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Bern's Steak House

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1208 S Howard Ave (at West Marjory Avenue)
Tampa, FL 33606

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(813) 251-2421
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Reviews
( 116 )
( 24 )
( 5 )
( 19 )
( 16 )

Best

I Absolutely love this place! Great Desserts , Great Wine selections and very romantic setting! Great Date night with the hubby!

Worst

Used to be great, now, not so great...existing on its old reputation and, everyone ""in the area"" knows it. Only tourists or pseudo-affectionatos go there nowadays.

BEST EVER STEAKHOUSE 3/7/2004

Travel & Leisure magazine called Bern's ""the best steakhouse in the world."" And for good reason! Don't miss the exquisite dessert room upstairs, which requires separate reservations. And reserve early. This place is popular -- my favorite stop in Tampa. Don't let the bunker-like exterior fool you-- this place is great. -- Ed S. more
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steak 3/7/2004

The service was awful and the steak mediocre at best. Maybe I just had unlucky timing. We sat in the desert booth after dinner for 30 mins with no service. We left disappointed. more
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Glorified Steakhouse 1/31/2004

Service started well until tables filled and then our server disappeared! Food was adequate and surroundings were loud, noisy, and not very romantic. If you want a good steak, many other places are around with nicer atmosphere. Pros: Good Steak Cons: , Expensive, Below Par Food more
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Berns 1/21/2004

great restuarant - not very romantic - great for large groups - great service - don't forget the dessert room more
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Bern's for great all round quality 12/18/2003

By far my favorite. Great pains go into making each meal perfect. Pros: Quality, Staff, Service Cons: Location more
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The Best Steak $ Dinning in Tampa!! 11/26/2003

If you are in Tampa, this restaurant is A MUST for you! Pros: Food, Sevice, Good Parking- Free! Cons: Reservation- a must more
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From a New Yorker 10/24/2003

This restaurant seems almost out of place in a beach town like Tampa and better suited to a New York or better yet, Chicago town. Service is the selling point. Be sure to take the kitchen tour to view the absolutely unequalled wine collection. Food is great. Prepare to sit with loyalists of the food. Great food. I'll be back Pros: Service, Freshness, Romantic Cons: Location more
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Outstanding service 8/26/2003

In all, a very good experience. The service, with minor quibbles, was perfect and unhurried; the waiter was knowledgeable and capable. Our appetizers (fresh oysters and carpaccio) were great, as were the soups (vichyssoise and onion), salads (highly recommend the vanilla bean salad dressing!), and various amuse gueules. We split a 2"" porterhouse which was perfectly cooked; each part of the steak had its own varied flavors. Have the garlic butter brought on the side; it disguises the flavor of a great steak. As good as the steak was, it's still second to Peter Luger's in Brooklyn, though it's apples and oranges to some degree. The dessert room was interesting and different; the dessert wines were great but the dessert we tried were just average. Overall definitely a dining experience not to be missed. My only major complaint is with the 12% added gratuity-inexcusable at a restaurant with these aspirations. Pros: wine list, perfectly aged steak, great service Cons: 12% gratuity added, oyster forks?, crumb the table! more
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Berns is Outstanding 8/24/2003

I enjoy the entire experience at Berns. It's always special to go there. It's more than just going to dinner. more
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Bern's Has Gone Downhill 8/24/2003

Yes, Bern's USED to be one of the premier steakhouses in Tampa Bay. However, the big change is the quality of the food. If you care more about the ambience and the service, then you'll be okay. However, my last visit to Bern's I had the Dorado (Mahi Mahi), which was supposed to be still swimming just before they cooked it. I've had Mahi Mahi that I cooked myself just a few hours after catching it in Costa Rica, and it was incredible; Bern's Dorado tasted more like frozen fish from Winn Dixie, kind of gritty and tough. The steak was also disappointing; it lacked that wonderfully tender and delicately balanced flavor of the Bern's of old. The whole dinner made me wonder why anyone would want to spend 80-100 dollars at this steakhouse. Skip the dining room. Instead go straight upstairs to the dessert room. It's still great. more
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Over-tipping at Bern's Steak House 8/24/2003

Tourist Trap - Yes Food and Service is Good - But final value for the price is seriously questionable! Besides, in the darkness of the dining room, be aware of their ""gratuity-policy"", avoid ""over-tipping""!! more
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Immaculate kitchen 8/23/2003

We took the grand tour of the wine cellar and the kitchen...I have been in the family restaurant business and the kitchen was spotless and organized to provide the freshest food and the best service. Huge fish tanks and steaks cut to order put a real emphasis on fresh. Desserts were wonderful! Service was done with a florish. Pros: Excellent food, Great service, Wine selection Cons: Crowded more
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Overrated Tourist Trap 7/2/2003

I have been to Bern's on a number of occasions, and I have never been impressed with anything but the dessert room. The meat is flavorless and the vegetables are boring and overcooked. My husband makes a much better steak! The restaurant itself looks like a cavernous brothel. Eat somewhere else and come to Berns for dessert!! Pros: dessert room, wine cellar tour Cons: tacky decor, mediocre food, expensive more
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no way the best 5/15/2003

the steaks are very good, however this old style restaurant is right from the 50's. the service is not the best, rather its slow and the waiter seemed almost bored that he had to work our table of four. for the prices, the low quality service there are far too many better places that can easily equal the steaks. try schulas for high end high price great service, or ruth christ. but aviod this place unless you are from out of town and have to say you ate there. seemed that almost 2/3 of the diners were from out of state. Pros: steaks Cons: slow service, old run down more
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arnjjn 5/15/2003

10 to 15 years ago Bern's was the only place to get a good steak in Tampa, but not anymore,they've gone downhill. Now,I rate them in the top 5 in Tampa but not number 1! Pros: atmosphere Cons: florida beef more
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absolutely wonderful 5/15/2003

absolutely outstanding service, food, and wine list! excellent desserts as well, recommend to any and everyone!!!! more
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Change of Heart! 4/23/2003

A 5 year patron of Berns, I am quite concerned with the service lately. It seems like things have gone ""down hill"" since the death of Mr. Berns. It took my guests and I 9 minutes to get a drink at the bar. We felt Ignored. The service staff did not act like they wanted to be there. The steak was good but Ive had better at CHARLIES STEAK HOUSE. It is my FAVORITE! Pros: great decor Cons: price, do not take kids, service not up to par more
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A FAVORITE 2/25/2003

We're regulars at Bern's and been rarely disappointed. The food and service has always been tremendous (okay the onion soup could be better) But, I've been to some of the better steakhouses; Mortons of Chicago, Pete Lugers in New York, Ruth's Chris, Smith & Wollensky etc, to name a few. The total experience at Bern;service, wine and caviar to dessert Bern's is the among the very best. Granted, the place looks like a bordelo, but that is part of the unique charm! Pros: Steak, Dessert, Wine more
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becareful 2/12/2003

Feb 10, 2003. The wine list is truly impressive the food was mediocre at best. The onion soup is OK; the salad unimpressive; the oyster presentation was very nice. The Delmonico steak was awful. It was unlike any Delmonico (ribeye) I have seen. It looked like a strip steak and was tough! The waiter ""confirmed"" it was a Delmonico ;). Pros: good service, interesting ambience Cons: very poor steak, other food mediocre more
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my steak wasn't bernt 2/4/2003

A place I would visit over and over if I lived in Tampa. A definate place to go when visiting Tampa. Food and service a 10. Pros: excellent food, ample portions Cons: difficult location, hard to find, lobby to small more
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Menu for Bern's Steak House


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Editorial

  • The Scene
    Luminaries from out of town automatically visit Bern's when they arrive in the Tampa Bay area. Limos jam the homely front parking lot and well-dressed diners crowd the foyer. For decades, the steakhouse has maintained its reputation for almost fanatically perfect food and service.

    The Food
    Start with one of the 24 varieties of caviar. Move onto vichysoisse, a creamy soup served chilled, accompanied by garlic toast and crackling homemade potato chips. The chateaubriand is delectable. Choose anything from a petite, seven-ouncer all the way to a belly-busting 48-ounce monster. It arrives sizzling, crisp on the outside, juicy and tender inside, crowned with garlic butter and ringed with bright vegetables. Save room for the chocolate, chocolate, chocolate cake or the bananas foster for dessert.

  • 3/5/2006 Provided by Citysearch
Additional information
  • Hours: Daily 5pm-11pm
  • Payments: American Express, Discover, Diner's Club, Visa, Master Card, Cash
  • Neighborhoods: Southwest, Historic Hyde Park North
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