Bern's Steak House

It is a sad place to be sitting in, shabby decor, tired and stained red wallpaper, plastic miniature busts that were either purchased at Liberace?s estate sale or reclaimed from Ceasar?s Palace when they renovated the washrooms in 1971, with dark lighting to hide the decay and attitude to match. While most world-class restaurants have used the gifts of the Internet to see what world-class looks like, Bern?s has used it to create a larger than life web-facade. Curiously, among the many web-pages touting it, there are no pictures of the place itself, not a one. Here's why - Apart from a film crew scouting locations for a low-budget direct to television yawner about a depressed alcoholic gambler, it has no appeal inside or out.\r I went with a group of 16 we're not rich, just professionals of decent means able to spring for a top meal as part of the trip. Lured in by the Internet presence, we planned a visit to Bern?s. Note to Bern?s #1 - World-class dining is not about waiting on a reservation you?ve already paid for. It is, a sad predictable strategy for squeezing groups out of an extra couple hundred ?while you wait? dollars in the bar. Note to Bern?s #2 ? stop with the ""Bern's experience"" rap. It?s extremely tired and insincere We had a few easy questions that any world-class wait staff could answer in their sleep. Not these guys. As an example ? ?can I get pasta with my entree?? to which the waiter reply was ?we do not have any pasta?. (Note to waiter ? Page 7 under ?Pastas and Grains? is a good place to start, and on our evening, Mushroom Ragout was a special). World-class expectation vanishing quickly? Note to Bern?s #3 ? Every world-class restaurant serves bread, whether with compliments or on the menu. At world class prices, if they don?t have it, they?ll get it. Bringing Melba toast to the table was insulting and idiotic in no particular order. don't go here, save your money, Elvis has not left the building. Shameful stuff more

Highly recommend the delmonico with crab meat. $100 for wife and I and that was without drinks but well worth it. Awesome experience. Will take 3 hours so go early and go hungry. more

My husband and I traveled to Tampa to celebrate our 5th Anniversary and Bern's Steakhouse was recommended to me by a friend. It was absolutely the BEST dining experience we have ever had. The wine was wonderful as was our steaks. Our waiter was also the best I have ever had! With out a doubt, my husband and I will be going back there! more

Early this week I had a family reunion. I had guest in from France, Italy, and some from Russia. My family tends to be a bit picky about thier meals and since this happens only once a year (and this year its in my town) I recommended Bern's Steakhouse. I have been a guest for over 10 years but the experience I had this year surpasses the rest. \r My evening started with drinks in at the bar, as usual the service was wonderful with Jean Ives. Most wonderful personality. Followed by dinner in the Bronze Room. Jesse was our server and here is where my experience changed from wonderful to spectacular. If you ever get the chance to dine at Bern's Steakhouse, I recommend that you request to be seated with Jesse. My family and I had the most pleasing experience with him. Very personable person. He had great knowledge of wine, an expansive taste bud, as to say there was not a meal that he could not match a wine perfectly to. Our table did not repeat an entree between each other. Everyone ordered something different and a different wine, and in the end we were all pleased. His personality only finished up our experience, in short words he made it worth the while and wait. We were so pleased we passed up the experience of the dessert room to continue dining with him as he can not serve upstairs. Pros: Service and Meal Cons: Close seating more

The desserts here are amazing and there are so many to choose from. The atmosphere is amazing. Perfect for a romantic evening. Would recommend to everyone Pros: private dining for all tables, atmosphere more

I absolutely loved every minute of it. This is not just a good place to eat, but is an overall amazing dining experience. The service was amazing. We had more than one server for our table. We were never out of anything. Our server was also very knowlegable of the menu and the restaurant in general. Our dinner and desert along with tour took us about 4 hours for 2 people. This is the perfect romantic date night. The food was the best steak I have ever had. The deserts were delicious and somany to choose from. You could tell there was a passion for good quality food here. I now live in FL a couple hours from Bern's and am willing to make the drive for special dinners! I would and have recommended this restaurant to everyone. Just make sure you do not wear jeans even if they are dressy or you will be sitting in the bar area (which was still a great experience). This place is one of a kind worth every penny!! Pros: atmosphere, quality of food, service more

I went to Bern's expecting a pleasant dining experience. I was very disappointed to find that the steak which I ordered as rare to medium rare arrived to me well done. Furthermore, I had a female waitress that took the wine orders for me and my girlfriend, and I didn't see her again until both of us had finished our glasses of wine for approximately 20 minutes. I couldn't get out of there fast enough as I've had a better dining experience at Taco Bell. I will never recommend this restaurant to anyone as the service and food was entirely well below my standards. I have had much better experiences at Charlie's or Ruth Chris, and I will continue to spend lots of money at those particular places. more

Was staying in Tampa a few extra days after a wedding and decided we were in the mood for a good steak. Being from large Metropolitan areas we decided to consult the internet seeing large chain names we were accustomed to and enjoyed, we stumbled across a name we didn't know...Bern's. Deciding to peruse the reviews online the, the mention of the dessert room peaked my interest and I insisted with 40+ desserts, it was a must try. I can Only say WOW...what an experience! We were seated in a luxuriously decadent room in dark wood and red velvet and handed an overwhelming menu that went on and on for 19 pages. Save this, comes our server extraordinaire...Ash. He seamlessly led us through ordering an amazing special chateaubriande which must be tasted to be believed! He explained the aging process and how the beef was prepared. He also knew the most innate details about EVERYTHING in the restaurant and serving process, explaining the very complex process about becoming a server there, to us. Coming from a service background I found it educational and informative. He included small tidbits of his own life, which i found a nice personal touch. Undoubtedly, I would become a regular customer, were i in the area more often. We were escorted through the kitchen and wine room on a tour and pictures were taken, stories abounded there as well. I could go on and on about my wonderful experience, even the dessert room, which was exceptional, but I feel I must leave something for you to discover on your own...so on this recommendation I would say Bern's is a MUST and if you're looking for a server w/a personality Ash is worth requesting. Enjoy it...We did!!! Pros: food, service, knowledge..... Cons: there aren't more restaurants like this.... more

As a Tampa resident, I have dined at all the major steakhouses and while I have had excellent steak at many of them none have the value that comes with eating at Bern's. I usually order the filet, either rare or medium rare depending my mood, and that comes with soup, salad, fresh veggies, onion rings, and a baked potato all for 29.99$. That is a ridiculous bargain for such fine dining and is what keep me going back 4-5 times a year. Not to mention the succulent quality of the filets I've recieved there.The wine list is monumental and is fun to explore and the dessert room is a uniquely intimate experience which helps compensate for the somwhat cafeteria seating downstairs (although at Charlie's I feel like I'm on my neighbors lap). The times we have ordered extra sides we have been blown away from their sweet potatos to their white truffle macaroni and cheese. Their staff is as close to perfection as can be found going so far as to strain the onions from my husbands soup when he tried to decline the french onion offering. For those that money is no object, there might be a better option, but for an amazing experience where you receive more than just a steak on your plate, Bern's is the best possible place. Oh..and add a caviar appetizer, request their 10,000$ bottle of wine and even those who have money to throw around can feel satisfied their pocket book is sufficiently depleted. Pros: Great Steak, Great Service, Great Value, Cons: Can't fit large groups over 12 more

I have heard from many people how great this place was. I ordered the delmonico steak which was completely TASTELESS, save for the few pieces of charred fat left on the ends. The service was mediocre and the atmosphere made me feel like I was in a New Orleans whorehouse. Honestly, I believe that one could get a better steak at Outback. Pros: Service was decent; dessert room nice Cons: Food is overrated more

Ok-I travel around the country, and when I tell people I live in Tampa and we speak restaurants they ask about Berns. It has a national name. I was just there , I usually go 5 times a year, and it was once again outstanding. The steaks were unbelievable. The value of ther other dishes excellent. I did notice the crock of onion soup was smaller, not a crock this time. The salad was great, lettuce crispy cool, I had 4 different dressings on the side all were tasty each with a different flavor. I had the bone in delmonico, and it was the best one I have had in my last several visits. My girlfirend had the porterhouse and it was wonderful as well.\r The service was fantatsic. DAVOR, is a specialist. If you can get him I strongly recommend it. He has been there for years and knows every possible answer for every question, including wine.\r This leads me to my response of some of the comments on this page. If you think you can get a better steak at Outback, then I suggest you go there. Simple as that. Please dont go back to Berns. If you want to fill up on bread, bloomin onion and steaks fatty and unfilling please go there. Ruth Chris is a fine substitute but I have found little ability to request changes, and you pay for large dishes of veggies etc that you may not need. Afterall, I go for the steaks. I dont want to be overwhelmed with the side dishes.\r Shulas had its hey day, and now it is fairly common, similar to Charleys. Both staffed by college kidsworking their way thru school and waiters in between jobs. (Remember the arrests at Charleys in tampa several months ago--in a credit card scheme--my point exactly.)\r Oh and regarding the fired/resigned Chef. You go to Berns for Steaks- I dont believe they can be ruined by a new Chef. I am not worried.\r John (Jack) Frischer Pros: unbelievable steaks. Sides included. Great dessert room Cons: gets better with more visits. need to learn how to order. more

TODAY THE GREAT JEANNIE PIEROLA HAS BEEN FIRED!!!!!!!!!! DETAILS TO COME !!! WHAT A GREAT EXECUTIVE CHOICE !!!! HAIL TO THE OWNER >> more

WE HAD A COMPANY DINNER ABOUT 3 WEEKS AGO AND THE FOOD WAS OUTSTANDING!!! THE ONLY THING BETTER THAN MY STEAK WAS MY SERVER, JESSE. EXTREMELY PROFICIENT IN THE ART OF SERVICE, VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE IN FOOD AND WINE... HE HAD MADE A (very risky) RECOMMENDATION TO MY SISTER, WHO WORSHIPS YOUR ONION SOUP. HE ADVISED HER TO TRY THE LOBSTER BISQUE AS A NEW ALTERNATIVE. MY SISTER SAID ""THIS BETTER BE GOOD"" , ALL HE DID WAS SMILE AND HUMBLY REPLY ""IT WILL BE"". MY SISTER NOW WORSHIPS YOUR LOBSTER BISQUE..AFTER DINNER WE HAD A GREAT TOUR (also given by Jesse) HE INFORMED US OF ALL THE NEW ADDITIONS TO YOUR KITCHEN AND RESTAURANT. HE SPOKE EXTREMELY HIGHLY OF THE HEAD CHEF, SOUS CHEFS AND KITCHEN STAFF ""THEY, ARE BERNS STEAK HOUSE"" HE SAID.. \r more

Bern's used to be the best steakhouse in Tampa. But, in recent years, with the addition of so many other good restaurants in Tampa, it has slipped a little. The ambiance is still great and the dessert room is unmatched, but they need to work on serving quality steak again. Pros: ambience, dessert Cons: steak, service more

Berns has a long, well earned, much respected, reputation throughout the Tampa Bay area as being the ""best of the best"" of all steakhouses in town. The food is fantastic. The service is unmatched anywhere and the upstairs dessert room is the perfect ending to the best meal you may ever have here or anywhere else! Everyone should eat at Berns, at least one time, in order to fully appreciate the experience. You will be glad you did! Pros: Great Food and Excellent Service Cons: Expensive but Well Worth the Money more

Simply outstanding. You can tell from the line up of cars in the valet (Ferraris, Bentleys, Aston Martins)... more

Simply outstanding. You can tell from the line up of cars in the valet (Ferraris, Bentleys, Aston Martins) that the place was going to be top notc... more

I've been to Berns a couple of times all of which my family visited just for dessert. We've never actually eaten dinner there, just dessert and their dessert is fabulous. They have very unique and delicious dessert and I'm highly recommending it. Pros: Dessert and Service Cons: None that I've experienced more

As my favorite restaurant, Bern's serves a vast array of food. Asian cuisine, such as tuna tartare and... more

We had heard about Bern's from friends who really loved it. It turns out they were right! We celebrated my husbands birthday and it was a wonderful celebration. Our waiter, Steve, was always there when we needed him and was watchful without hovering. After the meal we tried the dessert room upstairs. The coffee in both places was great, the steaks very tender, and the personality of the waiter was perfect. We plan on going back on my birthday this year. Expensive? Yes! But worth every penny! Pros: A great place to celebrate any occasion Cons: Easy to eat too much. Maybe dessert at a later date next time. more