Bern's Steak House

"For diners not wanting to commit to an extravagant steak dinner at Bern’s Steak House, the Harry Haugh Dessert Room offers the same service without the hefty financial commitment. Get lost in the winding staircases, endlessly lavish hallways, and old-world dessert service. The Baked Alaska goes well with a fancy pour from the world-famous cellar. Wine and dine to tinkling keys of piano, while melting into the high-backed booths." - Laine Doss

"For decades, this stately steakhouse has been a local favorite for special occasions of all stripes, and its popularity shows no signs of shrinking. Diners dress to impress amid the garish vintage opulence, which is matched by a slickly ceremonious suit-clad service team and colossal wine collection.A meal might start with oysters, or one of the many caviar options, but savvy diners save ample space for a curated selection of prime steaks, many dry-aged extensively in house before getting a char treatment on the kitchen’s massive grill. Don’t fill up on the assorted sides—at the end of the meal, guests are whisked to the posh upstairs dessert room, where bananas Foster or baked Alaska can be enjoyed with house-roasted coffee and live piano music." - Michelin Inspector

"Bern’s Steak House has been a Tampa institution for more than half a century. Its dry-aged, cut-to-order steaks and massive wine collection are draws for many, but locals often skip past the main course and head upstairs to a place where there’s always room for dessert. In the Harry Waugh Dessert Room, cozy nooks with 48 private booths made from wine casks dot the dimly lit space, making for an intimate experience that pairs well with the decadent menu. The dessert room was inspired by steakhouse owners Bern and Gert Laxer’s travels to France. They were so impressed by the hospitality shown by legendary wine merchant Harry Waugh that, when they expanded the restaurant in the 1980s, they called on the experience, and even named the new addition after him. The extensive menu features all the last-course classics, from Baked Alaska to Florida’s own Key Lime Pie—something to satisfy every sweet tooth. The blackberry cake comes with blackberry mascarpone cream, fudge frosting, and blackberry sorbet. Certain items, like the crispy pear cobbler—crafted with oats, cardamom, brown sugar, and spiced vanilla ice cream—come and go with the seasons. Other options include a decadent peanut butter truffle and classic tiramisu. Specialty coffees, over a dozen flavors of ice cream, floats, and shakes are also available. Know Before You Go Reservations are strongly recommended. Open nightly except on Mondays." - BryceRun, Collector of Experiences, Virginia Brown

"You’ll never go wrong in Tampa with dinner at the circa 1956 Bern’s Steak House (if you can snag a table, of course), with its legendary wine cellar housing more than 100,000 bottles and where locals know one of the best seats in the house is a walk-up spot at the bar for the off-menu steak sandwich."

"If your generationally wealthy friend from England opened a steakhouse in their parents’ old manor, it’d probably feel a lot like Bern’s. The lobby is all gilded furniture and ruby lights, and there are eight different dining rooms lined with wall-to-wall photos from the founder's travels to Bordeaux, Burgundy, and beyond. Every meat on the menu is given its own paragraph explanation, which sounds like it was written by someone who's an e-commerce copywriter by day and a steak scholar by night. The Delmonico that they dry-age for 100 days is always our go-to.  After dinner, every table gets a tour through the kitchen and wine cellar that’s stocked with over 100,000 bottles, along with a trip to the dessert parlor upstairs. That’s where you’ll slide into your own private wine-cask cubby and try the banana cream cheese pie and a deconstructed chocolate sundae as a pianist plays anything you want. " - cheryl rodewig