Father’s Day lands on Sunday, June 21, which means somewhere in Austin right now a kid is rehearsing a card that starts with “Dad, you mean more to me than…” and will not finish that sentence out loud. We get it. Words are hard. Steak is easier.

This year Austin restaurants are not messing around. There are dry aged porterhouses the size of a hubcap, a brunch menu built around a pork belly benny that fans have been begging to come back, and an entire brewery dedicating Saturday to a corn trophy and a joke contest. Somewhere between those two extremes is the right move for your dad, or the dad you are trying to impress, or the dad you are pretending to be until he figures it out.

Here are the 12 best places in Austin actually doing something with the day, sorted from steak house to backyard barbecue energy.

Aris Mediterranean Steakhouse

1111 W 6th St, Austin | Aris runs its own butchery, which is the kind of detail dads love to bring up unprompted at dinner parties. On Sunday, June 21, from 5 to 10 p.m., the West Sixth steakhouse is staying open specifically for Father’s Day, with a lineup built for people who think “celebration” and “ribeye” should be the same sentence. The Bone In New York Strip, aged 21 days, runs $95. The 34 ounce Porterhouse is $160 and feeds a small committee. There is also a Prime Ribeye aged 14 days at $72, Japanese, Australian and American Wagyu, Chateaubriand Tartare with caviar, octopus, lamb chops, and a raw bar for anyone who wants to start the meal with oysters and end it with regret about how much they ordered.

When: Sunday, June 21, 5 to 10 p.m. Reservations: Recommended, available through Aris’s website

Truluck’s

3rd and Colorado Streets, and Arboretum at 10225 Research Blvd. | Truluck’s has two Austin locations and one very good excuse to visit both. The TRU ’92 prix fixe menu is back, three courses for $59, with choices like Little Gem Caesar Salad or Shrimp Cocktail to start, then a 6 ounce Filet Mignon, Petit Scallop and Shrimp Sauté or Pappardelle Bolognese, finished with Petit Key Lime Pie or a seasonal Citrusmisu. Father’s Day adds the restaurant’s Prime Rib Sunday feature, and there is a $50 Elijah Craig gift package for sale if Dad would rather drink his celebration than eat it. It comes with a half bottle of bourbon, a crystal mixing glass, a cocktail spoon and julep strainer, and a recipe book, so he can pretend he is a mixologist for the rest of the summer.

When: Available through Father’s Day weekend Reservations: Recommended, available through Truluck’s website

Aba

1011 S Congress Ave Bldg 2 Suite 180, Austin | Aba’s South Congress patio is the kind of setting that makes you forget you are eating mezze under a heat advisory. For Father’s Day, the Mediterranean restaurant is running a Grilled Ribeye plus a cocktail called the Patriarch Sour, made with rye whiskey, pomegranate molasses, calamansi and angostura bitters. Pair it with Whipped Feta, Muhammara and Crispy Potatoes, because dads deserve a starter course too. The specials run dinner only on Saturday, June 20, and Sunday, June 21. Walk ins are welcome, but this is also the kind of place where walking in on a holiday weekend is a gamble.

When: Dinner, Saturday June 20 and Sunday June 21 Reservations: Encouraged, available via OpenTable

Ēma

3120 Palm Way Suite 170, Austin | Aba’s sister restaurant at the Domain is doing its own Father’s Day spread, and the headliner is a Filet Mignon with potato galette and cipollini onion cream sauce. There is also a cocktail called the Padre-rita, built on reposado tequila, yuzu juice, blackberry and agave, which sounds like it was named by someone who really understands the assignment. Round it out with Sweet Corn Hummus, Blistered Green Beans and a Spicy Brisket Kefta Kebab, and eat it all on the patio, which is the whole point of going to Ēma in the first place. Specials run lunch and dinner on Sunday, June 21 only.

When: Lunch and dinner, Sunday, June 21 Reservations: Encouraged, available via OpenTable

Ranch 616

616 Nueces St, Austin | Ranch 616 has been serving South Texas ice house food downtown since 1999, and on Father’s Day it is doing the simplest math in this entire list: order any steak entree, get the restaurant’s signature Ranch Water for five dollars. That covers brunch dishes like the Steak Huevos Rancheros and dinner options like the Chicken Fried Steak. The deal runs all day on Sunday, June 21, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., on a patio that has hosted more bachelorette parties than anyone can count, but somehow still feels like a neighborhood spot.

When: Sunday, June 21, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Reservations: Walk ins welcome, brunch reservations available online

Phil’s Icehouse

5620 Burnet Rd, 2901 S Lamar Blvd, and 13265 US Hwy 183 N | AustinPhil’s Icehouse is treating Father’s Day like a long weekend instead of a single Sunday, and that is the most sensible decision on this entire list. With the purchase of any Kid’s Meal, Dad eats free at all three Austin locations on both June 21 and June 22. Not every family does Father’s Day on the actual day, thanks to custody schedules, travel or a softball tournament that will not move for sentiment, so Phil’s built in a little flexibility. The food is straightforward burgers and fries, the patios have playgrounds, and Amy’s Ice Creams is conveniently next door at two of the three locations in case dessert diplomacy is required.

When: Sunday, June 21 and Monday, June 22 Reservations: Not needed

Mexican Sugar

The Domain, Austin | Out at the Domain, Mexican Sugar is running a featured dish through the entire weekend called El Plato Del Jefe, which translates roughly to “the boss’s plate” and does not undersell itself. It is an 8 ounce beef tenderloin with house made steak seasoning, a roasted poblano stuffed with quesadilla cheese and shrimp, ranchero salsa and chimichurri. It is available all day, Friday June 19 through Sunday June 21, which gives you three separate chances to take Dad if the first one does not go well.

When: June 19 through June 21, all day Reservations: Available at mexicansugarcocina.com

Whiskey Cake

The Domain, Austin | Whiskey Cake’s Father’s Day move leans smoky. The Smoked Hot Honey Ribs, bacon cured baby back ribs with dill potato salad and house pickles, run $36 for the weekend. On the drink side there is a Cigar Blend Old Fashioned made with cacao infused Wild Turkey 101, toasted peppercorn syrup and Turkish tobacco bitters, served over a chunk of Whiskey Cake’s signature ice. While supplies last, there is also a Wild Turkey Old Fashioned Kit to take home, which includes the bottle, wood chips, a butane torch and a smoker top, for dads who consider cocktail making a competitive sport. June 19 through June 21, all day Reservations: Available at whiskeycake.com.

Haywire

11501 Rock Rose Ave. The Domain | Haywire’s Father’s Day plan is built around a Sunday brunch that leans hard into Hill Country comfort food. Expect Blueberry Biscuits, Wagyu Pastrami Hash and Barbacoa Chilaquiles, served from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in a restaurant big enough to host the whole extended family without anyone having to share a chair. This is the spot for dads who want a meal that feels like an event, with private dining rooms on hand if your family celebration tends to run loud. Reservations: Available at haywirerestaurant.com

When: Sunday, June 21, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sixty Vines

Sixty Vines is doing Father’s Day with a tableside centerpiece: an Old Fashioned for Two built with Old Forester Bourbon, angostura bitters, fresh orange, peppercorn, rosemary and thyme. Pair it with the Steak Frites or the Pork Chop, both positioned as the weekend’s Father’s Day matches, and let the server do the pouring. The whole thing runs Friday through Sunday, so there is no need to fight the Sunday dinner rush if Saturday works better for your crew. Reservations: Available at sixtyvines.com

When: June 19 through June 21, all day

Snooze, an A.M. Eatery

1700 S Lamar Blvd | Snooze is bringing back the Habanero Pork Belly Benny for Father’s Day weekend, a dish that has apparently built up enough of a following to count as a comeback. It is joined by a Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup made with the same habanero pork belly, a Breakfast Burger topped with bacon and a sunny side up egg, and a bacon garnished Bloody Mary for anyone who considers brunch a contact sport. Dine in through June 30 and you can also enter a sweepstakes for a Chicago getaway, though we suspect most people are just there for the pork belly.

The Brewtorium

6015 Dillard Cir, Austin | If your dad measures love in groan worthy puns, this is the one. The Brewtorium is hosting its 8th Annual Dad Jokes Competition on Saturday, June 20, with a Yacht Rock theme that invites deck shoes, captain’s hats and tropical prints. Doors open at 11 a.m. with themed food and craft beer, DJ Gross Y’all spins a Yacht Rock set at 1 p.m., and the joke competition kicks off at 2 p.m. Contestants get two minutes to make a crowd laugh, with a Corn Trophy and a Brewtorium gift certificate on the line. The event also marks the release of Dad Jokes Mexican Lager, on draft and in four packs to go. This is not subtle. It is also exactly what Father’s Day should feel like. Reservations: RSVP via Eventbrite, sign up to compete in advance.

When: Saturday, June 20, doors at 11 a.m., competition at 2 p.m.

Father’s Day only comes once a year, so pick your lane. Go big at a steakhouse, go loud at a brewery, or just let Dad eat free at a burger joint and call it a win. Whatever you choose, make the reservation now. Austin does not wait around for last minute planners, and neither does a 34 ounce porterhouse.