Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:
As a resident of South Tampa, I have an almost obsessive love of our famed Bern's Steak House. Sure it may be decorated like a cross between Disney's Haunted Mansion and Miss Kitty's Bordello and one of the dining rooms has painfully hard metal patio furniture for chairs, but I just love it.
I take all my out of state house guests there and we always have a great time.
I know several people who will not agree with my next statement - so take it with a grain of salt - but for me, I have always had good service at Bern's Steak House. It ranges from good to out of this world service. Maybe a couple times, the service was overly slow but it was always when the restaurant was packed. And frankly for the prices of the food, I expect top-notch service.
When I heard that Bern's was partnering with Main Sail Lodging and Development and starting a culinary-themed boutique hotel called "The Epicurean" - I was over the moon. A boutique hotel with a world class restaurant and space for culinary classes? I could NOT wait. Unfortunately due to a range of issues, it would be several years before the dream became a reality.
But I am patient … and finally two weeks ago, the hotel and its restaurant Elevage opened. It is not 100% done - the dessert shop Chocolate Pi is still being built and crews of workers with wet paint were walking through the hotel lobby. But I had waited 2 weeks to try the food at Elevage Restaurant and I couldn't wait a minute more!
My lunch companion was the Divine Madame S. A woman of class and manners who would be the perfect partner for lunch at a culinary-themed hotel.
I made a reservation for lunch at OpenTable.com. The day before the reservation, I received a voicemail from Elevage asking me to call back and confirm my reservation. Now this is one of my pet peeves - I know that people are flakes and make reservations and do not show up, but I'm not one of them! If I go through the trouble of making a reservation on OpenTable, do I really need to call the restaurant and confirm that I will show up?
I called back and heard an announcement say "Hello - if you know the party's extension, dial it now. Otherwise stay on the line or press zero." So I stayed on the line. Nothing. No hold music. No operator. I stayed on the line for a few minutes and then hung up. I double-checked to make sure I had the correct number since the recorded announcement did not say the name of the hotel or the restaurant. I called back again, but this time I pressed "zero." Again it went to dead air - no hold music. I stayed on the line for 5 minutes - no hold music, no answer. I tweeted the restaurant and they tweeted back shortly after that they were having problems with their phone and that I should call the hotel directly.
I was already peeved that I had to call to confirm my reservation - but come on, if you know you're having problems with your phone why are you leaving voicemails telling people to call that number? And now I am supposed to look up the hotel number and call them? I didn't do it - I'm lazy. I kept my fingers crossed that my reservation wouldn't be tossed out for failure to confirm it!
Also, I am hoping that the Epicurean Hotel will put a sign at its entrance. There is a driveway that goes under the hotel about halfway down the building's length. Howard Avenue is very narrow and it is easy to miss the drive in opening. There is valet only ($18 a day if you're staying at the hotel, complimentary if you are just dining).
(Side Note: I called the hotel and they said the valet was complimentary if you were dining, however I have seen other reviews saying they paid $5 for valet - so maybe that's a weekend rule? Not sure - but you may want to call in advance to find out.)
The service at the valet was efficient and very "formally friendly" - which is a welcome change of pace from the lackluster valet service at other Howard Ave establishments. It was an elegant first impression when arriving at the Epicurean Hotel. Unfortunately the valet was the best service I had during my entire visit there.
There is no signage for Elevage Restaurant - I just walked toward a bar I saw in the restaurant. I passed by several employees - no greeting. The lobby decor and the restaurant decor were top notch. Beautiful lighting fixtures with some pops of quirky decor (see the cow hide rug and big pig statue picture below). It was elegant but also modern and even a bit homey.
There was a line at the hostess stand. The hostess was wearing a plaid shirt and distressed jeans. I thought perhaps she was dressed down because she was moving furniture around the new restaurant, but then I realized that this was the official server uniform. That outfit would have been great at a locavore farm to table restaurant with big wooden tables. But the decor at the Elevage is so nice, that the plaid shirt and jeans really stood out but not in a good way. A simple white shirt and black pants would have been better than the plaid and jeans. One server had a black design like angel wings with jewels on the back of her plaid shirt - at least this has some standout appeal. But she was the only server with this - perhaps she had a Bedazzler?
When I discussed this later with my friend Ms. LM, she said "Is this the new restaurant trend? Anise Global Gastrobar was like that too - like eating at Downton Abbey while being served by the cast of Rent." THIS IS THE BEST LINE - AND MOST ACCURATE LINE - EVER!
As I stood in line, the hostess looked extremely frazzled. I am not sure why because she had one single phone call the entire time I stood in line. But perhaps the morning had been hectic. A family of three walked past the line and went right to the hostess and began arguing about how their free breakfast tickets should apply to lunch. I turned to the man in front of me and said "You're in line, right?" He said "Yes" with sad resignation.
Finally the hostess acknowledged the line that had been standing in front of her. She addressed the gentleman in front of me and then that was the end of the service. He stepped back and I stood right in front of her as she continued to talk to other staff members. She pointed in my general direction and commented that we had already been taken care of - I was like "Um no, I'm not with that gentleman. I have a reservation." She just looked at me like she couldn't comprehend what I was saying.
I have been to many restaurants that have just recently opened and I have to say this has been one of the most frazzled. There were at least six staff members just standing around by the hostess stand talking loudly amongst themselves. The restaurant only had 2 tables seated -- each with a single gentleman. No one on the staff greeted anyone who walked in the restaurant. If it were just me dining, I would have walked out.
The hostess checked her computer and confirmed that I did have a reservation for two. At this point I am sure I looked perturbed - she said a quick "sorry for the wait." She then walked me to a table with only one chair at it right next to another diner and then set the menu down. I looked at her quizzically - was I expected to carry my own chair over to the table? She stood there and stared back at me and then finally said "Or I guess I could seat you at the table next to this one." Evidently I wasn't fast enough at carrying a chair over.
My dining partner arrived. A young woman came up and asked if we wanted anything to drink. I didn't know if she was our server - she didn't welcome us, she didn't introduce herself. I thought perhaps she was an assistant server just doing drink orders. But no - she was our server. And now there were 4 tables total with several servers and yet there was no sense of urgency. If you wanted to take 3 hours for lunch with sporadic, haphazard service - this is the restaurant for you. I felt like my server was sleepwalking and that we were bothering her. I have received much better service at the bar-restaurants down the street that serve tater tots. On the website, Elevage says that "attention is paid to every detail." Evidently service is not one of those details.
I have such high regard for the amazing level of customer service at Bern's Steak House that to receive such lackluster, "second thought," prodding along service was extremely disappointing. I turned to my dining companion and said "This waitstaff needs to spend a month at Bern's, learning how to be servers."
I watched a man in a sportcoat and dress pants (much dressier than the hoe-down plaid shirts and jeans-wear). I surmised he was the manager. He talked to two tables and walked past the rest of us. At this point there were only three other tables. He then stood in the middle of the restaurant with more staffers. There's a back area and an empty bar area - not sure why the staff couldn't have their discussions there instead of loudly in the common areas.
Madame S started with the Deviled Eggs with Blackened Blue Crab ($7). The yellow egg part was a dense mass completely overpowered with stoneground yellow mustard. It was so potent, it felt like you were eating a spoonful of mustard. There was a sliver of crab which did not appear blackened. I like mustard, but not this much. There was no spice or heat to them whatsoever. I had read in other people's reviews that these were very spicy. Inconsistencies in the kitchen, perhaps?
I started with the Country Ham with pear butter and biscuits ($5). The ham to biscuit ratio was off - a thick pile of waxy, dry, incredibly salty ham on a flavorless tiny rock hard biscuit with a thin line of pear butter drawn on the plate. I couldn't finish it because it just wasn't good. It was very disappointing.
Madame S ordered the yellow beet panzanella salad ($14). She enjoyed the salad but was surprised that there was no dressing on it. Did they forget it? No dressing is listed on the menu but no dressing was listed on mine either and it did have it. Madame S asked for some dressing. The server quickly brought it but made no apologies nor asked any questions about why Madame S was asking for dressing.
I ordered the Roasted Shrimp Caprese ($17). The burrata cheese had a melty char on it. I thought the way they displayed the entree was a bit weird (see picture below). I felt it could have been presented in a more appetizing manner - but maybe that's just me. The tomatoes were a little mealy. The shrimp was perfectly cooked but the kitchen staff had missed some parts of the shell - so I took several bites with shell. Nothing like having to pull bits of shell out of my mouth. The pesto-like dressing drizzled on the plate was very flavorful and the lemon basil was delicious.
After we paid, one staff member said goodbye to us as we walked past at least 8 other staff members who were talking amongst themselves. I've had better service at a McDonald's, to tell you the truth. The customer service bar was set really high due to its affiliation with Bern's - so to have subpar service was extremely disappointing.
The food was OK, but I have had better versions of the food at other restaurants. The lobster and caviar deviled egg that used to be served at Ciro's Speakeasy was worlds better than the mustardy egg at Elevage. The biscuits at the now closed Wimauma were better. The beet and burrata salad at Cafe Ponte is worlds better than the beet panzanella or the shrimp caprese. (Even though I did very much enjoy the lemon basil in the shrimp caprese.)
I had very high expectations for Elevage Restaurant given my love of Bern's Steak House. I'd like to return in a few months and hopefully they will have smoothed out the kinks in their menu. I also hope they take their entire staff to a hospitality boot camp to learn proper customer service. I haven't given up on Elevage, but my first experience with it was highly disappointing.
Lunch was OK … but just OK. With many other dining options in Tampa Bay, Elevage needs to rise to the occasion if they want to do the idea behind the Epicurean justice. Executive Chef Chad Johnson is quoted on the website saying "I want to take the great iconic dishes, the ones that you've loved your entire life, and elevate them. I want it to be the best you've ever had." A good goal, but in my humble opinion - they are not there yet. I hope that in time they will rise to the standard Bern's Steak House has set.
P.S. After I posted this review, I was reading some of the other Elevage Restaurant diner reviews on Urbanspoon and another reviewer said she had better service at McDonald's too! Great minds think alike! And sad to know I am not the only one who had this thought after dining at Elevage!
P.P.S. Elevage Restaurant tweeted me "we did send you a message on FB. Please DM us so we can address the comments. We hate you had a terrible experience :(" about 10 hours after I posted this review. I found this Tweet intriguing because I don't have Facebook - so what was this defensive "we did send you a message" line? Yet another customer service faux pas? I responded that I don't have Facebook and the response was "apologies -saw a comment earlier about your experience - had to be twitter. Please give us the opportunity to fix, thank you." I appreciate Elevage reaching out - but if you look at Yelp and Urbanspoon reviews, you'll see that the majority of comments center on Elevage's poor customer service. I am not alone in my experience. My response was that they need to work on fixing their customer service. I worked in the restaurant industry in my youth - if you have stellar food but crappy service, you will lose customers. Elevage doesn't need to fix their experience for me - I'm not looking for a freebie - they need to fix their service for all their patrons for the health of their restaurant.
12/31/2013 Update: I received an email from OpenTable.com saying that I no-showed for my reservation at Elevage! I wrote back and said not only did I honor my reservation for two, you can read all about it on my blog! If Elevage is going to use OpenTable.com for their reservations, they should use it correctly and accurately report honored reservations. Talk about insult after injury on this sad meal! Between being asked to confirm a reservation in advance to a telephone number that didn't work and then having to write an email to OpenTable.com to protest that I did not "no show" - the meal at Elevage was not only disappointing, but had more administrative work than a restaurant meal should require!
As a resident of South Tampa, I have an almost obsessive love of our famed Bern's Steak House. Sure it may be decorated like a cross between Disney's Haunted Mansion and Miss Kitty's Bordello and one of the dining rooms has painfully hard metal patio furniture for chairs, but I just love it.
I take all my out of state house guests there and we always have a great time.
I know several people who will not agree with my next statement - so take it with a grain of salt - but for me, I have always had good service at Bern's Steak House. It ranges from good to out of this world service. Maybe a couple times, the service was overly slow but it was always when the restaurant was packed. And frankly for the prices of the food, I expect top-notch service.
When I heard that Bern's was partnering with Main Sail Lodging and Development and starting a culinary-themed boutique hotel called "The Epicurean" - I was over the moon. A boutique hotel with a world class restaurant and space for culinary classes? I could NOT wait. Unfortunately due to a range of issues, it would be several years before the dream became a reality.
But I am patient … and finally two weeks ago, the hotel and its restaurant Elevage opened. It is not 100% done - the dessert shop Chocolate Pi is still being built and crews of workers with wet paint were walking through the hotel lobby. But I had waited 2 weeks to try the food at Elevage Restaurant and I couldn't wait a minute more!
My lunch companion was the Divine Madame S. A woman of class and manners who would be the perfect partner for lunch at a culinary-themed hotel.
I made a reservation for lunch at OpenTable.com. The day before the reservation, I received a voicemail from Elevage asking me to call back and confirm my reservation. Now this is one of my pet peeves - I know that people are flakes and make reservations and do not show up, but I'm not one of them! If I go through the trouble of making a reservation on OpenTable, do I really need to call the restaurant and confirm that I will show up?
I called back and heard an announcement say "Hello - if you know the party's extension, dial it now. Otherwise stay on the line or press zero." So I stayed on the line. Nothing. No hold music. No operator. I stayed on the line for a few minutes and then hung up. I double-checked to make sure I had the correct number since the recorded announcement did not say the name of the hotel or the restaurant. I called back again, but this time I pressed "zero." Again it went to dead air - no hold music. I stayed on the line for 5 minutes - no hold music, no answer. I tweeted the restaurant and they tweeted back shortly after that they were having problems with their phone and that I should call the hotel directly.
I was already peeved that I had to call to confirm my reservation - but come on, if you know you're having problems with your phone why are you leaving voicemails telling people to call that number? And now I am supposed to look up the hotel number and call them? I didn't do it - I'm lazy. I kept my fingers crossed that my reservation wouldn't be tossed out for failure to confirm it!
Also, I am hoping that the Epicurean Hotel will put a sign at its entrance. There is a driveway that goes under the hotel about halfway down the building's length. Howard Avenue is very narrow and it is easy to miss the drive in opening. There is valet only ($18 a day if you're staying at the hotel, complimentary if you are just dining).
(Side Note: I called the hotel and they said the valet was complimentary if you were dining, however I have seen other reviews saying they paid $5 for valet - so maybe that's a weekend rule? Not sure - but you may want to call in advance to find out.)
The service at the valet was efficient and very "formally friendly" - which is a welcome change of pace from the lackluster valet service at other Howard Ave establishments. It was an elegant first impression when arriving at the Epicurean Hotel. Unfortunately the valet was the best service I had during my entire visit there.
There is no signage for Elevage Restaurant - I just walked toward a bar I saw in the restaurant. I passed by several employees - no greeting. The lobby decor and the restaurant decor were top notch. Beautiful lighting fixtures with some pops of quirky decor (see the cow hide rug and big pig statue picture below). It was elegant but also modern and even a bit homey.
 |
| Lobby at the Epicurean Hotel |
There was a line at the hostess stand. The hostess was wearing a plaid shirt and distressed jeans. I thought perhaps she was dressed down because she was moving furniture around the new restaurant, but then I realized that this was the official server uniform. That outfit would have been great at a locavore farm to table restaurant with big wooden tables. But the decor at the Elevage is so nice, that the plaid shirt and jeans really stood out but not in a good way. A simple white shirt and black pants would have been better than the plaid and jeans. One server had a black design like angel wings with jewels on the back of her plaid shirt - at least this has some standout appeal. But she was the only server with this - perhaps she had a Bedazzler?
When I discussed this later with my friend Ms. LM, she said "Is this the new restaurant trend? Anise Global Gastrobar was like that too - like eating at Downton Abbey while being served by the cast of Rent." THIS IS THE BEST LINE - AND MOST ACCURATE LINE - EVER!
As I stood in line, the hostess looked extremely frazzled. I am not sure why because she had one single phone call the entire time I stood in line. But perhaps the morning had been hectic. A family of three walked past the line and went right to the hostess and began arguing about how their free breakfast tickets should apply to lunch. I turned to the man in front of me and said "You're in line, right?" He said "Yes" with sad resignation.
Finally the hostess acknowledged the line that had been standing in front of her. She addressed the gentleman in front of me and then that was the end of the service. He stepped back and I stood right in front of her as she continued to talk to other staff members. She pointed in my general direction and commented that we had already been taken care of - I was like "Um no, I'm not with that gentleman. I have a reservation." She just looked at me like she couldn't comprehend what I was saying.
I have been to many restaurants that have just recently opened and I have to say this has been one of the most frazzled. There were at least six staff members just standing around by the hostess stand talking loudly amongst themselves. The restaurant only had 2 tables seated -- each with a single gentleman. No one on the staff greeted anyone who walked in the restaurant. If it were just me dining, I would have walked out.
The hostess checked her computer and confirmed that I did have a reservation for two. At this point I am sure I looked perturbed - she said a quick "sorry for the wait." She then walked me to a table with only one chair at it right next to another diner and then set the menu down. I looked at her quizzically - was I expected to carry my own chair over to the table? She stood there and stared back at me and then finally said "Or I guess I could seat you at the table next to this one." Evidently I wasn't fast enough at carrying a chair over.
 |
| Lobby - Epicurean Hotel - sorry for the blur! |
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| Bar at Elevage Restaurant |
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| Dining Area at Elevage Restaurant |
My dining partner arrived. A young woman came up and asked if we wanted anything to drink. I didn't know if she was our server - she didn't welcome us, she didn't introduce herself. I thought perhaps she was an assistant server just doing drink orders. But no - she was our server. And now there were 4 tables total with several servers and yet there was no sense of urgency. If you wanted to take 3 hours for lunch with sporadic, haphazard service - this is the restaurant for you. I felt like my server was sleepwalking and that we were bothering her. I have received much better service at the bar-restaurants down the street that serve tater tots. On the website, Elevage says that "attention is paid to every detail." Evidently service is not one of those details.
I have such high regard for the amazing level of customer service at Bern's Steak House that to receive such lackluster, "second thought," prodding along service was extremely disappointing. I turned to my dining companion and said "This waitstaff needs to spend a month at Bern's, learning how to be servers."
I watched a man in a sportcoat and dress pants (much dressier than the hoe-down plaid shirts and jeans-wear). I surmised he was the manager. He talked to two tables and walked past the rest of us. At this point there were only three other tables. He then stood in the middle of the restaurant with more staffers. There's a back area and an empty bar area - not sure why the staff couldn't have their discussions there instead of loudly in the common areas.
Madame S started with the Deviled Eggs with Blackened Blue Crab ($7). The yellow egg part was a dense mass completely overpowered with stoneground yellow mustard. It was so potent, it felt like you were eating a spoonful of mustard. There was a sliver of crab which did not appear blackened. I like mustard, but not this much. There was no spice or heat to them whatsoever. I had read in other people's reviews that these were very spicy. Inconsistencies in the kitchen, perhaps?
I started with the Country Ham with pear butter and biscuits ($5). The ham to biscuit ratio was off - a thick pile of waxy, dry, incredibly salty ham on a flavorless tiny rock hard biscuit with a thin line of pear butter drawn on the plate. I couldn't finish it because it just wasn't good. It was very disappointing.
Madame S ordered the yellow beet panzanella salad ($14). She enjoyed the salad but was surprised that there was no dressing on it. Did they forget it? No dressing is listed on the menu but no dressing was listed on mine either and it did have it. Madame S asked for some dressing. The server quickly brought it but made no apologies nor asked any questions about why Madame S was asking for dressing.
I ordered the Roasted Shrimp Caprese ($17). The burrata cheese had a melty char on it. I thought the way they displayed the entree was a bit weird (see picture below). I felt it could have been presented in a more appetizing manner - but maybe that's just me. The tomatoes were a little mealy. The shrimp was perfectly cooked but the kitchen staff had missed some parts of the shell - so I took several bites with shell. Nothing like having to pull bits of shell out of my mouth. The pesto-like dressing drizzled on the plate was very flavorful and the lemon basil was delicious.
After we paid, one staff member said goodbye to us as we walked past at least 8 other staff members who were talking amongst themselves. I've had better service at a McDonald's, to tell you the truth. The customer service bar was set really high due to its affiliation with Bern's - so to have subpar service was extremely disappointing.
The food was OK, but I have had better versions of the food at other restaurants. The lobster and caviar deviled egg that used to be served at Ciro's Speakeasy was worlds better than the mustardy egg at Elevage. The biscuits at the now closed Wimauma were better. The beet and burrata salad at Cafe Ponte is worlds better than the beet panzanella or the shrimp caprese. (Even though I did very much enjoy the lemon basil in the shrimp caprese.)
I had very high expectations for Elevage Restaurant given my love of Bern's Steak House. I'd like to return in a few months and hopefully they will have smoothed out the kinks in their menu. I also hope they take their entire staff to a hospitality boot camp to learn proper customer service. I haven't given up on Elevage, but my first experience with it was highly disappointing.
Lunch was OK … but just OK. With many other dining options in Tampa Bay, Elevage needs to rise to the occasion if they want to do the idea behind the Epicurean justice. Executive Chef Chad Johnson is quoted on the website saying "I want to take the great iconic dishes, the ones that you've loved your entire life, and elevate them. I want it to be the best you've ever had." A good goal, but in my humble opinion - they are not there yet. I hope that in time they will rise to the standard Bern's Steak House has set.
P.S. After I posted this review, I was reading some of the other Elevage Restaurant diner reviews on Urbanspoon and another reviewer said she had better service at McDonald's too! Great minds think alike! And sad to know I am not the only one who had this thought after dining at Elevage!
P.P.S. Elevage Restaurant tweeted me "we did send you a message on FB. Please DM us so we can address the comments. We hate you had a terrible experience :(" about 10 hours after I posted this review. I found this Tweet intriguing because I don't have Facebook - so what was this defensive "we did send you a message" line? Yet another customer service faux pas? I responded that I don't have Facebook and the response was "apologies -saw a comment earlier about your experience - had to be twitter. Please give us the opportunity to fix, thank you." I appreciate Elevage reaching out - but if you look at Yelp and Urbanspoon reviews, you'll see that the majority of comments center on Elevage's poor customer service. I am not alone in my experience. My response was that they need to work on fixing their customer service. I worked in the restaurant industry in my youth - if you have stellar food but crappy service, you will lose customers. Elevage doesn't need to fix their experience for me - I'm not looking for a freebie - they need to fix their service for all their patrons for the health of their restaurant.
12/31/2013 Update: I received an email from OpenTable.com saying that I no-showed for my reservation at Elevage! I wrote back and said not only did I honor my reservation for two, you can read all about it on my blog! If Elevage is going to use OpenTable.com for their reservations, they should use it correctly and accurately report honored reservations. Talk about insult after injury on this sad meal! Between being asked to confirm a reservation in advance to a telephone number that didn't work and then having to write an email to OpenTable.com to protest that I did not "no show" - the meal at Elevage was not only disappointing, but had more administrative work than a restaurant meal should require!
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