Restaurant in New York City, United States
Reliable Midtown beef, no surprises.
Smith & Wollensky is one of the most reliable and accessible high-end steakhouses in Midtown Manhattan, with dry-aged USDA Prime beef and a large-format room that works well for business dinners and group celebrations. Ranked on Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list for three consecutive years, it earns its place through consistency. Easier to book than most New York steakhouse peers, with walk-in bar seating available.
If you have been to Smith & Wollensky before, the honest answer is: not much changes on a return visit, and that is precisely the point. The room looks the same. The format is the same. The sourcing standard that underpins the price — USDA Prime beef, dry-aged in-house — holds steady. For a Midtown power lunch or a business dinner where the setting needs to do some of the work, that consistency is a genuine asset. For diners chasing novelty or a tasting-menu format, look elsewhere. Smith & Wollensky earns its continued presence on Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list (ranked #470 in 2024, rising to #478 in 2025) through reliability, not reinvention.
The sourcing argument is central to why this restaurant asks what it asks. Smith & Wollensky dry-ages its beef on-site, a process that concentrates flavour and requires both space and time that most steakhouses are not willing to commit to. That practice positions it above the mid-market chop-house tier and explains why the check lands where it does. The trade-off is that the menu is deliberately conservative. You are not here for chef-driven creativity , you are here because the beef program is the product, and the kitchen's job is to execute it cleanly.
The room on 49th and Third Avenue is large, bright, and distinctly visual in its impact: green-painted facade, white tablecloths, the kind of dining room that signals occasion without requiring a dress code conversation. For a special-occasion dinner or a client meal where the atmosphere needs to convey seriousness without formality, the space performs well. First-timers are typically struck by how closely the reality matches the mental image of a classic New York steakhouse , that alignment is something the room has been delivering for decades.
Smith & Wollensky is one of the easier high-profile steakhouses in New York to get into on reasonable notice. Unlike Keens, which can require planning further ahead for prime weekend slots, or 4 Charles Prime Rib, which is far smaller and routinely books out weeks in advance, this venue's scale works in your favour. The bar area is available for walk-in dining, which makes it a practical option for solo diners or anyone whose plans are last-minute. Google reviewers rate it 4.4 across 4,320 reviews, a signal that execution is consistent across a high volume of covers , not a given at this scale.
| Venue | Format | Booking Difficulty | OAD Recognition | Leading For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith & Wollensky | Classic NY steakhouse, large-format | Easy | Ranked #478 (2025) | Business dinners, groups, special occasions |
| Keens | Historic chophouse, lamb chop focus | Moderate | Recognised | History seekers, solo dining, atmosphere |
| 4 Charles Prime Rib | Small, intimate prime rib specialist | Hard | Recognised | Date nights, couples, prime rib focus |
| Benjamin Steak House | Grand dining room, USDA Prime | Easy | , | Groups, midtown convenience |
| Bobby Van's Steakhouse | Classic steakhouse, multiple locations | Easy | , | Quick business lunch, Midtown access |
Smith & Wollensky works leading for three types of visitors: business diners who need a room that projects confidence without requiring guests to navigate an unfamiliar format; groups celebrating a milestone who want a classic New York steakhouse experience with enough space to be comfortable; and return visitors who know what they want and trust the kitchen to deliver it without surprises. Solo diners are well served at the bar. First-timers visiting New York and wanting a benchmark steakhouse experience will find this a more approachable entry point than the stricter reservation windows at 4 Charles or Bowery Meat Company.
For those comparing across the broader New York dining picture , including fine-dining alternatives for a special occasion , see our full New York City restaurants guide. If you are building a longer trip, our New York City hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide are useful starting points. For steakhouse comparisons outside New York, Capa in Orlando and A Cut in Taipei offer useful points of reference in their respective markets.
Yes, and the bar is the right call. Walk-in seating at the bar makes this one of the more solo-friendly high-end steakhouses in Midtown. You avoid the awkwardness of a large table for one, the bar service is attentive, and you get the full menu. For solo dining with more atmosphere, Keens is worth considering too , the front bar room there has real character.
The beef is dry-aged on-site, which is the core reason to be here rather than at a comparable Midtown steakhouse. The room is large and loud at peak times, so if you want a quieter dinner, book early in the week or aim for an early seating. Opinionated About Dining has ranked this venue in the Casual North America list for three consecutive years (Recommended in 2023, #470 in 2024, #478 in 2025), which is a reasonable indicator of consistent quality across the category.
Yes. The bar area accepts walk-ins and the full menu is available. It is a practical option for solo diners, last-minute plans, or anyone who wants to avoid the reservation process. The bar seats fill up during peak dinner hours, so arriving before 7 PM on a weeknight gives you the leading chance of a spot without a wait.
It works well for business celebrations and milestone dinners where the classic New York steakhouse format is part of the appeal. The room is large enough to accommodate groups comfortably and the visual setting , white tablecloths, the green-fronted building, the full steakhouse production , lands well for occasions that call for something recognisably ceremonial. If you want a more intimate or chef-driven special occasion experience, 4 Charles Prime Rib is a better fit for two, though the booking window is significantly tighter.
For a historic New York steakhouse with more character, Keens is the comparison to make first. For an intimate prime rib-focused dinner, 4 Charles Prime Rib is worth the effort of securing a reservation. If you want a more modern take on the format, Bowery Meat Company downtown shifts the atmosphere toward a younger, less corporate crowd. For a similarly accessible Midtown option, Benjamin Steak House competes directly on both price tier and USDA Prime sourcing.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smith & Wollensky | Easy | — | |
| Le Bernardin | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Atomix | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Per Se | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Masa | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Eleven Madison Park | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Yes, and it is one of the more comfortable solo options among Midtown steakhouses. The bar provides a lower-pressure entry point than the main dining room, and the format suits a single diner who wants a proper steak without the awkwardness of a table built for four. OAD has ranked it among recommended casual North American venues three consecutive years, which reflects its accessibility as much as its food.
Come expecting a traditional American steakhouse experience at 797 3rd Ave: on-site dry-aged beef, a room that skews corporate at lunch, and a menu that does not require much navigation. It is not a destination for experimentation — the draw is the beef programme and a room that has operated the same way for decades. Book ahead but do not stress: this is one of the easier high-profile steakhouses in New York to get into on short notice compared to Keens.
Yes. The bar is a practical option for solo diners or pairs who want flexibility without a reservation. It gives you access to the core menu and works well if you want to avoid committing to a full sit-down booking. For groups of three or more, the main dining room is the better call.
It works for a business-celebration or milestone dinner where the expectation is a serious, reliably executed steak in a confident room rather than a chef-driven tasting experience. If the occasion calls for something more ambitious, Per Se or Eleven Madison Park are better fits. Smith & Wollensky's OAD ranking reflects consistent quality, not the kind of ceiling-high ambition that defines a once-in-a-decade dinner.
Keens is the comparison most worth making: older, more atmospheric, harder to book, and stronger for solo diners who want a traditional chophouse feel. For a more modern approach to beef in New York, other options exist, but within the classic Midtown steakhouse format, Keens and Smith & Wollensky are the two most obvious anchors. If budget is the variable, Smith & Wollensky's accessibility and consistent OAD recognition since 2023 make it the lower-friction choice.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
