prefers the traditional steakhouse experience. The menu sticks to the classics, so don’t expect surprises, but do expect nicely seared filets and ribeyes cooked to a juicy medium-rare, and the liberal use of sweet, meaty lobster tails as accompaniments. Bob’s is famous for the glazed carrot that comes with each plate.

Fort Worth - Lonesome Dove tests the limits of what a steakhouse can be. You’ll find wagyu tomahawk ribeyes and beef tenderloins, all hand-cut and cooked perfectly. But you’ll also find things like kangaroo nachos—rich, gamey, and a little spicy thanks to a fig-habanero demi-glace—and elk sliders with blueberry jam. It’s playful without turning gimmicky, modest without feeling too casual, and where you go when you want dinner to feel a little more exciting than the typical steakhouse.

Lubbock - Cagle Steaks is at the end of a long dirt driveway, with cow skulls and steer horns on the walls and a general store out front in case you need a souvenir belt buckle to remember your time. The mesquite-grilled steaks are the smoky, well-seasoned stars of the show—everything else is just there playing support, from the simple apps and classic salads doused in ranch dressing to the kitschy Western facade and faux building fronts.