SK Steak & Oyster, Fortitude Valley: Luxurious elegance and supreme quality combine at SK Steak & Oyster at The Calile. The sibling venue to Hellenika is all about the finer things – seductive seafood, satiating sips and succulent steaks. The latter is our primary focus here – the team has amassed an impressive array of grain-fed cuts from Stockyard Beef. Eye fillets, prime ribs, chateaubriand, Kiwami sirloin with a marble score of nine-plus, and a one-kilo sirloin on the bone (dry-aged for 35 days) are lovingly grilled over two kinds of wood – ironbark for the heat and applewood for the flavour. The results speak for themselves.

Walter’s Steakhouse, Brisbane City: If you love a bit if old-world opulence to pair with your steak, Walter’s Steakhouse has an interior that needs to be seen to be believed. Inspired by Euro brasseries and high-class New York eateries, Walter’s boasts red-leather booth seating, marble tables and the warm glow of brass-bottomed lamps. As for the fare Walter’s specialty grain-fed porterhouse is the hero of the menu, but if sharing isn’t your thing you can opt for the 30-day dry-aged New York strip or the 200-g eye fillet.

Rothwell’s Bar & Grill, Brisbane City: There’s plenty of dishes on Rothwell’s bistro-style menu that can catch our eye at any point in time. But when we have a hankering for steak, we look to the grill selection. Five kinds of steaks are available at Rothwell’s –including a wagyu pave, wagyu tri tip and a grass-fed, six-week dry-aged rib eye, all of which are served with onion rings, celeriac remoulade and a selection of mustards, horseradish or bearnaise sauce.

Black Hide Steakhouse, Petrie Terrace: Caxton Street’s Black Hide Steakhouse is a top-tier eatery for steak lovers. Don’t believe us? Believe the awards – Black Hide was awarded Australia’s Best Steak Restaurant in 2016, which is a big deal. The butcher’s block serves up beautifully cooked hunks of wagyu and Angus beef sourced from Stanbroke, including certified organic eye fillets, sirloins and tomahawks.

Black Hide by Gambaro at Treasury Brisbane, Brisbane City: The Black Hide team opened its second luxe steakhouse in the heart of Treasury Brisbane in 2018. While the menu is similar to Black Hide’s Caxton Street sibling, diners can experience new additions including an eye fillet and sirloin cut of wagyu with a marble score of nine – the highest by Australian industry standards – as well as five, three and dry-aged cuts.

Blackbird Bar & Grill, Brisbane City: Boasting some stunning river views and one of the best beef selections in Brisbane City, Blackbird Bar & Grill is much more than just a stylish nightspot. Blackbird’s Infierno 96 wood-fired grill has been imported from America to cook the dry-aged beef perfectly, with cuts including Darling Downs Angus cross, Jack’s Creek wagyu sirloin, Icon XB wagyu rump and “1000” Guineas Australian shorthorn rib eye.

The Norman Hotel, Woolloongabba: Brisbane’s ‘worst vegetarian restaurant’ is coincidentally one of Brisbane’s best steak spots. One glimpse at the meat cabinet is all you need to be assured of a fine feast ahead of you. The Norman serves up delicious cuts of Thousand Guineas, Riverina Angus, Great Southern, Royal, Beef City Black, Diamantina Platinum and Bindaree Vintage dry-aged beef, which is a who’s who of premium beef suppliers.

BŌS, Brisbane City: This striking bovine-centric eatery – operated by a nationally famous TV chef and meat master, no less – is raising the stakes when it comes to, well, steak. The from-the-grill section of the menu is a beef-lover’s dream. Three kinds of porterhouse are available alongside a 500-g Five Founders rib eye, 2GR wagyu rump, Five Founders bistecca T-bone and a 2GR wagyu tomahawk. For those that can’t decide, there’s a tasting plate boasting slices of all porterhouses to share.

Boatshed Restaurant, Toowong: If you want to pair your steak with river views, then the Boatshed is a great spot for it. A two-metre long flame grill adds some stunning kitchen theatre, as dry-aged steaks are seared and cooked to mouth-watering perfection. Boatshed Restaurant’s dry-aged beef is aged for 40 days to create a fuller and sweeter flavour, with Diamantina wagyu and grain-fed beef from the Barkley Tablelands just a few of the brands featuring across the menu.

The Lex, Brisbane City: W Brisbane’s signature restaurant is a sleek New York-style grill that is really putting the sizzle into its steak selection. You’ll spy the likes of MB3+ flat iron steak from Warwick served with smoked bone marrow, MB3+ eye fillet with Jerusalem artichoke, grilled king oyster mushroom, red wine jus and summer truffle, and a dry-aged Warwick MB3 tomahawk steak with wild-garlic jus.

The Morrison Hotel, Woolloongabba: Woolloongabba has earned its reputation as Brisbane’s best steak suburb, and it’s thanks to pubs like The Morrison that such a status has been awarded. Sports fanatics flock to The Morrison for a pre or post-game feast at Fiasco’s Steakhouse, where eight different cuts are served with the famous mushroom sauce and twice-baked house potato. Every piece of meat served at The Morrison must pass some strict criteria to be deemed worthy of our plates, so you don’t need to worry about quality here – it’s all premium.

OTTO Brisbane, South Bank: Perched up on the banks of the Brisbane River at South Bank, Otto Ristorante is known for offering stellar views, but it’s also got a mouth-watering steak that is worth seeking out as well. The Otto Reserve is a formidable piece of meat, sourced from Rangers Valley. This 270-day grain-fed Black Angus slab boasts a marvellous marble score of 7+.

Rich & Rare, West End: The Tassis Group featured on this list once before, back when it operated Fatcow Steak & Lobster at Eagle Street Pier. These days, the group are serving up succulent steaks over in West End at Rich & Rare – a New York-inspired protein palace that’s serving a stacked menu of searingly good sirloins (and grain-fed Angus T-bones and wagyu tomahawks) with classic steakhouse sides.

The Breakfast Creek Hotel, Albion: The Brekkie Creek Hotel is a veritable steak institution, having been satiating salivating hordes for years. Patrons line up to order their own aged fillets from a dozen cuts, which are then chargrilled to perfection in plain view. The Breakfast Creek Hotel sources its beef from across southeast Queensland, only selecting cattle that are raised on natural pastures. The wagyu beef is sourced from the Darling Downs region, with the Japanese bulls crossed with Angus and Murray Grey to ensure a marble score of four to six, which is the kind of quality that keeps customers coming back decade after decade.

The Port Office Hotel, Brisbane City: After its considerable refurbishment, the Port Office Hotel is again one of the best spots to get a satisfying feed in The City. Those that take a seat at the Port Office Dining Room can tuck into the offering being cooked on the grill, including Darling Downs wagyu rumps, six and seven marble score wagyu eye fillets, a truly sensational wagyu rump cap with a marble score of nine plus, and sizeable Darling Downs tomahawk.

Moo Moo Wine Bar and Grill, Brisbane City: Nothing pairs with beef better than wine (except maybe more beef), and Moo Moo offers both in spades. The kitchen cooks all of its specialty beef over coal and wood in its impressive charbroiler, dishing up perfectly cooked cuts including Kobe wagyu from the Darling Downs, grain-feed beef from Liverpool Plains and Leyburn as well as dry-aged black angus sourced from Gippsland in Victoria. Diners can chow down while sipping on wines from Moo Moo’s award-winning wine list – a stellar combination for any serious eater.

Story Bridge Hotel, Kangaroo Point: Deery’s Restaurant at the Story Bridge Hotel pairs elegance with exquisite quality. Premium beef has been sourced from across Australia, with attention paid to marvellous marbling tip-top tenderness and, most importantly, flavour. Five Founders T-bones, John Dee bone-in sirloins and Great Southern Pinnacle rib fillets are just some of the killer cuts available.

Vintaged Bar + Grill, Brisbane City: Although the selection of cuts are more curated at Hilton’s Vintaged Bar + Grill, the venerable restaurant takes pride in its meat offering. A quick scan of the Vintaged menu reveals a stellar range of premium Australian beef – we’re talking plenty of wow-worthy wagyu and succulent steaks dry aged in-house, all of which are carefully cooked on an open grill. Want our pick? Our eyes immediately look towards the John Dee Diamond 380-day grain-fed Black Angus, which comes with bone marrow, pangrattato, lemon and a selection of mustards. We’ll order ours with a side of truffle-salted fries, too – please and thank you!

On the horizon: While these venues are yet to open, there’s good reason to be excited for them. Arriving first is Establishment 203. Family-owned beef and cattle company Stanbroke will open this Italian-inspired steak restaurant in November, with head chef Ben O’Donoghue expected to serve eight to ten cuts of the most premium Queensland-sourced protein backed by a suite of generously portioned pasta dishes. Coming in 2024 is The Office. Described as an old-school American-style steakhouse, this 30-seat haunt (nestled on the mezzanine level above Talisman Group’s other forthcoming venue The Wright House) will treat guests to an elevated offering and a classic style of service. A 2.5-m Spanish style parrilla will be used to cook an array of proteins, which will be available alongside a suite of American-inspired steakhouse sides. There’s a very good chance these venues could gun for the top spot on this list once they open. Time will tell …

Honourable mentions: Les Bubbles in Fortitude Valley, Montague Hotel in West End, The Hamilton Hotel in Hamilton.