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Why J. Gilbert’s made the SteakMap list

J. Gilbert’s cooks over wood, and that single choice is what earns it a place here. Almost every steakhouse in the St. Louis area broils or uses a flat-top; a wood fire adds smoke and a different quality of char to the crust, and it is harder to run consistently, which is exactly why so few kitchens take it on.

The sourcing is stated plainly too: Midwestern-raised USDA Prime aged and Certified Black Angus beef. Two named grades, aged before cutting.

The Kansas City strip

Six steaks, and the one to order is the 14oz Kansas City strip — a strip loin with the bone left on. Over a wood fire the bone earns its keep, insulating the meat closest to it so the steak cooks unevenly in the good way, leaving a rarer band along the bone.

The rest of the board runs a 10oz top sirloin, center-cut filet mignon at 6oz and 8oz, a 14oz ribeye and an 18oz bone-in ribeye they call the Cowboy Cut. Every one comes with a choice of two sides, which is more generous than most rooms at this level where sides are strictly a la carte and quietly add twenty dollars.

Beyond the steaks

The mesquite grill runs through the whole menu. Wood-grilled ribs come as a full slab with Kansas City barbecue sauce, fries and creamed corn with bacon. There is a short rib gnocchi with parmesan horseradish cream, an Aussie lamb rack with wild mushroom risotto, and a wagyu burger with au poivre mayo, shallot jam, gruyère and sweet potato fries.

Steak extras are modest and well chosen: blue cheese butter, truffle butter or ancho chile butter, or a seafood addition of bourbon maple shrimp, a jumbo lump crab cake or seared sea scallops.

Menu prices

As published on J. Gilbert’s own menu, August 2026: 18oz bone-in ribeye Cowboy Cut $68, 14oz Kansas City strip $62, 14oz ribeye $62, 8oz center-cut filet mignon $54, 6oz center-cut filet mignon $46, 10oz top sirloin $38, wood-grilled ribs $40, short rib gnocchi $34, pan-roasted chicken $32 and the wagyu burger $25. Butters are $4; shrimp, crab cake or scallops run $12 to $18.

J. Gilbert’s also runs a Columbus room. Compare the rest of the steakhouses around St. Louis.