fjs08

Can anyone recommend a steak house in Tampa other than Berns??

Are Charley's, Capital Grill, Timpano's, Salt Rock Grill or Shula's worth looking at??

Thanks,

Frank

NewbE

Capital Grill, yes, good food and upscale atmosphere despite the mall setting. Nice service and huge wine list.
Timpano is much more casual and not a true steakhouse.
Some people swear by Fleming's, but I haven't been.
Check chowhound.com--Shula's gets mixed reviews, but I haven't been there, either.
Good luck, and let us know which you chose and how it was!

coldwar27

Charley's is great, Salt Rock Grill is great too, and I liked Shula's but it has been a few years since I have been there. I have not been to the others although my husband has been to Capital Grille and really enjoyed it.

NewbE

Just curious, how casual is Charley's? Do they have much besides steak on the menu?

fjs08

>>Good luck, and let us know which you chose and how it was!<<

My review--and this is my wife's and my opinions only.

Went to Charley's tonite. Won't be going back. First, for us, it is a bit stogy. Seemed like no one under 40 ate there.

Menu was excellent. Lots of steaks and seafood. They bring out the steaks to show you what they look like--personally, I've seen them and I know what I'm supposed to get. Wine list is extensive. More expensive than usual.

My wife had a 13 oz fillet and I had the 22 oz KC strip. These were around $ 28 and $ 27. You get bread and salad with your meal. If you want blue cheese on the salad, it's an up charge. We ordered the steaks medium rare and they came med well easily. Surprisingly, even our waiter wasn't happy with them when we cut into them. Sent them back and it took 20 minutes to get replacements. These were very good. My steak however was very fatty. More so than I've experienced with KC Strips before at other steakhouses such as Yachtsman @ Disney. My wife even mentioned it to me. Guess we weren't the only people having problems. Guy behind us said his food was "cool." Also, he got his side very late. They told him his creamed spinach was dropped on the grill! Guys on the other side complained that their wine glasses were dirty.
Very casual dress.

Guess we'll stick to Fleming's. We've been there a bunch of times and never had a problem. Fun place too. Sits next to Roy's, so we often go to one for appetizers then the other for dinner. Fun to do.

We wanted to try someplace different, but it didn't work out for us tonite.

Frank

champagne

I don't think of Salt Rock Grill as a steak place - but it is one of my favorite restaurants in the Tampa Bay area (it is on the intercoastal waterway across from the beach in St. Petersburg).

NewbE

Wow, sounds lousy, sorry fjs! We stayed at a hotel that overlooks Charlie's, and it looked popular, but I wonder why.

If you like Fleming's and Roy's, I'm positive you would dig the Capital Grill--please do try it sometime. I think you'd also like Timpano, it's scene-y on weekend nights; I think the food is good, not great, but the vibe is fun. Nice for lunch, too.

Good luck in future, and thanks for posting your experience.

NeoPatrick

It's kind of funny that many people despise chains, yet when you start talking upper end steakhouses, like these, mostly they are chains. And the "chain" training and supervision often help add to the fine consistency of places. I've found Flemings to be outstanding. And I've only been to two Capital Grills (Providence and Kansas City), but both have been wonderful.
Meanwhile I have to say our last steaks at Bern's were not great.

NewbE

That IS interesting.

Btw, Bern's is building a boutique hotel with a greatly expanded restaurant and a huge, really huge, wine cellar, across the street from their current location. Rumor has it the old building will come down to make way for a parking structure.

birder

Capital Grill is REALLY expensive. You probably know that, however.

I hate to say it, but we really like Longhorn's steak with prarie dust. Don't know what it is, but it's really good.

Of course, Longhorn is very far from upscale.

Autoeng

Does anyone have any experience with Flemings in Sarasota. Just wonder if it is as good as Tampa's?

NeoPatrick

Autoeng, my point above was that chains like Flemings have very strict controls on everything from food ordering to preparation to service standards. So there is no reason to expect that one location is significantly different than any other. Of course, any person may experience an "off night" at any location, but there's no reason to think that might be more likely to happen at Sarasota's Flemings as opposed to Tampa's.

fjs08

We've eaten at Fleming's in Tampa and Kettering, Ohio near Dayton. Both were excellent. Funny thing, our waiter at the Kettering Fleming's recommended Charley's if we wanted a place other than Fleming's.

Roy's is also very consistent. Hawaiian fusion food. We love it. We've eaten at the one in Tampa, La Jolla, and the two on Maui. All excellent. However, not all have sushi. Not sure why??

Frank

samschack

Autoeng: My wife and I eat at Flemings in Sarasota occassionally and have also dined at the one in Tampa. Both fairly similar. BTW: Roy's just opened next door to the one in Sarasota.
Regarding fjs08 review of Charlies, I must say that I have never really liked their steaks because they use hardwoods on their grills that give the meat an almost overpowering "taste" that is a bit intense for me.
As to cost, most of the upscale steakhouses are fairly pricey but unfortunately, you get what you pay for. Prime steak isn't cheap. We ate at Shula's in Tampa a few months ago and were amazed (almost shocked) that 2 steaks with 2 sides, a shared salad and 3 glasses of wine cost us nearly $200.00.
Bern's always seems to get mixed reviews but it still is my favorite in the Tampa area. For one thing, it's a bargain compared to some of the others as the price includes salads and sides that are all extra at the other places.
Add to that the worlds largest (or at least one of the largest) wine lists. Also, it has an atmopshere that was once described by a Tampa restaurant critic as being like the inside of a French whorehouse (he didn't say how he knew). The upstairs dessert rooms are wodnerfully cozy and romantic with ports and madeiras served that are unavailable anyplace else in the world.

fjs08

>>BTW: Roy's just opened next door to the one in Sarasota.<<

They are part of the same "chain." They belong to the Outback chain, although I don't know how much leeway Roy's has, or if all the Roy's are part of the group. I think LeeRoy Selman Rib place in Tampa is part of the chain also. That's why they are all situated next to each other opposite International Plaza.

I've only had desserts at Bern's. I really enjoyed it.

Frank

samschack

Yes, Roy's and Flemings are owned by the same company as is Leroy Selmon's (which also just opened in North Sarasota near Lakewood Ranch).

Trigold

One of our favorite local steakhouses is Dempsey's at Saddlebrook Resort. We like Flemings and Berns, but love Dempsey's. Top-notch steaks, service and salad bar, plus a really nice setting.

If you're staying at Saddlebrook, another nearby restaurant that's great is Bocatto's. It's open for lunch and dinner and serves top-notch Spanish food. (My husband and I adore Spanish cuisine and music, and this is our new local fave.) It's in Lutz, the next town west of Saddlebrook's Wesley Chapel, and about a 15-minute drive, if that, from the resort.