Bern's Steakhouse is no ordinary chophouse. They focus as much on the quality and taste of the food as they do as the quality of your dining experience. Every guest is treated as a special guest with the courteous attentiveness. With their prime dry aged steaks, fresh seafood, gourmet sides, epic wine list, and an entire room dedicated to dessert, one thing is certain; eating at Bern's Steakhouse is unforgettable.
The Wait Staff
The service at Bern's Steakhouse is like no where else in the world. EVERYONE is made to feel special. Your waiter will be informed, helpful, and attentive to all of your needs. This is because of years of intensive training each wait staff has to complete before they can greet you at your table.
Their training begins working on the restaurant's nearby organic farm. Next, they make their way into the kitchen where they will be doing everything and anything except actually cooking the steak. From there, if they have done a noticeably well job, they are given the opportunity for a red tie to begin waiting on tables on a "trial basis." If they have met expectations, the server is then put through an extensive 2-3 hour comprehensive interview. If the server passes the interview, the waiter is given a silver tie and can fully wait on tables. A gold tie indicates the server captain who overseas all of the trainees.
For this reason, every waiter at Bern's Steakhouse knows EVERYTHING about Bern's from the menu, food, wines, and cocktails. Their attentiveness and suggestions make every patron's night exceptional. While the food is indulgently DELECTABLE, it is the care you receive that will make you want to come back over and over.
The Food- They have so much more than steak!
When I went to Bern's Steakhouse, I ordered the giant 16 oz Delmonico steak. I was like, "Go BIG or Go HOME!" Right?!? I did have my husband to share in eating it. I just love that richness and juiciness of its extra fat.(Calories smh....) My steak was FANTASTIC and it was no wonder. Bern's Steakhouse uses USDA Prime Beef that has been dry aged 5-8 weeks. After you place your steak order, your steak is trimmed and cut to the ordered size, then cooked to your desired temperature. The steak on your plate will be presented to you cooked PERFECT!
All entrees come with their famous French Onion soup, crispy onion rings, salad, vegetable of the day, and a loaded baked potato. Salad dressings are homemade. You can upgrade to other salads to include a Caesar salad made table side. I heard the Caesar was good, but the house salad was great! They even peel off skin of your tomatoes for your salad. (Who else does that? Ahh... small details make everything so perfect!) You pick your toppings for your bake potato. Your waiter will prepare the baked potato table side making sure you have the exact amount of each topping that you desire.
Bern's Steakhouse French Onion Soup-AMAZING!
But what really steals the show is that FRENCH ONION SOUP!! I was told the French onion soup is made of approximately 100 ingredients. I don't know what those 100 ingredients are and I honestly don't care. What I do know is that French onion soup makes you want to sing it is so good. I promise, I was saying, "OH. MY. GOSH." with every bite. It was so ridiculously incredible!
Although it is a steakhouse, Bern's has so much more than steaks on that GIGANTIC menu! Here are a few things you will find on the menu. (It is an entire book. You would be here all day if I listed everything.)
- Appetizers such as: oysters on the half shell, shrimp cocktail, black truffle steak tartare, bbq short rib potato skin, house made potato chips, foie gras, and caviar
- Soups and Salad such as: Lobster bisque, vichyssoise, tomato salad, Cobb salad, spinach salad, caprese salad, and wedge salad
- Vegetables and Sides such as: Truffled fried potatoes, hash browns, garlic chive mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, wild mushroom risotto, white truffle macaroni and cheese, cornmeal fried mushrooms, creamed spinach, grilled vegetables, black truffle creamed corn (The creamed corn is AMAZING! You can taste the truffles and it compliments the creamed corn brilliantly!)
- Entrees such as: Beef, lamb, veal, poultry, fish, seafood, and vegetarian options
Bern's Steakhouse Dessert Room
I know it seems next to impossible to save room for dessert after they load you with such a senstaional meal.... But SAVE ROOM FOR DESSERT! I promise. You don't want to miss out on dessert!
Bern's Steakhouse has a seperate room located upstairs dedicated to desserts, dessert wines, dessert cocktails, and coffees. Guests are welcomed into private phone booth style seating areas and handed a dessert menu (really book) that is about 40 pages!! All of the desserts are homemade. You can choose from 40 desserts or 14 ice creams, all of which are special, beautiful, and extraordinary to taste.
We chose the Cappuccino, and two of the favored classics, the Banana Cheese Pie and the Macadamia Nut Sundae. The cappuccino was made from grounds that were roasted in Kahlúa and cocoa for 10 weeks in their 100 year old vintage coffee makers. It was topped with a scoop of their homemade ice cream. The cappuccino was creamy, rich and decadent. The other two desserts were so good, Willie Wonka would have serious competition. Our bellies were so full, it actually hurt to finish eating. But the desserts were so incredible, we left no bites on the plate behind!
A few additional dessert highlights from the menu are: (Again, the menu is so huge, I could not name them all!)
- Bern's Baked Alaska
- S'mores Cheesecake
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle
- Espresso Brownie
- Strawberry Key Lime Tart
- Crème Brûlée
- Banana Bread Bread Pudding
- Banana Split
- Bananas Foster
- They also offer a variety of gluten free and sugar free desserts.
Bern's Steakhouse Wine Cellar
Bern's Steakhouse has the largest wine cellar in a restaurant in the country. They hold approximately 100,000 bottles at the restaurant and approximately 500,000 bottles at their warehouse! Every bottle was selected and chosen for taste and quality. They have something for everyone, from dry to sweet, and from white to red. Every wine can be ordered by the bottle or customers can choose from their 200 wines by the glass selection. Cost of bottles can run from the high $20's to a whopping $42,000 bottle. (Yes, you did read that right! $42,000!!) Their wine list is a wine collector's dream.
Make your reservations!
Reservations for dinner are a must!! You will not be able to just walk in and eat. Reservations get booked up fast, so I recommend booking weeks in advance, possibly months if you are trying to do a weekend night. They do not take reservations for the dessert room. The dessert room will have a wait, but it is well worth it. If you are eating dinner, the waiter will work you in as you eat dinner.
If you can, allow time in your dinner schedule for a complimentary tour of the behind the scenes in the kitchen and wine cellar. It is incredibly fascinating and well worth it.
I believe Bern's Steakhouse is definitely bucket-list worthy. I would rate it 5 Stars all the way! If you are traveling to Tampa, definitely add it to your must-do list. You won't regret it, I promise!!
Have you visited Bern's Steakhouse before? If so, what was your favorite thing that you ordered? What should I order on my next visit? The choices were so many, and I had so little time. I definitely will be back to try some of those other items on the menu!
