Bernardin’s Restaurant @ zevely House — Restaurant in Winston-Salem

We decided on Bernardin's for dinner as this was highly rated around Winston Salem area near our hotel. We called to make a same day reservations but the lady who picked up the phone put us on hold and never came back. We had to call again and the only seats available at the time was for indoor seating. Be mindful that you'll have to walk up the stairs to be seated indoor and restrooms are located in the basement. Once you walk down the stairs to the restrooms, you'll smell a whiff of the typical restroom scent. It wasn't pleasant. We ordered the scallops, duck, and surf & turf (MKP which was $55 at the time) Scallops were cooked really well. The surf & turf was such a major miss. This could've been done so well but I asked for the beef to be medium but it came out RARE. I cut into it and was quite concerned how rare it was. I sent it back to the kitchen and it was done fine after. However, for "fine dining" and for the price you would expect the quality to be there without sending anything back. The lobster was very tender and done well. The brown sauce underneath the steak, lobster and potato cake was SO SALTY. This was the only thing that brought my review so low because I don't know if this is normal to be cooking so salty and eating it. That made the dish not worth $55 at all. I say pass on the surf & turf because if a chef can't even cook beef correctly and on top season the sauce so salty...it's very suspicious to me. The dessert was sorbet and chocolate mousse cake. Sorbet was way too sweet and the chocolate mousse cake tasted like a brownie. Also one thing to note, I asked for ginger ale and they were out of ginger ale. The guy who looked like the owner came by and he had such an attitude and said "out of ginger ale." I asked what other options do I have and he goes "the usual coke or sprite?" but the way he said it was almost as if he was really irritated at me. Not sure why but maybe a bad day? Overall nice atmosphere but way too expensive for...

Summary: This was our first time to Bernardin's restaurant. The skinny: great service, good food, atmosphere is great upstairs, but lord there are some issues in the basement (where the bathrooms are)!

We made a reservation for 5:45 pm and showed up around 5:15, shortly after they opened. We were the only ones there and were sat straight away in a small, cozy room. As it would turn out, we were the only ones sat in that room, which made date night feel very special.

The waitress Abby was very kind, made wonderful recommendations, and was the perfect amount of attentive that you want when dining out on a date. She knew the bourbon and rye in stock and had actually eaten there so she was able to describe the food to my date.

The drinks that came were impeccable. I like a Manhattan up with rye, which is unfortunately difficult for some places to make. The bar tender at Bernardin's mastered it, fortunately. My date's martini came extra dirty, just how she ordered it - another thing that we know doesn't happen just anywhere.

The food was delicious. My date had the lobster over lobster and I had the elk. She loved the lobster, stating that the sauce was just enough to highlight but not outshine the lobster flavor. I ordered the elk medium rare, expecting a bit on the rare side. It was delivered medium well, but was still very good. We ordered snails and brussels for an appetizer (both amazing), so the smaller entree sizes were actually perfect and we left full.

The only real negative thing I have to say is that there is a terrible stagnant smell in the washrooms, located in the basement, for which they have installed fans and maybe a dehumidifier. My date reported that when she stepped into the lady's room, the tiles squished down and water came up, which was off-putting. Fortunately they are in the basement, far enough from the tables that you...

We came with a larger (9 people) party and were not impressed. I have enjoyed a decent meal here (7+ years ago) so, it’s possible. Last time I ate here (2015) I said never again. Unfortunately, I didn't decide the place and I didn’t pay the tab but it still wasn’t anything worth mentioning (isn’t “free” food supposed to taste better?). My food was barely warm, maybe it was cooked first? The plate was scalding, just not the food (cold, RUBBER-like lobster tail, no thanks). The beet salad tasted like it had water, seriously water, for dressing. The most decent things were the appetizers and bottled booze. The wait staff couldn’t even manage to clear empty glasses from the table. At minimum, $60 a person (drink, salad, entree) and expecting a 20-25% tip, I shouldn’t be moving empty cocktail glasses around the table like musical chairs. Just not impressed and definitely not worth it. I will spend money on food, in fact, I enjoy doing so but not mediocre food, wrong temp. Friendly but sloppy service. Next year we will make a reservation for Mozzelles across the street. Bernardins is now on my list of never again restaurants, which is a shame bc it’s a lovely atmosphere. The food was better when it was in the strip mall off Jonestown. Unfortunately, I pay for flavor, texture and service, not just a pretty building. If management really cared about satisfied guest, they wouldn’t approach a group saying “everything is great..” before walking away. At least clear a dirty plate or a glass. Wait staff had no problem clearing the table at the end of the meal when we were all conversing and they were apparently ready to leave. Not a 5 star dining experience, 2 stars for ambiance and...