Last night at Bern's Steakhouse (Tampa: middle-class, lobster, teenager)

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by MortonR

This makes me feel a lot better about never having been to Bern's. Not that I was planning to go, but...

The "Karen" comments are a *bit* over the top, folks. Unclutch your pearls and chill out. Really. Also, there's a word known as "discretion". In polite society, some things just aren't addressed in detail. This would be an example of it.

RM

Doesn't look like it's the other posters that are clutching their pearls..... OMG....a BUUUUUUUUGGGGGG....

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Nope, never. Gramercy Tavern, Craft, Eleven Madison Park, Buddakan, Blue Hill, Morimoto, Inn at Little Washington plus many more.

I worked many years in the restaurant industry, much of it in fine dining and can assure you **** happens. Are you perfect in your job description, minus any mistakes? I sincerely doubt it.

So why the high horse? You worry about the other diners' privacy yet you have zero qualms about sullying the pretty consistent five-star reputation of Bern's and its entire professional hard-working staff.

Still can't figure out how identifying the species of bug would identify the diners....

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by FL_Expert

We’ve been over this before Sinatras… Can you say something nice about another restaurant in Tampa to balance out all the negativity in this thread?

I don't think the OP can say anything nice about anything in or related to the Sunshine State!

[silverct9a]

Beat me to it. I found Tampa’s food scene, even “upscale” dining to be complete cheeks. It would only impress someone from a very small town.

Originally Posted by FL_Expert

Maybe there’s good cause for Michelin not awarding them a star.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by silverct9a

Beat me to it. I found Tampa’s food scene, even “upscale” dining to be complete cheeks. It would only impress someone from a very small town.

Tampa's food scene is pretty bad, I agree, and there are very few "upscale" establishments.

But let's be honest here: Pretty much every single food critic's Top 10 steakhouses in Florida includes Bern's, usually in the Top 5. It also shows up on many’s top steakhouses in the country. There is nothing “small town” about that place.

But, you know, I guess the experts on C-D know better than actual food critics, including Emeril Lagasse, who refers to it as "one of the most well-known and respected steakhouses in the country."



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCLdCmrqMwE

[Lillie767]

Originally Posted by Arcenal813

Tampa's food scene is pretty bad, I agree, and there are very few "upscale" establishments.

But let's be honest here: Pretty much every single food critic's Top 10 steakhouses in Florida includes Bern's, usually in the Top 5. It also shows up on many’s top steakhouses in the country. There is nothing “small town” about that place.

But, you know, I guess the experts on C-D know better than actual food critics, including Emeril Lagasse, who refers to it as "one of the most well-known and respected steakhouses in the country."

Well, Tampa is not yet Miami when it comes to dining.

"But when it came to overall performance, Miami took the cake, having considerably more Michelin-recognized restaurants than the other cities. With 73 recognized eateries as compared to Orlando’s 46 and Tampa’s 25, the Magic City came out on top, even against the two acclaimed hotspots. In addition to 43 recommended restaurants, the 2023 selection showcased 18 Bib Gourmands—destinations offering great food at a great value—and 12 starred restaurants in Miami.

And as the best of the best, it’s doubtful Miami’s dining scene will be slowing down any time soon. "

"https://hauteliving.com/2023/05/miamis-dining-scene-takes-the-cake-on-michelins-2023-guide/730348/

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by Lillie767

Well, Tampa is not yet Miami when it comes to dining.

"But when it came to overall performance, Miami took the cake, having considerably more Michelin-recognized restaurants than the other cities. With 73 recognized eateries as compared to Orlando’s 46 and Tampa’s 25, the Magic City came out on top, even against the two acclaimed hotspots. In addition to 43 recommended restaurants, the 2023 selection showcased 18 Bib Gourmands—destinations offering great food at a great value—and 12 starred restaurants in Miami.

And as the best of the best, it’s doubtful Miami’s dining scene will be slowing down any time soon. "

"https://hauteliving.com/2023/05/miamis-dining-scene-takes-the-cake-on-michelins-2023-guide/730348/

Well yeah, like I said, Tampa is pretty awful overall and definitely underperforms considering the size of the metro area, but Bern's is definitely an outlier, and is recognized by just about everyone as a top [higher end] steakhouse outside of the C-D culinary experts. I'm definitely not a fan of dining in Tampa, as for the most part, I can find pretty much everything it has to offer (such as Ocean Prime) in other cities, like 1.5 hours away in Orlando, for instance. Most of my dining out here is limited to waterside "fish" places in Dunedin and Tarpon.


Miami is much bigger, and not just in terms of overall metro area size, but also in its central urban core, and that makes a huge difference. There are several noteworthy establishments in Brickell/Downtown alone. It's also a massive international destination, which Tampa is far from. Orlando is also, hence why it has a significantly larger share of higher end places than Tampa. Only thing that really holds Orlando back is its lack of true centralized area. Downtown is small, and places end up being scattered all over the place in random middle-of-nowhere locations in South Orange County as a result. And then places like Victoria & Albert's are tucked inside a Disney hotel.

All in all, Bern's very much feels like an establishment that could fit right into Brickell, or even Midtown Manhattan. It just happens to be stuck in a bad location off a major highway in the edge of SOHO with quite literally nothing around it. As such, I'd prefer to spend my money at a place like Edge in Brickell which is inside the Four Seasons hotel in the middle of a bustling street/neighborhood, but if strictly comparing the establishment itself, the food, the staff, etc., Bern's is up there. I just don't like the location.

[FL_Expert]

I’m curious, anyone been to Koya? I believe it is around $300 per plate, but legitimately appears to be higher-end than Berns and just earned a Michelin star.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by FL_Expert

I’m curious, anyone been to Koya? I believe it is around $300 per plate, but legitimately appears to be higher-end than Berns and just earned a Michelin star.

I haven't, but from what I've seen and heard, it's kind of similar to Soseki in Orlando (which also won a Michelin Star)

I've been to Soseki, and while it was good, I'd still rather go to Bern's, or if going for a tasting menu, V&A in Orlando, neither of which have Michelin Stars. I guess the latter just doesn't mean much to me, as what Michelin looks for isn't really what I'm interested in when dining out.

But if it's anything like Soseki (which it appears to be) Soseki was definitely a fun experience -- not sure I'd be interested in doing it again. It's a Japanese food bar on steroids. Expensive caviar, black truffles, A5 Miyazaki Wagyu, artful presentations... That kind of stuff.

I'll try Koya one day if I have a guest in town that wants to go for the experience/outing.


https://www.sosekifl.com/
https://www.koyatampa.com/

You can also get a similar experience if you somehow make it to a tasting event by Hiroyuki Terada (formerly ran NoVe in Brickell.) They're all friends, and Hiroyuki is a brand ambassador for several products that they use. I wouldn't be surprised if Wave in Mount Dora is the next Japanese-inspired place in Florida to earn a star, since they have been helping them quite a bit.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbU...mCHiVSCIkwEpxw

All of them use Bakkafrost Salmon, for instance. Truth be told, you won't get better farmed salmon anywhere. And for raw or seared fish, I agree that it's the best, and trounces any Pacific salmon.

Same with the A5... Debragga is their supplier.

[vaughanwilliams]

Originally Posted by sinatras

The guests at the table next to mine were served a LARGE INSECT still half-alive in their salad.

How would you have handled the situation? Because the guests did not demand a full refund. And I found that strange.

Are you sure it wasn't a lobster? They look like bugs.