Naples has no shortage of great restaurants.
We have everything from waterfront seafood and Italian restaurants to elegant fine dining, neighborhood favorites and just about everything in between. But every once in a while, there's only one thing that will do:
A really good steak.
And when I'm in that mood, there are a handful of places around Naples that I find myself returning to.
Just like my list of favorite Naples coffee shops, this isn't meant to be a definitive ranking of the "best steakhouses in Naples." Food is far too subjective for that.
These are simply my five favorite places for steak in Naples, and part of the reason I enjoy them is that no two offer quite the same experience.
Some are polished. Some are old-school. One doesn't even feel like a traditional steakhouse at all.
And my number one might still be a new discovery for some Naples diners.
1. El Trovador Steakhouse & Lounge
965 4th Avenue N., Naples
At the top of my list is El Trovador Steakhouse & Lounge.
Located just outside the traditional Fifth Avenue South dining district, El Trovador combines a steakhouse with Cuban and Spanish influences, cocktails, music and a much livelier atmosphere than you might expect from a traditional steakhouse.
That's one of the things I enjoy about it.
Going out for steak doesn't always need to mean dark wood, white tablecloths and a hushed dining room. Sometimes you want dinner to actually feel like a night out.
El Trovador delivers that.
The restaurant's personality makes it stand apart from many of the other steak options around Naples. There's an energy to the place that turns dinner into more of an experience, especially when live music is part of the evening.
For someone visiting Naples who has already experienced some of our more traditional steakhouses and wants something a little different, this is one I'd put on the list.
Great steak, cocktails, music and plenty of personality.
That's a pretty good combination.
2. Aufieri & Martinez
2355 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Naples
Aufieri & Martinez is an entirely different kind of steak experience.
This North Naples restaurant draws heavily from the Argentine tradition of asado, where cooking meat isn't simply about putting a steak on a grill. Fire, wood, charcoal and patience are all part of the process.
And they take the fire part seriously.
The restaurant cooks over live wood and charcoal rather than gas, allowing the smoke and embers to become part of the flavor of the meat.
That immediately gives the steaks a different character from what you'd experience at a traditional American steakhouse.
The menu also embraces the Argentine side of the experience with dishes such as provoleta, chorizo and other accompaniments that make it fun to build a meal around the steaks rather than simply ordering a cut of beef and a couple of sides.
For me, that's what makes Aufieri & Martinez interesting.
It's not trying to recreate a New York steakhouse in Naples.
It has its own identity.
If you're someone who appreciates the flavor that comes from cooking over real fire, this is definitely one to experience.
3. Andre's Steakhouse
2800 Tamiami Trail N., Naples
Andre's is about as classic as it gets.
Established in Naples in 1993, Andre's Steakhouse brings an old-school New York steakhouse approach to Southwest Florida.
And I mean "old-school" as a compliment.
There are restaurants that constantly reinvent themselves, redesign their dining rooms and chase whatever happens to be trending.
Andre's doesn't need to.
The focus here has always been steak, service, wine and the kind of traditional steakhouse experience that has kept people coming back for decades.
Meals have that family-style steakhouse feel, with steaks and sides meant to be enjoyed around the table rather than everything arriving as an elaborate individual presentation.
The wine program is another major part of the experience. Andre's has earned Wine Spectator recognition for years and maintains an extensive wine cellar.
But ultimately, you go to Andre's for the steak.
It's straightforward, traditional and refreshingly unconcerned with being trendy.
In a town where restaurants are constantly changing, there's something to be said for a place that knows exactly what it is.
4. Seed to Table
4835 Immokalee Road, Naples
Now this one requires a little explanation.
Seed to Table isn't technically a traditional steakhouse.
It's a grocery store.
And a restaurant.
And a food hall.
And a bar.
And sometimes it feels like a nightclub somehow wandered into a farmers market and decided to stay.
Which is precisely why it's one of the most unusual places on this list.
The meat department at Seed to Table offers an impressive selection of steaks, and one of my favorite parts of the experience is being able to select a steak and have it prepared for you.
It creates a completely different experience from sitting down at a traditional steakhouse.
There's no ceremony required.
You can pick out a great cut of meat, have it cooked the way you want it, add your sides and enjoy a quality steak in a much more casual setting.
The atmosphere is also unmistakably Seed to Table. Depending on when you visit, you might find people grocery shopping, having dinner, listening to live music or gathering around one of the bars.
There really isn't another place quite like it in Naples.
If someone told me they wanted a great steak but didn't necessarily want the traditional steakhouse experience, Seed to Table would immediately come to mind.
5. The Pewter Mug North
14700 Tamiami Trail N., Naples
Rounding out my five is a genuine Naples institution.
The Pewter Mug has been part of the Naples dining scene since 1970.
Think about how much Naples has changed since then.
Entire neighborhoods, roads, shopping districts and communities have appeared during that time, yet generations of Naples residents and visitors have continued going to The Pewter Mug.
There's something wonderfully old-school about it.
The restaurant is particularly known for its prime rib and hand-cut steaks, but you can't talk about The Pewter Mug without mentioning the soup and salad bar.
Yes, an actual steakhouse salad bar.
And that's part of the charm.
While so much of modern dining has moved toward elaborate presentations and increasingly complicated menus, The Pewter Mug still delivers the kind of straightforward steakhouse dinner many of us remember.
A good piece of beef.
A baked potato.
A trip to the salad bar.
Maybe another trip to the salad bar.
No explanation from the chef required.
It's comfortable, familiar and unmistakably part of old Naples.
Sometimes that's exactly what you want.
Five Steakhouses, Five Completely Different Experiences
What I enjoy most about putting this list together is realizing just how different these five places actually are.
At El Trovador, dinner can turn into an evening of cocktails and music.
At Aufieri & Martinez, the experience revolves around Argentine tradition and cooking over live fire.
Andre's gives you the classic New York steakhouse experience that has been part of Naples for decades.
Seed to Table throws the steakhouse rulebook out the window entirely.
And The Pewter Mug reminds us that sometimes a great steak, prime rib and an old-fashioned salad bar are all you really need.
They're five very different restaurants.
But they're also five different pieces of Naples.
That's one of the things I enjoy about living here. Naples may have a reputation for luxury dining, but once you spend enough time exploring, you realize there's much more variety than people expect.
Some of my favorite places aren't necessarily the newest, fanciest or most talked about.
They're simply the places I enjoy going back to.
And when I'm craving steak, these are five of mine.
What's your favorite steakhouse in Naples?
If there's one you think should be on my list, let me know.
I'm always willing to accept an assignment that involves steak.
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