These Are Most Expensive Dishes At These 11 Pricey Chain Restaurants

If you're talking fine dining, you might only think of Michelin-starred restaurants or even your own local, favorite, farm-to-table eatery. However, there are a few chains around the country that are pulling out all the stops and doing their best to provide an upscale dining experience. While the words "chain steakhouse" might conjure up images of Texas Roadhouse or Longhorn Steakhouse, we're looking at some establishments that are slightly more discerning and even, in some cases, luxurious.

So what should you order when you get there? If you're really trying to splurge, you've got options. These pricey chain restaurants aren't shy about charging what they're worth, and you can find entrées on their menus that range in price from a moderate $20 to $30 to an eye-watering multiple hundreds. In some cases, you might even be spending over $150 for just an appetizer. While that may sound a little shocking for a chain restaurant, you'll have to judge for yourself whether or not the food is worth the financial investment. Here are the most expensive dishes at some of the country's most notoriously pricey chain restaurants.

McCormick & Schmick's is a seafood restaurant with just over a dozen locations throughout the United States. Over the last few years, the chain reported that sales had dropped, and some industry experts theorize that fact could be chalked up to the brand's reluctance to modernize, with its overly big menus and an old-school feel that might not necessarily appeal to millennial diners. 

However, one thing that McCormick & Schmick's has going for it? While it bills itself as an upscale restaurant and is on the pricier side, you can still find some affordable eats here. Not only does the restaurant offer some shockingly low, how-did-they-pull-that-off pricing during happy hour, including a cheeseburger or steamed mussels at the bar for less than $2, the most expensive menu item is actually pretty reasonable, especially when you compare it to the other items on this list. 

McCormick & Schmick's most expensive menu item is its West Australian lobster tail, coming in at a cool $52. What's interesting to note, though, is that this lobster tail isn't listed as an entrée, like you might expect. Instead, it's considered an "enhancement" that you can order alongside your steak, similarly to how you might upgrade your steak with truffle butter.

The Palm is a long-running institution with over 20 locations in the United States and Mexico. The first family-run Palm restaurant opened in New York City in the 1920s, quickly establishing itself as a go-to steakhouse with discerning clientele. As younger generations of the family took over, The Palm expanded, with locations opening outside of NYC as early as the 1970s. Today, The Palm brand is no longer overseen by the original founding family, but is instead under the purview of Landry's, which also owns a variety of other upscale restaurants, including Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse, Morton's, and McCormick & Schmick's.  

One of the very first items on the menu in The Palm's early days was the surf 'n turf, and, today, that same entrée option is the most expensive item on the menu. Called "The Palm Duo," you can get an 8-ounce center-cut filet with an 8-ounce lobster tail for $99. Of course, you're going to want some side dishes to go along with that, and if you're really in the mood to splash all out, go for the highest-priced sides, which include the lobster macaroni and cheese ($36) or the black truffle risotto ($25).

Ocean Prime is an award-winning seafood and steak restaurant with more than 20 locations across the United States. There's a lot to love about this restaurant and it's easy to see why it's won the accolades that it has. Ranked as one of the chain restaurants that make consumers the happiest, Ocean Prime has some of the best restaurant scallops, crab cakes, and more.

However, despite Ocean Prime's reputation as a go-to seafood restaurant, it's not the seafood that you'll want to order if you're trying to really stretch your budget. The most expensive item on the Ocean Prime menu happens to be steak. The 16-ounce New York Wagyu strip, sourced from Westholme Farms in Australia, is $129.

You probably already know that this specialty ingredient is expensive, but is Wagyu beef worth the price? For some, yes. Wagyu cattle are a distinctive breed that are fed a special diet of corn or other grains, which results in increased marbling, making for a more tender, tasty bite. That said, if you can't quite pony up over $100 for a steak right now, rest assured that you can still enjoy a cut of beef at Ocean Prime on a smaller budget. The cheapest steak on the menu is a $62, 8-ounce filet mignon.

Going on more than three decades in the biz, The Capital Grille has outposts all across the country, numbering more than 60. The restaurant is known for its dry-aged steaks (each dried at the restaurant for up to 24 days), impressive wine list, and high-end atmosphere. If you're going to make a reservation, though, there are a few things you need to know about eating at The Capital Grille. For one, there's a dress code and the restaurant is not necessarily what you'd call child-friendly. Oh, and your steak? Yeah, it's not coming with a side. Additionally, expect high prices across the board, as this restaurant is among the most overpriced steakhouses in the United States. That said, if you're willing to be flexible in what you order, you can find a handful of more affordable menu items, like the chicken and salmon.

However, when money's no option, there's one specific menu item you're going to want to order: The Grand Plateau. The most expensive item on the menu, The Grand Plateau will run you $135. This seafood tower includes jumbo lump crab, North Atlantic lobster, shrimp cocktail, and oysters on the half shell.

Eddie V's is currently owned by Darden, which also owns finer steakhouses, like The Capital Grille and Ruth's Chris, as well as more casual chains, such as Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse. This seafood restaurant was originally established in Austin, Texas in 2000, before the original founders sold the chain to Darden for $59 million in 2011. Over the past 25 years, the chain has seen a good degree of success. Eddie V's ranks as one of the country's most lucrative chain restaurants and is well-known for its stellar wine list, which has garnered a number of Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence. 

The most expensive menu item at Eddie V's isn't going to be one that you can take on alone. This is a dish to split. The Big Eddie is a shellfish tower that includes wild-caught shrimp, Blue Point oysters, crab, and Maine lobster on ice, accompanied by a trio of sauces. This seafood extravaganza will set you back $135.

A tomahawk steak is basically just a bone-in ribeye, but it characteristically features a cleaned extension of the rib still attached to the steak, forming the unique tomahawk-like appearance. The large size of this cut of steak makes it unwieldy and difficult to for the home cook to prepare to the correct doneness, which means that you're better off enjoying at a restaurant. The ample portion and professional touch that this steak requires typically adds up to a hefty price tag when you order it out at restaurants. At Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, the USDA Prime, tomahawk ribeye, which measures in at 40 ounces and contains 3,160 calories, is the most expensive item on the menu, at $156.

So is the restaurant's tomahawk ribeye worth the money? Ruth's Chris cooks its steaks to perfection using a custom broiler designed by restaurant founder Ruth Fertel, who had degrees in both chemistry and physics. The broiler cooks steaks at temperatures more than three times hotter than those you can achieve with your average home oven. That special and unique cooking technique is one of the secrets to the success of the tomahawk steak at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. That said, if you can't quite stomach this large of a steak, as well as the price that comes with it, there are plenty of other custom-aged beef options to choose from, including filets, ribeyes, and t-bones. 

An award-winning, classic American steakhouse, it's no surprise that Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse serves Wagyu steak. Among the restaurant's classic, expected items like oysters Rockefeller and a wedge salad, the 6-ounce Japanese A5 Wagyu steak stands out as the most expensive option on the menu, at $160 for a meager 6-ounce portion-size. That "Japanese A5" distinction is an important one. While countries across the world are producing and selling Wagyu beef, only Japan produces A5 Wagyu. "A5" refers to the Japanese beef grading system, which certifies that the beef meets the highest standards, including lineage and feeding requirements. As such, Japanese A5 Wagyu beef is both rare and expensive, with prices per pound extending upwards of $400.

Of course, if this distinction means nothing to you, you'll have plenty of other options at Del Frisco's. The chain has established quite the reputation for itself when it comes to other items on the menu. For example, Del Frisco's is one of the best places to find a restaurant filet mignon, according to reviewers, and that filet mignon costs a fraction of the Wagyu steak, at $68 for an 8-ounce cut. Additionally, Del Frisco's is known as one of the restaurant chains with the best baked potatoes.

While Morton's The Steakhouse might be among the most overpriced steakhouses in the United States, it still gets a lot right. For instance, the brand is known for its high-quality, USDA Prime steaks. However, it's not the steak that's the star of the show when we're specifically looking at pricey items on the menu. Instead, the honor of most expensive order goes to the Epic Ocean Platter, and this is seriously an epic option. The Epic Ocean Platter includes the best fresh seafood that is hand-selected by the chef, such as oysters on the half shell, cold-water lobster tail, jumbo shrimp cocktail, crab cocktail, and seared ahi tuna, all for $162. Don't worry, if you can't quite afford the Epic Ocean Platter, a downgraded "Grand" Ocean Platter is available for $85.

If, though, it's your first time visiting Morton's, you might want to avoid the ocean platter altogether, even if you are looking to splurge a bit. The item doesn't even make the list of the best Morton's steakhouse items, as determined by hundreds of diner reviews and feedback. Instead, for the best dining experience possible, go for more budget-friendly and more highly-ranked options, like the proprietary Prime Cajun ribeye, chicken Christopher, or jumbo lump crab cake.

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar is another restaurant that is frequently considered among the most overpriced steakhouse chains in the United States. That said, it also is one of the best chains for high-quality steaks and it's frequently ranked as one of the chain restaurants that make customers the happiest. Those facts, however, have not been able to keep Fleming's out of the realm of the steakhouse chains that struggled in 2025. Fleming's parent company, Bloomin' Brands, which also owns Outback Steakhouse, Carabba's Italian Grill, and Bonefish Grill, was forced to close restaurant locations down across the nation due to a lack of foot traffic. If you value your local Fleming's outpost, you may want to pay them a visit in the near future and perhaps show your support by ordering the priciest item on the menu: the chilled shellfish tower.

Served with multiple sauces, the chilled shellfish tower, which costs $170, is stacked high with North Atlantic lobster, colossal shrimp, Alaskan golden king crab legs, and fresh oysters. If you're not feeling the price, you can purchase these items à la carte, or you can switch to a lower-cost seafood appetizer altogether. The restaurant's caviar service, which runs $115, is a slightly more palatable price without sacrificing luxury.

With more than two dozen locations in major cities across the United States, Mastro's Steakhouse serves up steak and seafood in an elegant atmosphere (and, yes, there's a dress code required). The most expensive of them all? Hot stone Kobe beef, which comes in at $240. This is not just a menu item, this is an experience. You literally watch the high-end beef cook on a hot stone, right at your table.

It's not just the experience that adds to this item's price tag. The beef itself is also pretty expensive. Kobe is a type of Wagyu beef sourced from the Hyogo Prefecture in Japan. In order to boast the name, Kobe cattle must have spent their entire lives, from birth to harvesting, there. If Wagyu beef is already considered rare, Kobe beef is the unicorn of the Wagyu world, and a rarity that is seldom found outside of fine dining establishments.

Not a big fan of beef or don't want to pay $240 for experiential dining? Mastro's Steakhouse also claims some of the best chain restaurant crab cakes according to reviewers, and they start at only $24.

Founded in New York City in the 1970s, Smith & Wollensky has been living the American dream, serving quality steaks with old-school charm for nearly 50 years. Thanks to its high-end, sustainably sourced beef and superior service, the chain has endured despite some challenges. It's a stalwart steakhouse that's turned things around in recent years.

While you have a lot of pricey options to choose from on this chain's menu, the one you're going to want to go with for a true luxury splurge, particularly for a date night in which you're hoping to impress, is the Wagyu porterhouse for two. At $275, it's an investment, but one that comes with a lot of perks. Not only do you get a gold-grade Wagyu steak weighing in at least 38 ounces, but you'll also get your sides included: fondant potatoes and asparagus.

If that price tag is making you sweat, rest assured that you do have some more cost-effective options at Smith & Wollensky. You can even have your Wagyu on a budget, with the Wagyu carpaccio available for an agreeable $26. Smith & Wollensky also offers a healthy assortment of USDA Prime classic cuts that are dry-aged to perfection, including the more moderately-priced 42-ounce porterhouse, which retails for $190.