If you live in Tampa, then you already know about the iconic Bern’s Steak House. I’ve lived here since college and for the longest I imagined it being this mythical place where all the Big Spenders and Shot Callers go to dine. What’s crazy is that although I wanted to eat at Bern’s at some point, I felt like that dream wasn’t attainable…that is until my birthday this year.

Okay so boom…we pull up to Bern’s Steak House and I’m immediately taken back to when I (jokingly) said I wanted to go there for my birthday a few months ago. Robert kept it a secret from me since then apparently and only 2 other people knew the plans. We’re seated at my table and my excitement grows. Our server Lila (I really hope I’m spelling her name right) took our order and our food comes. We start off with the massive Le Bern’s seafood tower that included king crab, lobster, shrimp, oysters, prawns, marinated scallop, mussels, crab cocktail, and smoked fish.  My eyes bulged because of how much was on the tower. I wanted to eat everything but I had to constantly remind myself there was more food coming.

When you order a steak from Bern’s Steak House, it comes with a lot: French Onion soup, house salad, baked potato, onion rings and a veggie. I’d never had French Onion soup but THIS ONE but bomb. The little pieces of bread inside the soup were a nice surprise and the cheese on top had a great pull. One suggestion I make is GET THE THRICE BAKED POTATO; your taste buds will thank you. Now that I’ve had this version of potato, I can’t have it any other way. Along with the potatoes, our proteins and veggie arrives. I enjoy eating veggies that are soft but still have enough crunch to them and that’s what our string beans had. Eating them took me back to when I was a kid and snapping them with my maternal grandmother.

The steaks were definitely enough for us to share. Robert and I shared the 21 oz. dry-aged Porterhouse and we were given a tenderloin as a gift. Both proteins were phenomenal and we both couldn’t stop talking about how great they were. The meats were so tender and hella tasteful. Of course, there was still more food to eat so we boxed the entrees up for later.

Once Lila boxed up all of our food, we headed over to the kitchen for the restaurant tour, where we were able to see the inner workings of how the restaurant runs. Our group had to be super careful amongst the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. The tour ended with a brief telling of the wine cellar. It’s crazy to think the largest wine cellar, containing 6,800 selections with more than 500,000 bottles, is 20 minutes away from my house.

Our tour guide led us up the stairs to the Harry Waugh Dessert Room, literally dedicated to just desserts. A hostess led us to a booth made from redwood trees with huge poster sized print out of old recipes. We ordered the Trilogy of Classics with our server Rio (who looked like Jake Gyllenhaal btw). Just FYI, the trilogy comes with cute, little portions of King Midas cake, Cheesecake Gert, and a Banana Cheese pie. Since it was my birthday, Rio even bought me a scoop of birthday cake ice cream with a candle (Thanks Rio!!).

I must say: this being my first experience at Bern’s after not ever thinking I’d make it there really makes is super duper special. I need more of those steaks and desserts in my life ASAP.

Shoutout to Robert and Jaye Toler of RockawayMore for putting this birthday dinner together and keeping this a secret!!!