5 Steaks From LongHorn Steakhouse, Taste Tested And Ranked

LongHorn Steakhouse, which opened its first location in Atlanta in the 1980s, is well known for its steak cuts. It expanded to more than 135 locations across the U.S. over the next 15 years. Now, it has more than 500 locations nationwide, including in Puerto Rico. Though there are a number of steakhouse chains in the U.S., LongHorn holds its own by providing fresh cuts of steak, seasoned and cooked to perfection by trained and experienced grill masters. There's even an annual competition for existing grill masters to become the reigning LongHorn Steakhouse Steak Master. That's some serious grilling.

LongHorn Steakhouse offers several signature steaks, either served flame-grilled or top-seared, including filet, bone-in ribeye, sirloin, boneless ribeye, New York strip, T-bone, and porterhouse. I taste-tested several of its options to see which one was the best. Some might argue that it's not fair to compare ribeyes to filets or strips to sirloin, since each cut has its own strengths and drawbacks. So, for each cut, I paid attention to its appearance, how well it sliced, its tenderness and resulting chew, juiciness, the quality of the meat, and its overall seasoning and taste. Every cut was good, but admittedly, I was surprised by which one wowed me the most. 

LongHorn Steakhouse's fire-grilled T-bone took up the majority of space on my dinner plate. At 18 ounces, it's a hefty bone-in cut. Still, it's the smaller cousin of the porterhouse, which weighs 22 ounces. Both cuts are made up of tender filet and hearty strip, though the porterhouse features more meat. For this taste test, I ordered the T-bone medium-rare. It was covered in LongHorn's signature char seasoning before being flame-grilled and arrived in my to-go box cooked closer to medium.

Overall, the T-bone wasn't bad, but it wasn't a winner either. It chewed and tasted like a typical piece of steak. There were a few inedible parts, which was disappointing, but to be expected. The filet side was pretty tender but the strip side — not so much. Unfortunately, I found it to be a little tough and chewy, as well as a tiny bit overcooked and dry. The T-bone also lacked any kind of fat cap, which is where a lot of the flavor and moisture come from. I don't know what it is about this cut — it could be that the bone often gets in the way, making it easier to overcook — but I've never found a T-bone to be nearly as good as when the filet and strip are cooked separately. Compared to the other cuts I sampled from LongHorn, the T-bone just couldn't compete with the rest. But I still really enjoyed it.

LongHorn Steakhouse's Renegade sirloin, available in 6 or 8-ounce cuts, is seasoned with a Prairie Dust spice blend – made with black pepper, cayenne, coriander, paprika, and turmeric — before it's grilled to highlight its light, natural flavor. Although I ordered this steak medium-rare, it arrived closer to medium but was still tender and tasty. The seasoning delivered a little kick, but it was well-balanced and complemented the meat's slightly tangy beef flavor — reminiscent of classic sirloin. Its lean profile makes it a good choice if you're looking for a lighter steak, though it doesn't have the bold richness of heavier cuts like ribeye.

Sirloin may have a less impressive appearance than a T-bone or ribeye, but the one I ordered sliced cleanly, chewed well, and satisfied my taste buds. Its flavor, though not as deep as the other cuts on this list, aligned with the typical character of sirloin. This was a solid cut of steak, but a true medium-rare cook might have helped the sirloin rank a little higher.

New York strip is one of my favorite cuts. LongHorn Steakhouse's version is lightly seasoned and grilled over an open flame. I ordered mine medium-rare, but it arrived closer to medium. I don't think a New York strip is as forgiving as other cuts, like ribeye, when it comes to cook time. It sliced nicely but was a little dry. The thinner, narrower end of the cut was definitely cooked medium-well, but the meat still had fantastic flavor. It was a quality cut of steak that had a good, clean beef taste that wasn't overpowered by the seasoning.

It wasn't as tender as New York strip can be because it was a little overcooked. It also lacked the coveted fat cap, which was disappointing and contributed to the lack of juiciness and underwhelming umami flavor. Don't get me wrong, it was a good cut of meat, and I enjoyed every bit of it. It wasn't tough to chew at all, despite the medium to medium-well cook. But it didn't place higher on this list because the top two cuts were cooked perfectly.

Ribeye consistently outshines other popular cuts of beef. Ask any meat lover what their favorite cut is, and it's likely they'll respond, "ribeye." So how did LongHorn Steakhouse's 12-ounce boneless ribeye fare? The chain almost knocked it out of the park — and I understand why it says it's its top-selling steak. LongHorn prefers to sear its boneless ribeye on a flat-top, and grill its bone-in version (the Outlaw Ribeye) over an open flame. Both cooking methods achieve that crispy outer exterior and add an extra layer of flavor to the tender cut.

I ordered the ribeye medium-rare, and it was cooked perfectly. It's a quality piece of meat with a well-balanced protein-to-fat ratio. It had a rich, buttery taste that paired well with LongHorn's chosen spices. The crust from the grill-top sear was beautiful, likely the result of the char seasoning caramelizing as it hit the heat. The meat cut like butter and practically melted in my mouth. However, I did come across a few tough pieces. The spices were somewhat heavier than most of the other cuts, but it wasn't so overwhelming that it took away from the beef flavor. 

I'm a hearty steak girl. So imagine my surprise when I bit into LongHorn Steakhouse's Flo's Filet and easily declared it the winner. Everything about it was perfect. Flo's Filet has been on LongHorn's menu since it opened, and it did not disappoint; it's one of its more popular menu items. Filet mignon might just be one of the most coveted cuts of steak due to its incredibly tender consistency. Though filet is considered a lean cut, which can potentially translate to a lack of flavor and juiciness, the filet manages to have it all. It only comes in small portions and is often a little pricier than other cuts, which is probably this cut's biggest flaw. 

LongHorn offers the filet cut in 6 or 9 ounce servings. It's seared on a flat-top grill before serving. I ordered mine medium-rare, and it was cooked perfectly. I could practically cut it with a fork. Flo's Filet is coated in LongHorn's signature grill seasoning, which is made up of garlic powder, onion powder, salt, paprika, and other spices. I got a lot of black pepper and cayenne flavor from it, which are two spices used in its Prairie Dust blend. Either way, this cut was a delicious masterpiece. It was juicy, full of flavor, and the spices accentuated the beefy backdrop. Every bite hit the spot and both satisfied and left me wanting more.

I ordered the five steaks I taste-tested to-go from my local LongHorn Steakhouse. I requested each steak cooked to medium-rare for consistency — and because it's often seen as the ideal steak temperature. Most of the time, I eat my steaks medium-rare, but I prefer a medium-rare that borders on rare, as opposed to something more well-done. The service at my local steakhouse was great from start to finish.

It really is true that you eat with your eyes first, and that's how steak hits me — my eyes take it all in before I cut into it. For the sake of this taste test, I attempted to find what looked like the best bite for each cut. Of course, I eat a lot of steak, so naturally, I finished it all. I based the ranking on the look of the cut (like, could I see the ribeye?), the tenderness of the cut, its chew and mouthfeel, the overall quality of the meat, use of seasoning, and ultimately, how it tasted.