Beef 'N Bottle Steakhouse — Restaurant in Charlotte

My wife and I visited Beef 'n' Bottle this past Saturday evening, 21 October, on the occasion of our thirtieth anniversary. The five-star rating tells you of our overall experience. Here are the details.

Our reservation was for 1700; we arrived five minutes before the hour. Despite the restaurant being crowded, we were seated immediately, in a booth. I've read a comment or two that the booths are cramped; however, that did not seem to be the case for us. We were not squeezed against the table and our food, when we were served was in easy reach. The high backs of the booth allowed us reasonable privacy, despite the packed house.

Our waiter presented himself within minutes. I believe his name was Michael. I'm embarrassed that I didn't take pains to make sure of his name, because he was knowledgeable, efficient, and personable. His service was impeccable. He did not hover over our table, yet he was always there when we wanted him. (For any Beef 'n' Bottle bosses who might read this, when he learnt it was our thirtieth anniversary, he told us he and his wife had just celebrated their first---that should aid in identification.)

For appetisers, my wife and I both ordered the New England clam chowder. I had taken with a grain of salt the blurb on the restaurant's website menu that its clam chowder was prepared from an authentic recipe from Phillips, Maine. But, the chowder-makers in Phillips, Maine must know their stuff for it was superb chowder---hearty with clams and potato and bacon. It's the first restaurant chowder that I didn't need to season. Both my wife and I rated it as the best chowder we'd ever had.

Foe entrées, my wife ordered the six-ounce filet mignon, medium, and fried scallops. I requested the ten-ounce filet, rare, and lobster. (Usually, the size of the lobster tail in most restaurant's isn't worth the added cost, but here, I received a twelve-to-fourteen-ounce tail, worth the investment.) Our steaks were tender, flavourful, and cooked on point to the requested temps.

I was sceptical of my wife's choice of getting her scallops fried---until I sampled one. The coating was light, rather than a heavy breading, and perfectly fried to a golden patina. I'm not a scallop fan, but from the one my wife had me sample, I would've enjoyed a plate of them.

My lobster was cooked perfectly, with none of the graininess that often accompanies a lobster not completely prepared.

Our sides were a baked potato, steak fries, sautéed mushrooms, and salads. I like the way the salad is served, with each diner receiving a plate of lettuce, along with a community relish tray, allowing each diner to dress his salad with the tomato, peppers, onions, radish, etc. of his own preference.

Despite the excellence of the experience, there were a couple of minor downchecks.

First, the sautéed mushrooms were underwhelming. While I detected a hint of red wine in the liquid in the base of the serving bowl, none of that flavour seemed to transmit to the mushrooms themselves. They weren't bad, just bland.

The second downcheck goes to the ambiance. I love that the décor hearkens to the steakhouses of sixty years ago. I ate in places like that when I was a young man and it felt very familiar and pleasant. But the layout reflects a problem in many restaurants to-day: too many tables too close together. And Beef 'n' Bottle exhibits this worse than most. The avenues between tables are so narrow, two people cannot pass each other. When my wife and I were ready to leave, we had to check the traffic next to our booth for an opening between passing waiters.

Not a terrible thing, and I sympathise with restauranteurs, who seek to maximise their business. But, speaking as a customer, when you're not as nimble as you used to be, you have to pay a bit of attention.

This was our first visit to Beef 'n' Bottle, and it scored high with us. It's definitely on our list of return restaurants and at the...

Beef & Bottle Steakhouse 4538 South Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28209

2 Stars

This ramshackle dump is an impoverished man's Bern's Steakhouse but with exceedingly bad steaks. The lighting in this place is so bad you truly can't see what you are consuming. This turned out to be a good thing in the end. David is the server this evening; while he wasn't bad, he wasn't anything special. He was adequate but not award-winning. I put in an order for some Frog legs, fried oysters and their NY strip. The reviews for this place were incredible. I was expecting to eat what was referred to as "consistently being the best steaks in the USA!" Instead, I walked into a cool kitsch time capsule with Sysco's worst. If you sit someone my age in a room dark enough to make a vampire feel right at home, we all know what will happen. Thankfully, I had a companion, so I did not take a quick nap. If anything, I was resting my eyes for a bit. Fortuitously, David returned with our order about then. Looking at the pics, you will see that everything looked as good as the reviews.

First up on the Big Boy's discerning palate was the Cuisses de Grenouille (Frog legs). Long known as a national delicacy of French cuisine and a local one of the Deep South, I eagerly dug into my order and came up short. These must have come from the bottom of the food service box as they tasted like they were severally freezer-burned. Strike one.

Happily moving on to the fried oysters. I picked one up, hoping the frog legs were a one-off. My hopes came crashing down as these were not cooked properly. Perhaps they were made ahead of time and kept chilled, then dumped in oil for a few seconds to reheat them. However, they were reheated, and it was obvious by the texture of the coating that they were not made to order. Strike Two.

Turning to the NY Strip, I was beginning to think either those reviews I read were not authentic, the person writing them somehow lost their sense of taste, or friends and family wrote them. While my steak was, surprise, surprise, cooked properly, it was of such low grade I'm not sure a USDA Inspector would classify it as Choice, let alone Prime. The steak was so tough; I would wager even a discalced human coming off of a strict 40-day fast wouldn't eat it. I would even go so far as to lay dollars to donuts the local prison unloaded their Sunday leftovers. Strike Three.

The Big Boy says, "They will say mean things about me or claim it was an off day. I say you can't believe everything you read on the internet." Yes, I see the irony there, be that as it may, their reviews were stellar, the food was...

The visit to Beef N' Bottle, last night, could have been great, but our server, Terri, made it extraordinary!

We have been living in the Charlotte area for about five years, had steaks in other places but, somehow, did not get to try Beef N' Bottle before. After last night's dinner we know it was a miscalculation...

We made a reservation to celebrate our anniversary. Upon arriving, a bit early, we were led to our table in one of the smallest rooms in the restaurant. The décor and feel is definitely of an old school steakhouse. Love it or not, it does set the ambiance.

When Terri first arrived to greet us, it was clear that this is going to be a special experience. She was welcoming, knowledgeable and funny, making sure we did not miss anything on the menu and are all set for a wonderful dining experience. She made good recommendations and ensured we are going to enjoy ourselves.

And then, there is the food. The Shrimp Scampi was excellent and we used all available pieces of bread to soak as much of the very tasty butter sauce. Great start.

Then came the steaks. and they were very, very good. Clearly, Beef N' Bottle knows beef. I guess that 60 years of experience were not in vain. My better half ordered the fillet medallions, as I went with a T-Bone. Both steaks were excellent and made to perfection. The beef was very tender and flavorful. Excellent steaks. Sides were classic steakhouse type and in abondance. In an uncharacteristic fashion, we were not able to finish the sides. That said, there was nothing left of the steaks. We came to work, not to play.

Having eaten in a some of the best steakhouses in the country, we can definitely say the Beef N' Bottle's are among the best I had. This place is what American steakhouse tradition is all about. It remains loyal and committed to what it knows best. And that is very good.

Pricewise, it is not cheap, but... You pay for and get great steaks, with all sides included (unlike in many other steakhouses of this quality), the portions are huge, the quality is top notch and it is not as expensive as many similar establishments. We can say it's a great deal, in a very good way. We had great expectations, from reading other reviews, and the experience exceeded all expectation.

This place is highly recommended. We will be back for the dining experience, for the food...