Bardea Steak — Restaurant in Wilmington

I struggled with 2 or 3 stars but at the end of the day if you have "Steak" in your name that should be what you execute the best. I went to Bardea Steak this past Saturday with my wife another couple so excited to try it with the thought that if it was anywhere on par to the original Bardea it would never disappoint. Lets get into the pleasantries. The staff here were GREAT!!! From the Host and Hostess being friendly and accommodating, even hearing that when I booked the reservation all that was available was a high top, they acted without being asked and placed us at a table for 4. The support staff and the floor management team were fast, friendly and made sure we never waited long for anything. Our server, Taylor, was AWESOME!!! She took the time to explain the menu, answer questions, provide some recommendations and truly gave excellent service. So far so good, we thought, bring on the food

Appetizers - Numerous offerings here, in fact we even commented that we should maybe come back and just do small plates. First up were the Oysters (Just for me) and they were fresh and delicious. The Golden Guernsey Croissant was AMAZING!!! Its not to be missed. The Flanken Ribs (Korean Ribs) WOW were they tasty. Beautifully cooked and flavorful. The last app was a bit of a let down. The Ostrich Skewer was so masked with the seasoning and coating that you couldn't taste the Ostrich. If you've ever had Ostrich you know its more steak than chicken but here it was all about the other flavors. The oddity was the crazy strong blue cheese "fondue" that it was served with. It was so over powering. I love blue cheese but this dip needed to be on a salad not as a side to a piece of meat. 3 out of 4 is a good start and we were so excited to get our entrees.

Drinks - Zero complaints here. We thoroughly enjoyed our drinks which were the Martini, Pisco Sour and the King Koji Old Fashion. Kudos to the Bartenders - FANTASTIC job!!

Entrees - Now to the main meal and where things kind of derail a bit. As a group we decided to go with two different steak plates with the thought to share around the table. The friends we were with got the Chianina Porterhouse for 2 (about 44oz I think) and I ordered the Zabuton Steak flight (Some of you may know it as the Denver Steak). For the sides we went with the loaded potato which Bardea Steak's version of a deconstructed baked potato and it was delicious!! Soft and creamy with a little crunch from the skin. Really Good. The Mac and Cheese was also very well received. Now the steaks. The Zabuton arrived and was plates nicely. It consisted of 4 slices each of Australian Wagyu, American Wagyu and Angus. The Australian Wagyu was Magnificent but it was also the closest cooked to the requested medium-rare. The other two were much closer to medium and thus chewier and less tasty but not bad. The porterhouse on the other hand was a different story. When it arrived it was already cut up for the table (which sadly let it cool off quite considerably). As we ate the porterhouse, I noticed no conversation really about it. Just a quiet hum of "Huh" and "Hmmmm" I later found out that we were all in agreement that it was over cooked, a little grainy and really a disappointment once the check came. You will notice on the menu that pricing for the steaks is by the ounce and a restaurant recommendation of how many it can feed yet you don't really know how many ounces unless you ask. You can imagine our disappointment was amplified once we realized we spent close to $250 just for the porterhouse. The Zabuton at $110 on the menu was by far superior meal. I can imagine placing a $250 price tag on the menu would probably open some eyes so I understand the "by the ounce" approach, just understand when its that much it better live up to expectation. In this case, it did not. I know most people who are going to Bardea Steak aren't looking for frugality. But when you spend over $750 for dinner for 4 it really should be something you will remember for all the RIGHT reasons. Bottom Line - Could Have...

We did the tasting menu because the menu is complex and a little confusing. The tasting menu seemed to be a great way to let them pilot the menu, which turned out to be regretful. I am not a fan of steak houses, so I wasn’t having high hopes to start, but this isn’t a traditional steakhouse, so we gave it a try. This turned out to be a poor expansion of the bardea brand. The tasting menu is a decent variety. Half of the course may have been raw items. Before doing the tasting menu they didn’t ask if anyone had dietary restrictions and the first dish included kiwi seeds. An oversight on our part when eating but a mistake we are still paying for. The menu didn’t seem to flow from course to course. We had the deconstructed burger, which was (over)cooked. The meat was grilled tableside and most of the meet was still stuck to the stone. The wagu cooper sharp onion dish lacked salt, the cheese l overpowered the possibly tasty wagyu tartar. I was excited to see the corn dogs included in the tasting but the meat inside had separated from the corn dog and the breading was cold and soggy. The veal sliders was the 5th raw dish served with a warm shot of tomato soup. Duck confit bao buns were very bitter. Burned ends/ potato might have been my favorite part. But they cleared my plate when I was still eating them because I had gone to the bathroom. Steak was 4 different cuts. The person serving mumbled through the explanation. We were not sure what was presented but we were not able to chew most of it. And they took it away after we gave up on trying to chew it. The provided knife wasn’t able to saw through it. We watching the wood grill running all night. We saw people eating steak but hardly saw anything other than carrots, cabbages and a tomahawk steak go onto the grill over the 3 hour dinner. As a side note on the restrooms they have a basket with open maybe used toothpicks by the door. I’m not sure if they were nee toothpicks or used since non of them were individually wrapped and by the bathroom door. I’d they are new maybe it’s worth finding an individually wrapped product. If they are used…. Place a trash can by the door. On the plus side we didn’t need a tooth pick since the steak was so rubbery it wasn’t able to be chewed. As a side note we ordered a couple repeat drinks and they didn’t taste anything like what was previously order, but maybe a different bartender took over. At the end of the day…. If you like bardea food and drink... I suggest you dine at the original restaurant where they stick to their core...

I wanted to wait about a week before writing this to allow some time to rebalance and ensure my opinion was not overly influenced by emotion. Until now, my experiences with the Bardea suite of restaurants have been stellar. Nothing has been left wanting.

On April 20, 2024, we had the opportunity to go to Bardea Steak with another couple. It was the other couple's first time at Bardea Steak, and we talked about the brand in advance, so they were excited. The food was good. The atmosphere was good. The drinks were good as usual. However, we were left underwhelmed by our waiter. I thought at first I was the only one that sensed the chilliness from our waiter. But everyone at the table remarked how the waiter didn't even introduce himself by name to us during our entire stay. I would say he checked the box. There was no warmness, no guidance through the offerings on the menu. When I had a menu question, he pointed at the menu as if to say, figure it out for yourselves. He was by far the least effective waiter I've had at your establishments. I could tell that he was not under-skilled, and it was clear that he knew his craft. It almost felt like he didn't have time for us for some reason. The other table members made similar comments, such as, 'he never introduced himself to us.' He rarely checked to see if there was anything else we needed. We began to look around to observe the other tables and their other waitstaff, and it seemed they were getting the typical Bardea experience. I ordered a drink, and the bartender came over to deliver the drink. The bartender was exuberant, high energy, warm, and engaging as he delivered one drink to us. When the meal came out, the two servers who assisted acted as I expected from a Bardea-level restaurant regarding their engagement and friendliness. Our waiter was not friendly. He tolerated us, which is how I would best put it.

We still would not know his name had it not been printed on the bill. His name is Philip. I hope he gets this feedback. Maybe he had a bad day. We gave your restaurant the typical 20% tip, but that was more of a reflection of the other waitstaff that assisted and the quality of the food and less about Philip.

If the waitstaff is the topic of conversation during your meal, after your meal, and on the ride home, it's either because the service was great or poor. Unfortunately for us, it was the latter.

Thank...