6 Cuts Of Beef To Ignore On A Steakhouse Menu

For the average diner, a night out at the steakhouse is often treated as a special occasion. Whether you're going to a popular U.S. steakhouse chain or a top-tier establishment like the iconic Delmonico's in New York City, it's likely that you'll drop a pretty penny on your meat-heavy meal. And, it better be a good one (although it usually is, considering how restaurant steak bamboozles your tastebuds with hearty amounts of salt and butter).

So, in preparation for the next time you swipe your credit card for a steak, it is important to arm yourself with knowledge. While knowing what to order is certainly a good idea, it's just as important to learn what you definitely need to avoid. If you're serious about making the most of your dining out experience, we're here to help. These are the six cuts of beef to ignore on a steakhouse menu, and you might just be surprised to see your go-to order on this list.

Steakhouse prices are no joke, so you might be drawn toward the sirloin. After all, it almost always comes at a lower price point. But don't be fooled — it's actually a reason to avoid this cut of beef.

The reason why it's cheaper than cuts like the ribeye or New York strip is that sirloin comes from worked muscles on the cow's back. This results in less fat and marbling and a cut of beef that's leaner, chewier, and drier.

Don't waste your money on the weaker quality sirloin at a proper steakhouse. Instead, opt for a higher quality cut with more marbling. You chose the steakhouse for the supreme selection of meat, so you might as well splash out on a top-notch steak with more flavor and better texture. And, if the steak selection seems a little slim, you may want to rethink visiting that establishment, since this is one of the red flags you should look out for when eating at a steakhouse.

Filet mignon is a familiar sight on a steakhouse menu, and, for many diners, this cut of beef might feel like the height of luxury. But don't be tempted to order it. While its tender texture is pleasant to eat, the flavor is certainly underwhelming. And, to top it all off, you're going to be shelling out a lot of cash for a small portion of meat that doesn't pack the same punch as other steaks. Anthony Bourdain always skipped out on the tenderloin — the cut filet mignon comes from — telling Business Insider that it is "the most boring, uninteresting piece of meat on the animal."

And Bourdain wasn't alone in his opinions. Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio named it as his most overrated cut of meat, telling Thrillist that filet mignon "​has very little flavor." So, steer clear of this cut during your next visit to your favorite steakhouse. And, when you're browsing the menu for the perfect cut of beef, make sure you also know the right way to order at a steakhouse – this includes knowing how you'd like your steak cooked.

Flank steak might be intriguing thanks to it being a rather lean and inexpensive source of protein, but it's certainly not a cut you should go for at a steakhouse. Fat gives steak its flavor, and flank steak has very little of it.

The cut will always come out tough and dry if it isn't marinated, cooked, and sliced perfectly. For retired cook and food blogger Kenzo Kishita, flank steak just isn't worth the hassle. "It's a pretty lean cut, and it's got a lot of connective tissue and fat. It's also an easy cut to overcook, which makes it difficult to get right," he told Mashed. So, ordering flank steak will be a gamble if you're not confident in the steakhouse's preparation.

Flank steak also isn't at its best as the star of the show. The nature of the cut means it'll work better thinly sliced in a stir fry, or in dishes with lots of other flavors going on, like grilled flank steak tacos with stone fruit salsa.

Since you're skipping the flank steak, it's in your best interest to ignore the skirt steak, too. It's got a similar taste and texture to flank steak, so you'll also need to make sure it's marinated for a long time, cooked perfectly, and sliced against the grain. 

But even if all of those steps are followed, the essence of the long, flat cut will always guarantee a bit of toughness and chewiness that you'll have to contend with. It comes from the diaphragm and abdominal muscles, heavily worked areas of the cow with lots of connective fibers.

Chef Yester Banuchyan, CEO and founder of the food blog Cook On Monday, isn't a fan of the cut. "The meat itself is tough, but preparing it doesn't get easy either. Being difficult to cook or requiring finesse is one thing, but the skirt steak borders on being unwieldy, and it takes a fair amount of effort just to get it to cook," she told Mashed. So, if you see the cut on a steakhouse menu, save your money (and your mandible) and skip it.

If sawing through a tough and chewy flank or skirt steak isn't the vibe you're after, you might be tempted to swing in a different direction. May as well go for something that's oh-so savory and almost always guaranteed to be fall-off-the-bone tender, like braised short ribs. Well ... you might want to think again.

Short ribs are often overpriced and overrated. New York Times restaurant critic-at-large Tejal Rao never orders them at a restaurant. "Short ribs are served on airplanes and at catered parties, and it's because they are a cheap, forgiving cut. It's hard to mess it up. Not to say that the most elaborate thing on the menu is what's worth getting, but I'd rather order something I wouldn't cook at home." 

In fact, making them at home might even be preferable, as braises often taste better the next day, once the flavors have had time to rest. So, consider skipping out on the braised short ribs when you head to a steakhouse, and enjoy leftovers at home instead.

Much like flank and skirt steak, round steak can be chewy and tough. It comes from the hind legs of a cow, and that location means there's not much fat to be had since these are lean muscles that the animal uses for movement. James Watts, the CEO of the online resource Own The Grill, told Mashed that this lack of fat also means there's "almost zero marbling to add flavor, and it takes far longer to cook. And judging the timing is far more complex, as there's a finite window between grilling a pretty good round steak, and overcooking and burning it."

If you're looking for tons of flavor or a melt-in-your-mouth cut of meat, the round steak is not it. If you see it on a steakhouse menu, ignore it. Your tastebuds will thank you. And, it might not be worth it to whip up a round steak in your own kitchen either, since it's also the cut of steak that's one of the worst to make at home.

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