Bernardin's Restaurant At Ratcliffe — Restaurant in Charlotte

This restaurant automatically had a wonderful feeling to it.. it’s a very romantic place and the lighting makes it all the more nostalgic.. I’ve never been to a restaurant that can not only over exceed my expectations but, manage to make the whole dining experience even greater than expected as well. From the moment we were being seated we were greeted with great service, (we don’t remember our waitresses name! But, she spoke smoothly with a thick accent and told us she was from Cuba! I thought that was cool and she seated us someplace away from the main dining area because the main seating area by the window was taken. (In the reservation notes area, i asked if availed to be seated by the window near the street). I just thought it’d be even more romantic ya’ know? But! It got even better when our waitress told us that we couldn’t be seated there because our night was about to get better. She pointed to an area that was at the top of the restaurant. We looked up and saw a smoothly clothed table with 4 seats surrounding it. My jaw dropped for a second because I hadn’t paid any attention to the fact that there’s a next level to this restaurant, literally! I was excited because the night just kept getting better and better. She led us to a corner that had steps to take you up to the seated area. As we went up the steps the restaurant became more dim with the lighting at the top of the restaurant like a distant light that turns into another romantic scene. The seating up top has a balcony that overlooks the entire restaurant. You can still see through the window by the street and see people walking by on the outside and cars passing. It was amazing, it was a truly breathtaking view. Our service was amazing entirely. Our waitress had taken note of our drinks for the evening and offered us bread with a butter and basil mix. It tasted great and the drinks were great too! The orange peel inside the bourbon was cool and innovative as it was my first time having this drink. The calamari is a must! The scallops were so smooth; and all in all this experience was just beyond amazing.

Thank you Bernardin’s for a...

Definitely surprised by all of the great reviews for Bernardin's. I visited last Friday evening and was not impressed.

The restaurant was essentially empty at 7:30 on a Friday night, so that was the first clue. The place is oddly brightly lit, which gives it a strange atmosphere for a "fine dining" establishment. We were seated on hard, uncomfortable chairs and at a small table that was pushed up against a wall. Vibes were off from the start.

Our waitress seemed flushed and distracted from the moment she greeted us. She never told us about any specials, but I heard another server mention them to a different table.

It took too long for us to receive our drinks, and when my cocktail showed up, I was instantly turned off. It tasted like straight whiskey, with no hint of the blackberries that were in its name. I remained hopeful about the calamari appetizer, but I shouldn't have. It was chewy, tasteless, and poorly presented.

The meal itself was...fine, which is why I'm still giving Bernardin's 3 stars. I had the surf and turf, and the lobster tail was fresh and delicious, despite being a bit small. The filet mignon was rarer than the medium that I requested, but it was seasoned well.

Dessert was disappointing, because I saw chocolate torte on the menu and (typically) it's my go-to dessert because it's almost always gluten free. I asked our server if that was the case, and she told me that the only gluten free dessert was the creme brulee. I ordered it - it tasted very pre-made and there was absolutely nothing interesting or exciting about it.

Would I return to Bernardin's (if you somehow haven't already guessed the answer to this question)? Absolutely not, especially with how many other amazing places there are in Charlotte if you're looking to drop $200+ on a...

A beautiful restaurant. Reservations made with ease. The wait staff was friendly. The food was lovely. Unfortunately the only reason that I'm rating this 1-Star is because of the manager's response to my sizeable party on what could have been and should've been a perfect night, my surprise birthday dinner. My husband ordered the last portion of lamb left. When he got his order, his lamb was a bit undersized (portion-wise). He asked our waitress about it, and eventually decided to change his order, since he couldn't order another lamb. The manager came to our party's table, in what I thought was trying to smooth over the little hiccup. Instead he nearly charged my husband, getting only inches from his face, and refusing to change the order. He was beyond discourteous and made a scene for other patrons to notice and become uncomfortable. Our entire party, 20+ adults almost exited at that display of vulgar customer mistreatment. Instead, our waitress, Stephanie (I believe) was extremely gracious, empathetic, and helped ease what could've been an eventful night, in more ways than one. She helped turn his folly into an evening that was salvageable and still good birthday celebration for me. Even though the manager put a damper on the night, to say the very least. She provided my husband with the manager's name, who ended up leaving immediately after the confrontation (and apparently has a known hot temper) and the owner's information. Thanks Stephanie & wait staff. Owner needs to consider maybe transitioning wait staff into management or hiring someone who demonstrates consistent, good customer service regardless of what personal issues he/she may have going on. Business...