Keens Steakhouse

Step through the doors of Keens Steakhouse and you’re transported back to 1885, the very year Lady Liberty arrived in New York Harbor. This sprawling Midtown institution feels like a living museum, with multiple dining rooms that wind together like interconnected burrows beneath ceilings adorned with over 45,000 antique clay pipes. The atmosphere is thick with history—you might find yourself seated near memorabilia that includes a playbill purportedly held by Abraham Lincoln, surrounded by mounted game and Victorian-era curiosities that simply don’t exist anywhere else in the modern dining landscape.

The star of the menu is undoubtedly the legendary mutton chop, a glorious slab of well-marbled meat that’s become the restaurant’s signature over fourteen decades. Broiled at extreme temperatures, it arrives with a beautifully charred exterior giving way to tender, richly flavored lamb within. Pair it with the accompaniments of sweet mint jelly and bright escarole, and you’re experiencing exactly what generations of New Yorkers have savored before you. The prime rib hash, a sleeper hit from the pub menu, deserves equal attention—a crispy potato pancake studded with prime rib and topped with a perfectly runny egg.

Whether you’re celebrating a milestone, entertaining visitors from out of town, or simply seeking refuge from the relentless pace of modern Manhattan, Keens delivers an experience that feels genuinely timeless. The walk-in bar offers a more casual alternative, complete with complimentary hard-boiled eggs and the kind of unhurried atmosphere where perfect gin martinis materialize before noon. Corporate dealmakers and tourists with fresh airport tags on their luggage fill the dining rooms, but somehow the magic remains intact.

In a city where little stays the same, Keens stands as a rare constant. It’s the kind of place that makes ordinary moments feel significant—a dinner here isn’t just a meal, it’s a connection to every carnivore who came before and all those yet to follow. Raise a glass to tradition, order the mutton chop, and let yourself be swept away by something increasingly rare in New York: a genuine sense of permanence.