Worth the $$$
Great food, great service. 1st timers must take the tour of the kitchen and wine cellar and MUST go to the dessert room.    [18 Apr 2001 18:54:09]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Fillet

     ­rich   

Awesome Steakhouse!!
I went to Bern's Steakhouse for my birthday and it was everything you may have heard and more!

I am used to great steakhouses up in New York so I can tell this is the place in Tampa Bay. The kitchen is probably bigger than all the dining rooms combined. There is a separate station for each piece of the meals.

This place oozes money throughout. I don't see how they make a profit with so many employees everywhere and guests that are welcome for at least 3 hours apiece.

A class act all the way!    [17 May 2003 02:59:51]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Get a huge slice of Chateubriand!

     ­Kevin Gill   KevinsBenz at hotmail dot com

The fish tanks amazed me!
Kevin Gill and Rich called it right.

Jerry Ristau of Ford Hall Co. and I have eaten at fine places all over the US. We both agree that our evening spent at Bern's was, bar none, the most unique of our dining experiences!    [07 Jan 2004 15:15:17]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Steak

     ­Lynnius Maximus, Cincinnati, OH   

A wonderful dining experience for two, and well under $200.
This place is incredible! When my partner and I first walked in I was a bit hesitant. It's all gaudy red with Victorian paintings and throne-like waiting chairs. But she had been there before and re-assured me the food was good. And good it was!

Holy crap! This is totally worth the bill. We both got the Chateaubriand and it could very well be the best steak I've eaten. I also had the Escargot and it was delicious, apparently a new recipe because the chef was not happy with the previous versions. The wine selection is tremendous, they had a Dominus by the glass (only the 2000, but still)! I got it and wasn't disappointed.

To save some money we did wine by the glass instead of the bottle, but the prices for bottles didn't seem terribly unreasonable. Nevertheless, I stuck to the one Dominus and supplemented my alcohol thirst with 2 Boddingtons Pub drafts.

The entree comes with the French onion soup, a salad, a baked potato, and fresh vegetables (they grow most of their vegetables right at the store). This meal was awesome. All of it. Hands down. I even loved the French onion soup, and I don't like French onion soups all that much. The carrots, greens, and baked potato (opened before your eyes) were all mouth-watering. The staff is there to serve you, and the whole experience was quite pleasant.

The only thing was that our dinner took over three hours. It was enjoyable, but we had originally thought about going out after Bern's and realized we were too tired after the 4 hour meal. They definitely take their time with you, not trying to heard you out the door like cattle. Just be sure that if you are starving to order an appetizer the first time the server comes around.

Then after the entree you pay for the dinner and when everything is digested, you can make arrangements to go to the dessert "room". The server makes your reservation for you and points you up the stairs. You sit in a private booth and enjoy elegant offerings. My partner and I had two different chocolate cakes that were absolutely delicious (I tasted hers but can't remember what exactly it was). My coffee was so fresh I could hear the beans screaming in the kitchen. And my sherry was just as expected. We were sitting in the Piano room and had a song played for us (which was good because it got our minds off the annoying PDA couple in another booth "gettin it on" right there).

I whole-heartedly recommend this place. We'll be back most definitely. We stuffed ourselves and the only thing we could say on the drive back home was "Oh that was so good!" repeatedly.    [21 Mar 2005 19:43:18]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Chateaubriand or Filet Mignon

     ­paul normal, Tampa