Location: 1208 S Howard Ave. Tampa , FL 33606
Date Tasted: 5/11/2022 (Wednesday) (Dinner)
Price: $27
Beverage: Tito’s Martini, dry, blue cheese olives
I’ve heard from some Tampa locals that they don’t even try to go to Bern’s because it’s impossible to get in. They have a pretty amazing server training program and they really focus on doing things better than they need to be.
It’s quite the place, amazing ambiance and impeccable service. If you want to “burn” an additional hour and a half after your 3 hour dinner, head upstairs to the “dessert room”, which is actually a dessert labyrinth, after which you waddle out stuffed like destitute Oompa Loompas.
This carpaccio dish is interesting all-around. You don’t typically see Chateaubriand used as the cut, and the dry aging gave it some smoky flavor.
No onions included, which is generally a plus, but the dallops of garlic aioli came off the plate immediately. Slathering something so overpowering onto a delicate cut of meat defeats the purpose and elegance of this dish. You might as well get out the ketchup and start making pretty patterns.
I ordered the Chateaubriand for my main dish as well and frankly I didn’t like the taste of either one. I should have stuck with the regular filet. Next time.
The EVOO drizzle was nice – not overdressed, but could have been amped up ever so much or provided on the table as a preference. In a similar vein, it needed salt but none was on the table. Nicely done fresh cracked pepper at least demonstrated they know the importance of those two common spices.
The arugula portion size and quality of cut was perfect, as were the parmesan shaves – well done there.
The meat slices were a bit on the thick end for this dish, but forgivable, especially because the meat was a perfect temperature – not too cold. The greatest of carpaccio should not need a knife, it should just peel off with a light forking.
No capers – that was a solid miss. Capers belong on carpaccio, period. Apparently in lieu of this a decision was made to substitute roasted grapes. I don’t think there is room for sweet here, with the rest of this flavor profile, they need to go.
Presentation: Excellent plating.
Size: A rather generous appetizer portion.
Value: Fair price for the meat quality and effort put forth. I think they just need to adjust a couple of components to get it back to a more appealing composition. Let the meat quality, temp and presentation do the talking in a standard format.
Overall Score: 8/10 – I don’t think I would get it again because of the smoky flavor profile, but for people that would appreciate that, it’s worth getting. Tell the kitchen to leave off the garlic aioli and possibly add capers.
