Since 1868 the Old Homestead Steakhouse, located at 56 9th Avenue in the heart of the meatpacking district, has been one of the most iconic steak restaurants in New York City. It’s known for its exemplary prime aged USDA Texas-size slabs of beef from sirloin to porterhouse to filet mignon. Not only is the food delicious, but the service is top quality as well. This is one of my favorite traditional restaurants to go to in New York City. I recommend making a reservation, either by the phone or online, but it is not required.

I came here last weekend for dinner with a group of friends and, as per usual, had a great experience. We ordered a bottle of Chardonnay from Far Niente in Napa Valley off of their extensive wine list. As a compliment each table gets breadsticks that are stacked like lincoln logs and come with a divine Parmesan cream sauce.

Next came our appetizers which consisted of crispy calamari, kobe meatballs, and the clams, lobster tail, and oysters from the raw bar. The serving size of the meatballs was very generous and perfect to share. The lobster tail was cooked to perfection; it was soft and soaked in butter, as lobster tails should be. While the oysters and clams were delicious and extremely fresh, keep in mind that you do have to pay per piece from the raw bar.

For my main course I ordered the filet mignon. It was melt in your mouth perfection. As I had requested it was served medium rare. The table ordered creamed spinach, garlic mashed potatoes, and sauteed mushroom caps to share on the side of our main courses. Once again, everything was cooked to perfection. The mushroom caps were sauteed splendidly in olive oil to a perfect temperature. The garlic mashed potatoes had the idea mix of garlic, butter and salt. My favorite, the creamed spinach, is a staple at most New York City steakhouses. It never fails to be delicious.

Main courses are generously portioned, but that doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t sample some of their unbelievable desserts. As a table we shared the Old Homestead’s World Famous Cheesecake, the Big Fat Chocolate Cake, and the Creme Brulee. All of the desserts were the perfect amount of sweet and the perfect size. I highly recommend getting multiple desserts and sharing it with your table so that you can sample as many as possible.

Old Homestead Steakhouse never fails to disappoint me. After over 150 years of being one of the top steakhouses in New York City, they definitely know how to make the perfect steak dinner.