Bern's Steak House   

Arguably, the best fine dining restaurant in Tampa, Bern's epitomizes elegance from its decor to its service to its cuisine. Guests get a sense of the restaurant's opulence immediately upon entering the lobby, a two-story space thick with marble, velvet and gold trim. The 100-seat dining area continues the theme, though in somewhat more subdued fashion, with rich mahogany paneling and exquisite chandeliers. When it comes to Bern's menu, too, no detail is too small to ensure a world-class dining experience: They age their own steaks, grow their own organic vegetables, mill their own bread grains and hand-sort their coffee beans. The menu is a marvel of culinary extravagance with appetizers including tenderloin carpaccio, escargot and 23 types of caviar, and decadent entrees (think lamb, duckling and lobster). But what Bern's is best known for, as its name implies, is its beef with 50 different cuts to choose from, ranging from filet mignon for one to Chateubriand for six, each sold by weight and thickness. The wine list, too, is mind-boggling with more than different 7,000 labels, as is its dessert menu of 50-plus selections. As to be expected, the service at Bern's is impeccable, as is everything else. --Kerry Speckman