Nashville’s downtown location of Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse, a Cincinnati-based chain, evokes old Vegas with its over-the-top interior and nightly live entertainment. It’s a lively setting for sushi and raw bar treats like seafood towers. Also on the menu: blue crab bisque, USDA Prime and wagyu steaks, and sides like a macaroni and cheese made with six imported cheeses and grilled asparagus. Look out for classic steak preparations like Steak Diane, served with mushrooms and brandy cream.

Deacon’s New South in downtown claims to have the largest dry-aging facility in the Southeast — take a peek at the meats maturing on-site then taste the exquisite results in the form of a porterhouse, Kansas City strip, or even a 48-ounce tomahawk. Other entrees at the attractive downtown restaurant show off local ingredients and Southern influences, from fried green tomatoes in an Alabama white sauce to spicy crawfish noodles.

Situated in a historic 1840s townhouse with antebellum Italianate architecture, The Standard has been restored to its former glory and now serves as one of Nashville’s premier spots for succulent USDA prime steaks. Add a lobster tail or lump crab meat to your beef for some surf and turf action, but don’t overlook the baked four-cheese mac or the half-baked cookie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream — both are decadently necessary.

Per the name, the Southern Steak & Oyster in SoBro puts a distinctively Southern spin on its menu, from deviled eggs dripping with Louisiana hot sauce to a burger topped with pimento cheese. This downtown gem also serves meaty options such as a 21-day dry-aged strip steak with cracked peppercorn garlic butter and the Nudie Suit entree, which lets diners choose their own custom-cut steaks.

Harper’s in SoBro has a different energy than your typical chophouse with its vibrant floral wallpaper, cozy dining nooks, lush greenery, and intricate stonework and archways. The buzzy, see-and-be-seen atmosphere is mirrored in a showy menu of slow-roasted ribeyes, delicate slices of elk tenderloin in a blackberry demi-glace, 40-day dry-aged bone-in NY strip, and massive desserts (like a creme brulee that’s torched tableside) that feed four to six people.

The Nashville location of Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak chain boasts 280 seats on the 34th floor of the JW Marriott hotel downtown, so the views are top-notch. The more-is-more approach carries through one of the city’s most extensive whiskey lists and opulent dishes ranging from black truffle mac and cheese to lobster pot pie to a 40-ounce wagyu tomahawk rib-eye carved table-side.

Adjacent to the Westin hotel downtown, Oak Steakhouse’s Nashville location incorporates regional ingredients into entrees like a duroc double-cut porterhouse with a blue cheese polenta and a half chicken with whipped potatoes and dandelion greens. Naturally, the high-profile Charleston-based chain also offers plenty of steaks and sauces, like dry-aged bone-in rib-eyes that come with your choice of sauce, including Oak’s housemade steak sauce, bearnaise, and horseradish cream.

Halls has a very scene-y vibe about it — it’s a see-and-be-scene spot whose elegantly modern steakhouse interiors match the polished plates and choice cuts of beef. A Charleston original, the Nashville location serves USDA prime steaks from Allen Brothers of Chicago that have been wet or dry-aged for prime tenderness. Sides like pepper jack grits and cornmeal-fried okra add some oomph to the meal while a seafood tower for four attracts neighboring eyes.

A West End landmark where political power brokers cut deals over stiff martinis, Jimmy Kelly’s Steakhouse has served crowd-favorite blue cheese-stuffed filets (aged for a minimum of 28 days) and corn cakes since 1934. Much of the staff has been at this stately steakhouse for decades too, putting diners in especially adept hands.

E3 Chophouse is the rustic-chic second location of a Colorado restaurant. One of the main attractions in bustling Hillsboro Village, E3 has an alluring rooftop patio featuring cocktails, live music, and steakhouse winners like a bacon-wrapped filet, a huge tomahawk rib-eye, and an 18-ounce maple-glazed pork chop. The vegetables demand attention, too, from braised collard greens with Benton’s bacon to creamed corn gratinee. This whiskey selection is also one of the finest in the city.

Urban Grub converted a former 12 South car wash into a stylish destination for seafood, charcuterie, and dry-aged steaks. Stake out a seat at a fire pit or in a private cabana and order a filet with caramelized shallots and Worcestershire butter, then add sides like smoked gouda chipotle grits and ham-hock collards. Finish strong with an order of banana pudding pie or a gluten-free peanut butter cheesecake.