The 4 best grocery stores to buy steak, according to chefs

You don’t have to visit a specialty butcher to bring home a great steak.

For many of us, one-stop shopping is the most efficient way to stock the kitchen for the week ahead. While going to a butcher to purchase things like steak or lamb, or a cheesemonger to buy a block of hard cheese and a baguette, may sound nice, in theory, the convenience of a big grocery store offering all of these items and more is hard to beat.

There are so many great grocery store chains in the South, each of them offering a sometimes overwhelming number of choices across all the food categories. The meat department, in particular, can be daunting if you don’t know exactly what kind of steak to buy. 

To help you know the best grocery stores to buy steak, Southern Living reached out to several chefs to get their insights and expertise on steak shopping in the South. Here are the stores they recommend:

Costco

Christopher Prieto, champion pitmaster behind the MICHELIN Bib Gourmand-awarded Prime Barbecue in Knightdale, North Carolina, said big box stores “have the easy advantage,” when it comes to well-priced high-quality steaks. The 2025 James Beard Foundation-nominated “Best Chef Southeast” said Costco is his favorite: They “have the buying power to purchase high-quality meat which allows them to negotiate prices and pass the savings to the consumer due to fast product turnover,” said Prieto.

Prieto praises the chain’s meat options as well—Costco carries USDA Choice and Prime beef, along with Wagyu. The chef also gives the big box store high marks for its custom meat slicing service which allows him to request his desired thickness directly with the butcher and benefit from the store’s bulk purchasing prices.

Executive chef Josef Thorsen of Katsubo in Charleston, South Carolina, is also a fan of Costco for buying steak.

“It offers the strongest combination of USDA Prime availability, variety of cuts, and value,” said Thorsen, who appreciates the option of buying an entire primal cut like a whole ribeye, whole New York strip, and tenderloins. “The savings per pound you get from buying steaks this way and cutting them yourself pays for your Costco membership and gives you flexibility to choose your thickness of cut.”

Thorsen said Costco’s consistency and price point are hard to beat for a regular once- or twice-a-week grocery shopper.

Lowes Foods

Greg Garrison, executive chef at Repeal 33 in Savannah, Georgia, who regularly serves different cuts of beef at his restaurant and is an avid griller at home, said Lowes Foods is his preferred grocery store for steak.

“Their meat department feels more like a traditional butcher shop than a grocery store,” said Garrison, who noted that the Southern-based grocer typically carries a strong selection of Certified Angus Beef, including Prime cuts, thicker-cut steaks, and a wider variety of options than most chains.

The staff behind the counter are knowledgeable and Garrison feels the quality is both consistent and high. 

Herman Ng, owner of XO Brasserie in Charleston, South Carolina, also likes Lowes Foods for steak because they carry Certified Angus Beef, which Ng points out “maintains a higher standard for cattle carcass grading.”

From his experience working in steakhouses, Ng had the opportunity to visit ranches and meet the farmers, which in turn gave him a greater appreciation for the process; with the higher standard Certified branding, the cattle typically are fed roughly 80% grass and finished with corn to achieve the marbling and flavor profiles that consumers prefer, Ng explained.

H-E-B

A veteran of the steak house restaurant, Trevor E. White, currently the executive chef at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle, said the national chains and big box grocery stores offer both quality and value, often selling bulk beef and cut steaks below wholesale pricing. That said, there’s only one place he goes to buy steak, and that’s H-E-B.

“I have several grocery stores around me, but you can’t beat the variety, quality of the cuts, and the price is always great,” said White. 

The Texas-based chain is the best option in the Southern state, according to White. “They offer a wide variety of grades of beef at any price point. H-E-B offers USDA Prime, Choice, Select, and Ungraded beef in the market under the “Natural” label. They offer Wagyu beef and also grass fed options,” he said, adding that all can be purchased at a great price.

Whole Foods Market

Outside of Texas, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle’s White said Whole Foods Market is a good option for buying steak. The store, said White, “offers USDA Prime and Choice meats from smaller producers with more traceability.” Plus, White noted, they sell grass-fed beef and even dry-aged steaks—all at a reasonable price.

Angela (DeMars) Skogen, the owner and founder of Cooks On Main, a specialty kitchenware retailer, likes Whole Foods Market, too. It’s a good option for customers who are interested in the sourcing and production standards of their steak. “I like how they can give instant information about their meats,” said Skogen.

Beyond the store, however, Skogen recommends paying attention to the quality of the beef itself—take notice of its marbling, if it’s fresh, and has proper packaging.

Read the original article on Southern Living