Bar Bludorn — Restaurant in Hedwig Village

This review is of the cocktails ONLY. Actually, one specific cocktail. We arrived a minute or two after 10pm on Saturday night. We were informed we could not sit in the dining room, as dinner service ended at 10pm. No big deal. I was with a small group of friends, and we simply wanted to check out Bar Bludorn, since we had all been wanting to do so since its opening (plus, both my wife and I are HUGE fans of Bludorn).

Unfortunately, the service at the bar was not at the level I have come to expect based on my many visits to the original Bludorn. I would describe it as passive aggressive. Mind you, closing time wasn't for nearly an hour, so it is not like we snuck in two minutes before they were shutting down for the night, but that's the way it felt.

Being a fan of the negroni cocktail, I immediately spotted the Jager Negroni on the menu. There were a lot of good choices, but considering I felt they wanted us out of there, I knew I may only get one drink, so that's the one I ordered.

You may notice my review rates the food three stars. Since the Jager Negroni is the only thing I ingested that night, that's what the rating applies to. MY REVIEW IS NOT FOR THE FOOD (which I hear is phenomenal). So why only three stars for the cocktail?

All three stars are for the flavor. It was delicious. But it was quite literally the tiniest cocktail I ever had. There was a large ice cube in the glass. Not huge, but it took up a lot of real estate in the glass. That's fine. I like negronis served that way. But the liquid was only about a sip and a half. Granted, for $13 in a world of $16-19 cocktails these days, perhaps it was purposely small. But it almost felt like this was another passive aggressive attempt to gently show us the door. I have had many cocktails from many top bars around the world. And like I said, it tasted great. But it was fleeting, so the comically small size leads me to a middling rating.

Will I return? ABSOLUTELY! While service and the drink weren't up to par on this visit, I believe it was an off night for the staff. The atmosphere is fantastic; it's amazing how they transformed the former Jonathan's The Rub. And to date, I haven't heard anyone say the food is less than stellar. I can't wait to go back and try the food. I expect on that visit I will be giving 5 stars across the board. But I'll probably skip...

Wow…was expecting GREAT…but it was AMAZING!!! Luckily 3 of us went so we could try many things and maybe share a bite or two. Reservations were a must…the restaurant was totally booked. The valet service was efficient, friendly and respectful.

Before we get to the food, I have to say the service was impeccable. Although we had our waiter, Maurice (friendly, knowledgeable, solicitous and willing to make suggestions), the restaurant is staffed with floaters, bussers and management constantly circulating to assist with delivery of dishes, removal of plates and keeping your glasses full. We never needed to ask for anything or think we were being ignored!!! The managers were welcoming and kept eyes on everything to make sure it all was running like a fine tuned watch. They also took the time to visit and make you feel special.

Now to the reason we went there…THE FOOD…

Our cocktails were a margarita, Ruby Slipper and a Old Fashion …all perfectly blended. Starting with Frito Misto (artichoke, calamari, shrimp, whiting with lemon aioli and tomato jam)…light, crisp and flavorful. I got the Gem Lettuce Salad (mint, sesame, brioche, Parmesan dressing). The ultra-finely shredded cheese on top definitely set off the salad. Main courses included the Dry-Aged Burger (caramelized short rib onion, redneck cheddar, frisee, dijonnaise), Fried Chicken (peanut butter gravy, mashed potatoes, collard greens, hot honey), and the Filet Mignon Au Poivre. The burger was delicious. The peanut butter gravy with morsels of peanuts sounded very unusual, but turned out to be perfectly paired with the chicken!!! The chicken was tender and juicy. The steak was cooked to perfection…rare as ordered. We added sides of Parmesan Risotto and Creamed Spinach and Scallion…both fantastic. Needless to say there were plenty of leftovers which were wrapped and held at the front for us to receive when we left. Of course we had desserts…the Foie Gras Candy Bar (marshmallow, candies peanuts), The Martellus (warm chocolate cake, salted caramel, ice cream), Matchamisu (black sesame, ladyfinger). Can’t decide which was the best…I guess we will have to go back and try again. Bar Bludorn is definitely the new favorite local restaurant and we will be...

I was really looking forward to this meal Tuesday evening. I had read some reviews prior from the Chronicle. I read reviews on Google that day and they were mixed. We arrived a little before our 6:45PM reservation. The restaurant was not very busy. We were seated after a party of 5 was. We sat at our very large booth we were given. We were approached asked about drinks and given menus. My wife and decided on the Fritto Misto for and appetizer and for the Entrees we ordered Roasted Duck and the Ora King Salmon. The appetizer arrived and it was greasy and luke warm at the top. Towards the bottom it was hotter and actually was seasoned. Overall the greasy tactile of the dish and taste was sad. Fried food is usually greasy becuase the friers are not up to to temperature. It was not seasoned well. If I can go to a much lower cost restaurant and get well seasoned calalmari and shrimp does not bode well for the rest of the meal. In some of the reviews I read others had the same complaine. Our entrees arrived and they looked wonderful. The duck was cooked perfectly but once again lacked seasoning. My slamon was cooked perfectly along wiht the cocunut rice however the green curry did not enhance the dish. Iwas green puree something. It does not have to be ridiculosly hot or spicy but can have taste. It should enhance the dish when added and the only thing it really did was a lot of green color. Once again it felt like no one is tasting the food. The biggest compliant I have always had is food not being seasoned well. I like to cook so I taste everything. Consistency is key. The noise level went up when more people came in but the place was not busy enough. There were plenty of empty tables. Now they have an incredible wine selection adn beautiful bar. Whoever decides to replay please do not give the standard answer that I saw a lot of. Fix the problem. The Chefs cannot just go through the motion of preparing the food they need to...