In the mid 90's my boss sent me to a fancy steakhouse as a bonus. He warned me the dress code was strict and to wear a jacket and tie. I did and I was glad I did, the place was over the top nice, we were the youngest people in the place, I was in my mid 20's at the time.
The typical diners all looked to be in their 50's and 60's. I have been there about 6x over the years since and noticed a decline.
Fast forward to last year, we took my parents there for their anniversary. We were all in suits, my sons were in button up shirts, no ties and jackets. I wore a jacket and no tie as well. The women were in dresses.
We waited too long (3 weeks out) to get a reservation and we could only get a table at 8:30 PM. I was appalled by the scene in the dining room. Girls in jeans and flannel shirts guys in t-shirts. They were loud and obnoxious. there was even an incident where 2 drunken girls screaming woo! broke their wine glasses banging them together too hard.
My waitress did apologize and I can only guess these were the brats of some well healed regular who used daddies name to get in there or they were themselves over the top wealthy and have no consideration for anyone around them.
I hope this is a one off bad night. If this happens next time I go there to celebrate I will not go there anymore.
I just looked on the website and there is still a dress code which was obviously not enforced that night.
Quote:
The appropriate attire at either Bern's Steak House or Haven is business casual to semi-formal. We ask that no t-shirts, tennis shoes, flip-flops, shorts, or blue jeans be worn. If any of these items are worn to Bern's, you may be seated in our lounge area instead of one of the dining rooms.
Jackets and ties are encouraged, but not officially required. It is quite common to see formal wear in our restaurants since we are fortunate to be visited often for special occasion meals.
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