Best Delaware steakhouses. 12 local favorites for great cooked meats

For carnivores, few things are better than a juicy steakhouse experience. And Delawareans are lucky because there are a dozen popular, independently owned restaurants that offer brilliant meats and sides.

Here are the Delaware restaurants in all three counties where we think you should pick up a steak knife. (Just an FYI, we didn't include any chain operations.)

Bardea Steak

Bardea Steak in Wilmington was named as one of the 50 Best Steak Restaurants North America 2025. World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants reviews 1,200 Restaurants globally year by year and only 50 selected in North America

A marble sculpture of a white Chianina bull, the oldest and biggest bovine breed in the world, rests near a fireplace in Bardea Steak's 120-seat main dining area. It perhaps best sets the tone for what James Beard-nominated chef/co-owner Antimo DiMeo has been working to accomplish ‒ modernizing Old World tastes for today's memorable eating experiences at this downtown Wilmington restaurant.

The restaurant was just listed as one of the Top 50 Best Steakhouses in North America for 2025 (it placed No. 49) by the World's Best Steak Restaurants website. It's the only restaurant named in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. Anonymous reviewers checked out 1,200 steakhouse restaurants globally and only 50 were selected in North America. 

Bardea Steak's menu has undergone significant changes since its June 2022 opening. Small plates are listed as "snacks." Check out the creamed chipped beef croquette, $15, made with Wagyu Bresaola, truffles and sausage gravy. An excellent table-sharing option is the $180 steak tasting. Breed choices include Australian Wagyu, Holstein, Piedmontese, and Grassfed Angus. An 8-ounce filet is $59. Sides include loaded potatoes and mac and cheese.

Snuff Mill Restaurant, Butchery & Wine Bar

Snuff Mill is not just a steakhouse, but it has become a customer favorite dining spot since its opening in 2021. Those who want to grill at home also appreciate Snuff Mill's in-house butcher shop.

The Delaware restaurant founded by Bill Irvin was hailed by The Daily Meal in 2023 for its "excellent steaks, the Long Bone Ribeye being a choice selection." The 36-ounce, bone-in tomahawk is $155. To give its steaks the proper crust, the restaurant recently installed a new 1,800-degree broiler, the same legendary high-heat system designed by Ruth Fertel of Ruth’s Chris.

If you're looking for a less pricey option than the tomahawk, customers have raved about the steak frites, $42, as well as the signature beef burger with "million dollar" bacon, $22. The onion soup, which goes under the broiler, has the kind of ooey, melty cheese pull that will keep customers coming back for more. Other steakhouse favorites here include raw oysters, escargots and Caesar Salad.

Harry's Savoy Grill

The close-up of the prime rib is featured at Harry's Savoy Grill, in Wilmington, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023. Harry's Savoy Grill was named one of USA Today Restaurants of the Year 2024.

Owner Xavier Teixido has been operating what he calls "Delaware's premier steakhouse" since 1988. In 2024, it was named one of USA TODAY's Restaurants of the Year.

The classy Harry's, which Teixido runs with business partner Kelly O’Hanlon, is easily one of the state's best-known restaurants for celebrations, a gathering of friends, a dinner with Mom and Dad, or a night out on the town. It's the place for an icy martini, aged rib-eye, filet and prime rib, as well as seafood and a top-notch wine list. Opulent starters include freshly shucked oysters, pan-seared foie gras, vol au vent escargot au Champagne, and lobster Caesar salad.

Harry's signature dishes are the 45-day, aged, 18-ounce ribeye for $61.95 or the award-winning prime rib au jus served with gratin potatoes. On Sundays, Harry's offers a three-course special of Caesar salad or New England clam chowder, prime rib and whipped potatoes and creme brulee for $56.95.

Walter's Steakhouse

Steak is usually the first choice at Walter's Steakhouse, but you can also get rack of lamb and more.

If you want to go to an old-school Delaware steakhouse, Walter's is your place. The Constantinou family has deep roots in Delaware's restaurant industry. 

The family started with a sub shop, and then son George had aspirations for a bigger-scale restaurant. Constantinou's House of Beef at 1616 Delaware Ave. was born in 1959 with about 18 tables. It became one of Wilmington's most well-known restaurants before closing in 1997.

In 1993, John Walter Constantinou, George's son, opened Walter's in the old Road House at 802 N. Union St. and continues the steakhouse tradition. Walter's is smaller in size than Constantinou's and has a different menu, but the eatery continues to offer the family's signature high-quality beef. An 11-ounce New York strip steak served with a garden salad, bread and a potato is $44.95. A 14-ounce prime rib served with soup or salad, a side, and dessert is $43.95 on Fridays.

Royal Prime Steakhouse

In 2021, Touch of Italy co-owner Bob Cipretti opened a steakhouse in the renamed Dover Downs casino. It serves USDA Prime beef aged for 21 days.

Royal Prime also has steakhouse classics: French onion soup, wedge and Caesar salads, oysters on the half shell, lobster, and a variety of seafood dishes, along with an extensive wine and cocktail list. A 16-ounce ribeye is $69.

The steakhouse is open Wednesdays through Sundays.

Harvest Tide Steakhouse

Harvest Tide Steakhouse was billed as the "only steakhouse in downtown Lewes" when executive chef/owner Danio Somoza opened in 2018. The restaurant, just blocks from Lewes Beach, also celebrates local seafood.

Starters include blue crab "tidal" dip and blue crab Thai bisque. The USDA prime beef is aged for more than 21 days. Consider the dry-aged, 14-ounce New York strip steak for $55.

Sides include truffle potato puree or blue crab mac and cheese. The restaurant also offers several specials during the week, including a 12-ounce blackened Prime Rib on Thursdays for $45.

French onion soup at Snuff Mill Restaurant, Butchery & Wine Bar near Fairfax is blasted until a broiler to create a glorious cheese pull.

Theo's Steaks, Sides & Spirits

If you're a regular visitor to St. Michaels, Maryland, then you already know Theo's. A second location opened in downtown Rehoboth in 2021, taking over the former home of a(MUSE.) It's called "a casual hot spot" for good reason. Owner Chris Agharabi has the right touch; tables fill fast.

Theo's has French onion soup, raw and baked oysters, gulf shrimp cocktail, classic Caesar and iceberg wedge salads, and homemade onion rings. Steak lovers should enjoy offerings like Steak Diane, $49, and Chateaubriand (market price). A 22-ounce bone-in ribeye is $87. Sides include creamed spinach and truffle fries.

Houston White Co. Steakhouse

Houston-White Co., a new, luxury steakhouse in Rehoboth Beach.

The swanky steakhouse across from Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats is aimed directly at prime beefeaters. This destination for steak lovers is owned by Megan Kee, who also runs La Fable, a lovely, traditional French bistro on Baltimore Avenue, and Bramble & Brine at the Buttery in Lewes.

Houston White is warm and inviting, with a modern and masculine, slightly Rat Pack-ish atmosphere that's closer to Sullivan's Steakhouse than Peter Luger. Starters include oysters Rockefeller, lump crab Imperial and shrimp "cargot," a play on the classic escargot. Steak choices range from an 8-ounce filet mignon, $64, to a 14-ounce Delmonico ribeye, $65. Reservations are recommended

Tonic Seafood & Steak

Tonic Bar & Grille is tweaking its name to Tonic Seafood & Steak and has remodeled the downtown Wilmington site to give it a more modern flare for customers to enjoy.

Executive Chef Patrick Bradley offers a diverse menu at this downtown Wilmington restaurant near the Hotel du Pont. But if steakhouse eating is what you want, Bradley has you covered.

The menu includes French onion soup and a chopped wedge salad with blue cheese, bacon and housemade ranch dressing. A seafood tower, $80, includes tuna tartare, jumbo lump crab cocktail, six oysters on the half shell, six jumbo shrimp cocktail, and six steamed mussels.

Steaks, served with mashed potatoes and demi-glace or compound butter, range from $50 for an 8-ounce filet mignon to $65 for a 16-ounce, 28-day aged bone-in ribeye. If you're ready for a challenge, try the "Thor Hammer," a 7-pound braised beef shank that serves four people. The meal, which includes sides, is $300. A $100 deposit is required

RedFire Grill & Steakhouse

Owners Carl and Lisa Georigi fired up the Hockessin dining scene in 2010 when they changed the name, interior and concept of Dome, their Lantana Square restaurant, to RedFire Grill & Steakhouse and began catering to beef lovers. The menu has remained steady and reliable over the past 15 years.

You can't go wrong with the warm garlic bread with gorgonzola fondue. Actually, you can't go wrong with any of the 28-day-aged steaks that come with a choice of potatoes. A customer favorite is an 8-ounce barrel-cut ribeye served with grilled asparagus, beer-battered onion rings, mashed potatoes, and more of that gorgonzola fondue.

Don't shy away from the burgers or the very tender boneless short ribs.

The Marshallton Steak House

A new steakhouse has opened in Marshallton at the site of the old Hunter's Den.

In 2021, the old Hunter's Den was transformed into an "East Coast American Steakhouse" offering local fresh seafood and hand-cut premium Angus Beef. The Marshallton Steakhouse, open Wednesday through Sunday, has offerings like clams casino and scallops wrapped in bacon, both $18, and chopped salad, $8. Steaks are aged 21 days and cooked sous vide. An 18-ounce prime ribeye that comes with two sides is $52. The filet mignon, 8 ounces, that also with two sides is $49. Marshallton has a brunch buffet, featuring a carving station, every Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

1776 Steakhouse

We would be remiss if we didn't mention 1776, a longtime favorite Rehoboth Beach steakhouse in Midway Plaza shopping center. But it should be noted that owner Tom Holmes, who just received an award from the Delaware Restaurant Association, has recently said he is selling the business.

According to a Nov. 27 article in the Cape Gazette, Holmes said that the restaurant is being acquired by Regan Derrickson, who runs Nalu in Dewey Beach and Rehoboth and Rehoboth's legendary Summer House.

Contact Patricia Talorico at [email protected] or 302-324-2861 and follow her on X (Twitter) @pattytalorico Sign up for her Delaware Eats newsletter.