Oyster and ChopThere are a few different steak options on the menu at Oyster and Chop cooked by its specialist steak chef — all are grass-fed, hormone-free and ethically-raised — but we recommend getting about four friends together and ordering the enormous dry-aged tomahawk scotch to share ($11 per 100g). Served with Cafe de Paris or garlic butter, the Tomahawk comes with a choice of sauces, including bearnaise, red wine jus, mushroom and horseradish sauce, and a selection of sides. Market Square, Viaduct, CBD
Ponsonby Road Bistro Not only does Ponsonby Road Bistro have an excellent wine selection and great ambience, its chargrilled steak — either scotch ($33.50) or eye ($35.50) fillet — served with chunky chips and herb-garlic butter, is food for the soul. Order a seasonal asparagus salad on the side ($8.50) for a perfect meal.165 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby
Meat Fish Wine Viva's Eating Out editor Jesse Mulligan described the sirloin steak at inner-city restaurant Meat Fish Wine as outstanding: ". . . cut thick, for starters, it could have been a chunk of prime rib if not for the telltale cap of fat". On the current menu, the "Butcher's cut steak" is served with roasted marrow, parsley and herb salad, caramelised shallots and a red wine jus ($42).Cnr O'Connell and Chancery Sts, CBD
Jervois Steak HouseAs you'd expect, the menu at Jervois Steak House has a bewildering array of sensational steaks, but the mack daddy is its Signature prime rib, which requires 24 hours' notice when booking. This is available in two sizes: king ($61) and queen ($48), and is 150-day grain-fed Black Angus that has been wet-aged 21 days and roasted. The most expensive meat on the menu, however, is its Japanese wagyu sirloin (12+, A5 grade) at $160 for 250g.70 Jervois Rd, Herne Bay
Botswana ButcheryWaterfront restaurant Botswana Butchery started life in Queenstown, where it still has an outpost, and it brings its Central Otago ethos to the North Island delivering excellent service and food in picturesque surroundings. The steak menu here is extensive, and ranges from Wakanui Angus grain-finished eye fillet ($39.95 for 180g) to grain-fed and dry-aged sirloin on the bone from Bindaree, NSW ($66.95 for 500g). There are also plenty of sauces and butters to choose from, including blue cheese, anchovy, fennel and lemon, and mushroom and cognac. 99 Quay St, Ferry Building, CBD
Paris ButterNick Honeyman's newest venture in Herne Bay, French bistro Paris Butter, was also a hit in the steak department with Eating Out editor Jesse Mulligan: "Almost everything we ate was flawless and impeccably constructed — from a parmesan soup with minestrone condiments to a slow-cooked sirloin with herb butter . . ." he wrote in Viva in June. It also comes with a black garlic rouille ($37). 166 Jervois Rd, Herne Bay
