While visiting Tampa, Florida last week I made a point of “experiencing” Bern’s Steak House. While Bern’s is generally known as a steak house, it is much, much more.
My “experience” began checking in at the Epicurean Hotel, a 137 room boutique hotel owned by Bern’s Steak House and Marriott Hotels. The Epicurean is the only hotel I have ever stayed at where the front desk sits on top of brightly lit glass wine coolers that house an outstanding selection of Chardonnays.
If you can’t find what you are looking for in the wine coolers, you only need to walk across the lobby of the Epicurean to Bern’s Fine Wine and Spirits, a retail wine store that rivals most wine shops I have visited. With more than 500 wines from France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, California, Oregon and Washington State, Bern’s Fine Wines lives up to its name. While searching for wine to ship home, I struck up a conversation with Nestor. Nestor works in the wine store during the day and is a cellar master at Bern’s Steak House in the evening. I mentioned to Nestor I was dining at Bern’s Steak House that evening and he offered to give me a tour of the wine cellar after dinner.
Bern’s Steak House was one of the first thirteen recipients of Wine Spectator’s Grand Award in 1981. The Grand Award is bestowed on restaurants based on the depth, variety and quality of their wine lists. Currently, there are 81 Wine Spectator Grand Award Winners and Bern’s Steak House is one of only four of the original thirteen winners.
Describing the wine list at Bern’s Steak House as a list is an understatement. The wine list is a 174 page hard bound book with wines dating back to the 1800’s and is comprised of 6,800 wine selections. The wine cellar houses more than 500,000 bottles and is the largest restaurant wine collection in the United States.
Finding a bottle of wine to enjoy with a Bern’s T-Bone, Porterhouse, Chateaubriand, Delmonico, Strip or Filet Mignon was not difficult! Three full time sommeliers are available to assist with selecting and decanting your wine selection. After enjoying a wonderful steak and a bottle of Mayacamus Cabernet Sauvignon, we met Nestor in the wine cellar for a tour. The wine cellar is kept at 50 degrees which is colder than many wine cellars. Bern’s believes by keeping the temperature at 50 degrees it slows down the aging of older wines in their collection. The wine cellar is a series of floor to ceiling rows, cages and storage areas that house some of the finest wines in the world. While walking through the cellar, Nestor pointed out an area where “orphans” are stored. An “orphan” is a bottle of wine found in the wrong inventory location. With a wine collection of 500,000 bottles you are going to find a few “orphans”!
It is safe to say I have never been in a wine cellar with a wine selection as diverse and valuable as Bern’s. If you enjoy great food and wine and appreciate something truly unique, make the trip to Tampa and “experience” Bern’s.