The D.C. team behind Little Coco’s and Bar Charley unveiled a modern American restaurant at Gaithersburg’s Rio Lakefront Mall this spring. The core of the menu is devoted to steaks, including an 8-ounce bavette cut for an approachable $27 to bigger splurges like American and Japanese A5 wagyu and heritage prime Angus beef from family-run Midwestern purveyor Meats by Linz.

Medium Rare’s straightforward menu is perfect for budget-conscious diners. There are now three locations (Cleveland Park, Bethesda, Arlington). For $25.95, guests get a prix-fixe menu of rustic bread, mixed greens salad, and a top sirloin steak served with hand-cut fries. The steak is bathed in Medium Rare’s super-secret sauce (the recipe is in a bank vault). The restaurant was a superstar during the pandemic, delivering free meals to individuals in need. Reservations, carryout, and delivery info here.

Adams Morgan space that formerly housed Copacabana flipped into a luxe steakhouse framed with golden ox statues out front. A la carte meats include filets, ribeyes, tomahawks, and New York strip, and lamb chops, complimented with its own line of steak seasonings. The flashy space doubles as a nightclub with bottle service.

Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse in Dupont Circle was one of five restaurants from around the country year to receive the 2019 James Beard’s “America’s Classics” award. It comes after more than 70 years of business as a family-owned steakhouse that’s also a landmark for D.C.’s LGBTQ community. Much of the menu, including its huge helping of fries and steaks, remains the same as it was decades ago. On a popular restaurant strip on 17th Street NW, Annie’s has one of the most impressive sidewalk patios in the city. Open for all-day dining, with carryout and delivery info is available on its site.

This addition to the Union Market district from restaurateur Stephen Starr and chef Marjorie Meek-Bradley stars an open kitchen grilling up a half-dozen different cuts of beef, including a flat iron steak cooked in a rich butter sauce and an ax handle ribeye that easily serves two. Order the salmon collar, bone-in skate wing, and giant prawn or oysters for dishes that steal the spotlight. The restaurant expanded its outdoor seating during the pandemic that’s here to stay.

Mega restaurateur Michael Mina’s classy and contemporary steakhouse within the Four Seasons hotel is known not only for its luxe meats and dry-aged Japanese wagyu, but for its scene-y lounge (always get the burgers and the trio of duck fat fries) with carefully made cocktails and a pretty, stone-lined patio. In 2021 the D.C. stalwart got an added edge with the appointment of Hazel alum Robert Curtis as executive chef.  

This 2019 addition to Georgetown from celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck hit some snags even outside of the pandemic, such as a fire that sidelined the restaurant not long after its debut. Dishes from chef Andrew Skala here include Maryland blue crab fried rice, Japanese wagyu sirloin, a New York strip aged 28 days, and a tomahawk ribeye. Book a table online.

The Prime Rib prides itself as an old-school steakhouse. The mood here is classic and swanky: There are dark leather booths, leopard print carpets, bow-tied servers, and a piano player at lunch and dinner. As the name implies, the number one order is the prime rib, which comes served wet and pink and takes up the entire plate.

One of the busiest restaurants in the city, Joe’s is a prime-time favorite for happy hours (at least, in non-pandemic times) followed by large-format steak dinners. Order up the filet Oscar, which comes with a filet mignon, Alaskan king crab, asparagus, and side of Béarnaise sauce. The restaurant is also open for takeout and delivery.

The highly civil, enduring Monocle has been slinging steaks and providing top-notch hospitality on the Hill since it opened in 1960 just a campaign button’s throw from the Senate office buildings. The walls inside the tidy, yellow circa-1885 townhouse display autographed 8x10s of famous folks, mostly politicians. Reportedly, the original owner once discovered Richard Nixon’s photo in the ladies restroom, tore it from the frame, and ripped it to shreds. Drink ice-cold martinis there along with all the steakhouse standards. Weekday lunch is available, too.

This family-owned and operated steakhouse that opened in Arlington’s old Ben’s Chili Bowl space is gaining notice for its delicious cuts of ribeye, New York strip, and (bacon-wrapped) filet in various preparations (blackened, “fuego” style, and peppercorn crusted). Its in-house specialty is a tomahawk for two, flambeed tableside in brandy with red wine herb butter and rosemary ($145). The steakhouse is named for owner Jackelin Barrera’s grandfather, Ermides Guerra, a Guatemalan immigrant who loved his steak. Order pickup online.

This new addition to the Southwest Waterfront came on the scene right before the pandemic, in February 2020. From the team behind nearby Mi Vida, the focus is on wood-fired cooking, and many menu items are offered simply grilled with a choice of sauces. A customizable martini menu includes an extensive selection of vodkas and gins. There’s patio seating, and pickup ordering is available here.

Old Town got the upscale steakhouse it had been missing with the arrival of Oak. A gamut of cuts await. Slather steaks with an array of sauces — soy black pepper butter is a fine choice — or seasonal truffles shaved table-side. Sides like Anson Mills white grits and house Parker House rolls show off the Charleston, South Carolina-based chain’s roots. Reserve a sleek burgundy seat in the dining room here, and Oak is also selling steaks for retail.