Best Steakhouses in Naples

It's not all about steak here, but that's what Manhattan dares to do in competition with the big-name chains like Fleming's and Ruth's Chris breathing down its neck. And with much better prices. The family-owned fine steakhouse has earned its chops, so to speak, with restaurants in New York City, Miami and beyond. Start with the iceberg wedge salad to go along with the addicting soft rolls embedded with crunchy bits of cooked onion. You can order an eight-ounce filet or porterhouses for two to four. There's also a grilled T-bone veal chop, braised grouper with citrus sauce, Dover sole, grilled tuna steak, lobster tails, and lobster ravioli for entrees. For dessert, try the chocolate soufflé a la mode.

At Inn on Fifth, this restaurant excels at sophistication and personality. The staff goes beyond the extra mile to make your dining experience. They have solid help from the kitchen, which produces the namesake prime steak and creative seafood dishes. Starters such as the spicy tuna tartare with avocado and crispy wonton shreds and six types of sushi including the signature tempura shrimp and beef carpaccio roll are perfect for sharing. Order a craft cocktail from the sexy bar while you are at it. Walls of wine bottles or walls of glass looking out onto a courtyard: your choice. Top entrée picks include filet mignon with Maytag blue cheese crust and pudding-like sea bass with champagne truffle sauce.

Part of a small, Texas-based chain of restaurants, it is anything but cookie-cutter. The dining room seems oversized at first, but its popularity fills the warm, welcoming space at the back of Inn on Fifth most nights. They come for their fix of various varieties of crab, lobster, grouper topped with crawfish and shrimp, miso-glazed sea bass, grilled Faroe Island salmon, sweet and spicy Pacific yellowtail, plus fine steaks and chops. Beef cuts include filet mignon, ribeye with or without bone in and New York strip. The signature Filet Oscar Royale adds caviar to the typical crab, asparagus and béarnaise Oscar topping.

It shines at fine beef aged 35 days in an on-premise aging room, but do not dismiss Ario as just another high-priced steakhouse. High-priced it is, but you get what you pay for - exquisite quality. Sit at the display kitchen counter to see chefs at work - a cross between surgeons, artists and magicians. The totally original ice-fire décor of Ario carries the illusion of magic. Then there's the magic in your mouth. Homemade sunflower seed rolls with cinnamon and citrus notes served with butternut squash butter. Charred Portuguese octopus with ink aioli and fried green tomatoes. Miso cod with watercress puree. Bone-in filet mignon and wagyu ribeye. Lamb Presse with yogurt and key lime. Passion fruit créme brulee. Sigh!

From the dynamic Venetian-born Chef Fabrizio Aielli and his wife Ingrid, owners also of Sea Salt and Barbatella, comes this newcomer to Naples' rich Italian scene. Away from the other two's downtown locations, Chef Aielli here can work his magic in a more affordable vein, aside from the wonderfully house-aged Nebraska and wagyu cuts of meat. Freshly made pasta, imported charcuterie, ravioli stuffed with Osso Bucco, and dishes such as pork Milanese with burrata, tomato and crispy artichoke put the "Italian" into its name. The menu, however, strays wide of steak and traditional Italian with simply grilled fish, paella, wagyu or Calabrese sausage burgers and a wonderfully charred octopus. If you can't decide between the Venetian doughnuts and carrot cake for dessert, order both.

"Excellence" describes Sails Restaurant from start to finish. From start: Owners meticulously sourced decor items such as a Greek marble bar in the shape of a sail, dishware, and the finest seafood and steaks to create a modern European coastal setting and cuisine. Guests select their own fresh seafood, its poundage and its preparation: wood-grilled, salt-baked or seared a la plancha. Artistically presented seafood towers, crudos and tartares launch a memorable experience. Courses of seafood salads, house-made pasta, fine steaks and global entrees ensue. Try the Peppered Tuna Rossini with seared foie gras, black truffle and charcoal-roasted onions; or prime tomahawk rib steak with garlic confit. An exacting wine list and decadent, modern dessert menu are the final excellence icing on this lovely cake.

Chops City Grill has two local locations - one on Fifth Avenue South and a second in Bonita Springs. Both underwent multi-million dollar renovations in 2021 that enrichened their decor with velvet banquettes, silver-threaded drapes, deep wood tones, intimate chef's tables, a long exhibition kitchen and an imposing bar. The quality of the steaks continue the sense of extravagance. Wagyu from Japan, Australia, Idaho and Ohio take center stage. Creative side dishes break out of the steakhouse mold with 30-plus rotating selections such as popcorn-creamed corn and fresh pumpkin ceviche. Chops' name is a double entendre for its fine steaks and its chopstick (Asian influence) fare, and seafood continues to get its due on the latest menu.

Jimmy P's grew out of a popular long-standing butcher shop selling the finest in prime meats. The restaurant brings those steaks to the table for lunch and dinner, including Wagyu cuts and Kobe craft burgers and hot dogs. Specialties include the bone-in ribeye, filet mignon with lobster tail and seared grouper. On the lunch menu, you will also find deli sandwiches, salads, and chicken wings. Other dinner specialties include Berkshire pork ribs, coq au vin, stuffed marrow bones and charred octopus. Dark wood and brick set the warm, clubby tone. Jimmy P's has opened a second restaurant in Bonita Springs.

Nothing beats a dinner out at the Ritz, where service, setting and culinary excellence combine to foment an experience that transcends mere eating by miles. The Grill excels in fine steaks but also knows its way around seafood. Dry-aged cuts include New York strip, ribeye and Delmonico, plus filet mignon, veal chop and Colorado rack of lamb. Why not splurge further and add a side of foie gras or half a lobster tail? Non-steak signature entrees run the gamut from duck breast and Atlantic salmon to classic Dover sole meuniere. Despite its formality, the atmosphere feels relaxed. Live music, usually light piano, frequently entertains. Note: The Grill is currently closed until December 2021.

The Continental is what foodies term a "meatery," a step above standard steakhouses. Its niche is two-fold: name-ranch steaks and craft cocktails. The steak takes center stage, however. It occupies one page of the dinner food menu, divided among the restaurant's four beef providers. Each touts its own connoisseur-level characteristics. Yet The Continental is clearly no ordinary steakhouse. Owners break the mold with their menus, but also with the restaurant's design. The dining room, which shows the telltale opulence of a typical steakhouse, opens onto the courtyard, where a convivial bar, bougainvillea-framed setting, cabanas and live dinner entertainment make this something wholly other.