The Polite Way To Eat Bone-In Steak At A Fancy Steakhouse

An upscale restaurant is a perfect way to treat yourself, but if you're not familiar with the fine dining experience, then there are a few amateur mistakes to avoid at a steakhouse — including eating a bone-in steak the wrong way. The most important rule is to never pick up the bone and chew the meat off of it. Instead, use some precision with your steak knife to get as much of the meat as possible.

While you might be tempted to chew on the bone if you want to enjoy every last inch of meat on the plate — especially when you paid a pretty penny for it — it's not the best way to make a good impression at a nice steakhouse. Instead, cut the meat as close to the bone as possible, which will help you get all of that tender steak, then eat it properly with a fork and knife. When slicing the steak, it's also important not to slice it all at once. Only trim a single bite, or at most a couple of pieces, then eat, and go in to slice some more. This keeps the steak warm while you eat it and generally creates a better presentation on your plate.

Before you have to worry about cutting the meat off the bone, you have to order the steak. To properly order a steak at a fine dining steakhouse, you should have your preferred cut and temperature ready. In general, chefs prefer a medium to medium-rare temperature, so your server might not ask about your preferred doneness, so be sure to specify.

Steakhouses often offer a variety of sauces to pair with steak, such as béarnaise or bordelaise, to complement the dish. It's perfectly fine to choose one, but keep in mind how much of it you use. Just a small amount is enough to get the flavor without overpowering the meat, and don't dunk the steak piece fully in the sauce. There are also other basic rules to follow when dining at an upscale steakhouse, too. Always adhere to the dress code, which is typically listed on the restaurant's website. Use a proper steak knife to slice the meat (the steakhouse should provide this), and make sure to properly tip your server at the end of the meal.