The Steakhouse by Carne & Deli: the ₱1,498 ribeye that beats the ₱3,498 one
Six visits between 31 March and 9 August 2026, one at 11:43 in the morning and one at 8:30 at night, and the order that keeps winning is the cheapest steak on the page.
Order the Chef’s Secret Ribeye. It is ₱1,498, the cheapest steak set on the menu, and it is the one worth coming back for. Checked August 2026.
That sounds like ordinary budget advice until the arithmetic is done, which almost nobody bothers to do. At list price the ribeye and T-bone options here all land within a few centavos of ₱6 per gram. The expensive cuts are not a markup. They are simply bigger. What changes the picture is the Buy 1 Get 1 running on the Chef’s Secret, which takes it to roughly ₱3 per gram and makes it the only genuinely cheap steak in the building.
Where it is, and what it is attached to
The Steakhouse by Carne & Deli is on Apitong Street in Cebu City, in the J Block Building just off Escario. It sits beside the Apitong branch of Red House Shabu Shabu and a short walk from Parklane Hotel. Coordinates are 10.3202° N, 123.9023° E.
It is one half of a two-part operation, and that is the part most write-ups miss. The other half is Carne & Deli, a premium grocery selling A5 wagyu, aged steaks, cold cuts, cheese and caviar out of chest freezers and glass cases. The restaurant is the annex. You can finish a steak, walk twenty steps, and buy the raw version of it to cook at home.
The order: Chef’s Secret Ribeye, ₱1,498
The menu calls it a signature ribeye aged in butter. It runs about ¾ inch and 250g, arrives sliced with a sprig of rosemary across the top, and comes with one sauce and one side of your choosing. The crust is dark the whole way around and the interior holds its color at medium rare. The fat cap is left on and rendered rather than trimmed off.
Sauces are chimichurri, herb butter or peppercorn. Chimichurri is the one that suits this cut. Sides run to eleven options, including creamed spinach, asparagus, mashed potato, french fries, steak rice and a mini garden salad, and there is no upcharge between them.
The menu maths nobody prints
Here is the full steak set page, with weights, as photographed in April 2026 and confirmed unchanged in August.
| Steak set | Weight | Price | Per gram |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chef’s Secret Ribeye | 250g | ₱1,498 | ₱6.00 |
| Chef’s Secret Ribeye, with Buy 1 Get 1 | 500g | ₱1,498 | ₱3.00 |
| Surf & Turf, tenderloin and shrimp | 360g to 380g | ₱1,298 | ₱3.42 to ₱3.61 |
| USDA Prime Ribeye | 500g to 600g | ₱3,498 | ₱5.83 to ₱7.00 |
| USDA Choice T-Bone | 600g to 700g | ₱3,988 | ₱5.70 to ₱6.65 |
Two things fall out of that table. The first is that at list price there is no bargain and no rip-off among the beef cuts. Chef’s Secret, Prime Ribeye and T-Bone all sit around ₱6 per gram, so the ₱3,498 and ₱3,988 tickets are buying quantity, not a different value proposition. The second is that the Buy 1 Get 1 breaks the pattern completely. Two 250g ribeyes for ₱1,498 is ₱3 per gram, which is roughly half what the USDA Prime costs for a comparable weight of ribeye.
One more oddity worth knowing before ordering. The T-Bone at ₱3,988 is USDA Choice. The Ribeye at ₱3,498 is USDA Prime, which is the higher grade. Paying ₱490 more moves you down a grade and up in weight. That is a fair trade if two cuts in one and a bigger plate is the point, and a poor one if grade is what you are paying for.
What the menu gets generous about
Printed at the foot of the steak page is the line “each portion is good for 2-3 persons”. That holds for the T-Bone at 600g to 700g. It does not hold for the Chef’s Secret at 250g, which is one hungry person or two modest ones once the side arrives. With the Buy 1 Get 1 it genuinely feeds two, which is another reason the promo is doing the heavy lifting here.
Every price on the menu is also subject to a 10 percent service charge, so the ₱1,498 ribeye is ₱1,648 on the bill before anything else is ordered.
What else is worth ordering
The Surf & Turf at ₱1,298 is US tenderloin with grilled shrimp, and on raw weight it is the best value on the page at list price. It arrives with asparagus and chimichurri. If the Buy 1 Get 1 ever ends, this becomes the order.
The wild mushroom truffle soup is the sleeper. It comes in a footed bowl, thick, dark with mushroom, topped with croutons and an edible marigold. It is the one starter that actually improves the steak that follows rather than competing with it.
Pastas run ₱488 to ₱588. Squid and shrimp linguini, wild mushroom truffle, and spaghetti aglio e olio are ₱488 each, and the classic carbonara is ₱588 and made Roman style with guanciale and pecorino rather than cream. One pasta between two is the right amount alongside a shared steak.
Of the eleven sides, the mini garden salad is the one to take if the table is already heavy. Feta, chickpeas, radish, cucumber and chilli threads, dressed lightly, and it cuts through the butter.
The room
The dining room is doing something more interesting than the usual dark-wood-and-leather steakhouse routine. Walls are oxblood red, hung salon style with mismatched framed paintings, brass picture lamps and gilt mirrors. There is an upright piano by the front door with a stone lion on top of it. Chairs are green and cream Parisian rattan. Tables carry red scalloped placemats and small red shaded lamps.
It reads closer to a Paris bistro than a Cebu chophouse, and the effect is that the room photographs far better than the price point suggests. A sign outside states the intent plainly: Good Vibes. Good Steaks.
It fills. On a Tuesday just before 6 PM the room was full and the alfresco tables on the street were taken. There is a reservation line, and on a Friday or a Saturday it is worth using.
The grocery next door
This is the part that makes the address worth a detour even when the restaurant is full. Carne & Deli is a proper premium grocery, and the cases are labelled the way a butcher labels them: French Specialties, A5 Wagyu, Premium Steaks, Cold Cuts & Cheeses, Caviar.
Everything is priced per pack on the shelf edge, so the comparison against the restaurant menu is there to make in real time. There is a seafood chest freezer down the middle of the floor, a shelf of Japanese butter and compound butter blends, and a fridge of local craft beer at the end of the cold cuts run. Grocery hours run earlier than the restaurant, so it is possible to shop before the kitchen opens.
What a meal actually costs
Two people, sharing, with the Buy 1 Get 1 running:
- Chef’s Secret Ribeye, Buy 1 Get 1, two sauces and two sides: ₱1,498
- One wild mushroom truffle pasta: ₱488
- Service charge at 10 percent: ₱198.60
- Total: about ₱2,185, or roughly ₱1,092 each, before drinks
Without the promo, the same two people ordering one Chef’s Secret Ribeye and one pasta land at about ₱2,185 as well, but with half the beef. That is the entire argument for going while the Buy 1 Get 1 is live. Checked 9 August 2026. Promotions move, so confirm it when the table is booked.
The maths here rewards ordering down the menu rather than up it, which is the opposite of how a steakhouse is supposed to work.
How to go
- Address: The Steakhouse by Carne & Deli, annex to Carne & Deli Premium Grocery, J Block Building, Apitong Street, Cebu City. Beside Red House Shabu Shabu Apitong branch, near Parklane Hotel.
- Coordinates: 10.3202° N, 123.9023° E
- Steakhouse hours: 11 AM to 9 PM daily. Service has been confirmed on the ground as early as 11:43 AM and as late as 8:30 PM.
- Grocery hours: 9 AM to 8 PM daily.
- Reservations: +63 927 351 8557. Worth using from Thursday onward.
- Best time: Weekday lunch for a quiet room. After 6 PM it is full and loud.
- Order this: Chef’s Secret Ribeye with chimichurri, wild mushroom truffle soup, one pasta between two.
Getting there by jeepney, take any code running the Escario corridor and ask for Parklane, then walk into Apitong Street. Details on reading route codes are in the Cebu City jeepney guide.
Frequently asked questions
How much is steak at The Steakhouse by Carne & Deli?
Steak sets run ₱1,298 to ₱3,988. The Chef’s Secret Ribeye is ₱1,498 for 250g, Surf & Turf is ₱1,298, USDA Prime Ribeye is ₱3,498 for 500g to 600g, and the USDA Choice T-Bone is ₱3,988 for 600g to 700g. Pastas are ₱488 to ₱588. Add 10 percent service charge. Prices checked August 2026.
What is the best thing to order?
The Chef’s Secret Ribeye at ₱1,498. With the Buy 1 Get 1 promo it works out at about ₱3 per gram, roughly half the price per gram of the USDA Prime Ribeye. Take it with chimichurri.
Is one steak set enough for two people?
The menu says each portion is good for 2 to 3 persons. That is accurate for the 600g to 700g T-Bone and optimistic for the 250g Chef’s Secret, which suits one hungry diner or two with sides. With the Buy 1 Get 1 the Chef’s Secret comfortably feeds two.
Where exactly is The Steakhouse by Carne & Deli in Cebu?
J Block Building, Apitong Street, Cebu City, just off Escario, beside the Apitong branch of Red House Shabu Shabu and near Parklane Hotel. It is the annex to the Carne & Deli premium grocery at the same address.
Do you need a reservation?
Not for a weekday lunch. From Thursday evening onward the room fills, including the alfresco tables, so call +63 927 351 8557 ahead.
Can you buy raw steak there?
Yes. Carne & Deli next door sells A5 wagyu, premium and aged steaks, cold cuts, cheese and caviar by the pack, 9 AM to 8 PM daily.
Reported on the ground across six visits between 31 March and 9 August 2026. Prices, hours and the Buy 1 Get 1 promotion checked August 2026. Photography by Suroy.ph.
