Cows for celebration

Life is tough, if you’ll pardon the pun. If you want a good steak in Edinburgh, you must save up. That is the only way to ensure that you can afford a good-quality cut which has been farmed ethically and drained properly. Many restaurants in this city feature a cut of beef on the menu, but how do you cut through the dross and get to the good stuff?

The Buffalo Grill is close to George Square and to other reputable eateries such as Coffee Etc. and Pink Olive. The Buffalo Grill tries very hard to be a good restaurant. The menu's range of choice is impressive. The steaks can be prepared with a variety of sauces, so where can you go wrong? It’s quite easy. As in love, it's the little things. If the nacho chips are cold instead of warm, maybe it’s an oversight. When the restaurant is not licensed after being in existence since at least 2008, give them a break. But when the steak is tough instead of being medium rare, maybe something is not right. The intensely decorated interior belies an over-compensation for something. Maybe if you are too busy being baffled at the vaguely offensive old-timey advertisements featuring Native Americans speaking like children, perhaps you won’t notice how unimpressed you are.

Los Argentinos is in the same general student neighbourhood as the Buffalo Grill, but is miles away in terms of quality. This is the real deal, people. No condescending explanations of what each steak is, just choose what you want and be done with it, damn it. The Gran Parillada Mixta for two, or Huge Plate of Meat Cooked to Perfection (rough translation), is not cheap (£40) but God it’s good. The house wine is a mere £11, and if you share a dessert - which you will have to, these meals are filling - your individual bill will come out to around £35. Los Argentinos is worth saving your pennies, because it knows meat. It does not restrict itself to steak either, and selecting the Gran Parillada is the best way to sample all that the chefs can do.

If you’re getting a little cabin fever in Old Town, then give Smoke Stack Steakhouse a try. It’s up the road from the Mansfield Traquair in Leith, and is in the vicinity of many cozy, old man pubs that we all secretly enjoy. The decor is pared down, which is brave, since many steak houses operate under the guiding ethos that steak equals America/Mexico/South America, and over-decorate accordingly. The food is a strange fusion of European, American and Mexican: goat’s cheese tart can be followed by a sirloin steak or fajitas. Barbecue ribs are the winner though - the sweet and sour sauce which gathers at the bottom of the bowl is pure heaven. The starts are a little on the large side, so choose wisely. The steak portion of the menu is not extensive, but it’s still a course in Steak 101: it explains where each cut comes from on the cow, how it is best prepared, and whether it is fatty or lean. Now that’s service.

So if you have been craving steak lately, Edinburgh can accommodate you. But there's no such thing as a free lunch – good steak costs good money, so get saving.