We live off of Restaurant Row, in the Dr. Phillips neighborhood, but we wanted to do something special this year for our anniversary. Being that things are still a little strained due to COVID, we didn't plan a trip; we just planned a really nice...evening out, and Christner's did NOT disappoint! We used to eat at this restaurant pretty regularly, that is to say three or four times a year, but life got busy; it's not that the establishment changed, our habits changed and it had been at least five years since we had ventured out to Lee Road to experience the fine dining they have to offer. We were pleased with the social distancing and mask wearing being taken seriously by the restaurant. We were seated at a booth, in a room that could probably accommodate more than a dozen parties, but due to distancing, there were only 4 other parties sharing the space. We were greeted by Josh, one of the best waiters we've had in a very long time. He was astute and upon hearing we were celebrating our anniversary said, "I'm in no rush if you're in no rush." He brought us cocktails before we ordered anything, and the amazing crusty bread I remembered from years gone by was quickly sitting between us, fresh out of the oven with soft, whipped butter by it's side. Once I finished my very generously sized dirty martini with blue cheese stuffed olives, we ordered appetizers...I had the lettuce wedge with the very decadent blue cheese dressing that I remember. I switched to a glass of red wine to accompany the salad and our entrees. I next ordered an 8 oz filet, cooked medium rare. My husband had the same, only his was Oscar style. Our meal accompaniments were the lobster mac and cheese and the chateau potatoes, also a favorite from the past. Another glass of wine capped off the evening for me...we were too full to have dessert, and had most of our side dishes wrapped as well as a few bites of steak to bring home. Josh insisted we take a piece of their famous orange cake with us, since it was our anniversary. I was pleasantly surprised that our bill was not higher, given the quality of the food and the amount of beverages we had. We dine at Ruth's Chris frequently, and I can only imagine for the same order it could've easily been $50 to $100 more. Not to say this was cheap by any means. The entire experience was one of luxury and before leaving, we made a reservation to return. And we requested Josh, as he was such an attentive server. If you are in the neighborhood, or even if you're not, this is a wonderful place to celebrate any milestone...and after all, we need some things to celebrate nowadays.More

We went here for our anniversary celebration and we received the most perfect meals ever! We have dined here for many years for birthday and special occasions and it has always been good but for some reason this time it was even better (if that's...possible)! We both ordered the filet and they were perfectly cooked as always and tasted even better than our last visit! They offer a nice variety of large sides to go with your meal which we really appreciate and we order a different one on each visit. The only downside was the obnoxious loud party of drinking juvenile acting adults at the next table. My wife and I couldn't enjoy the piano player's melodies and couldn't even talk with each other due to their behavior. We even tried to shhh them but it continued so finally I had had enough and asked our fantastic server Harris to move us to another table before I lost my temper. In over 20 years of dining here this was a first for us at Christner's. The manager even came over and apologized for the disruption. With that said we cannot wait to return for my birthday celebration and the phenomenal orange cake dessert we always order. If you've never been here you have no idea what your missing! We've been to the world famous and well known steakhouse in Tampa...and this one is BETTER!More

My husband and I have been driving all the way to Tampa to get an amazing steak. Now that we’ve visited Christner’s we will be returning often. My ribeye was absolutely amazing and cooked to perfection. Most of the time when I order mu steak...well done it comes to me tough. This steak was flavorful and it took no press wire to cut it. And I could eat the potatoes au gratin all by themselves.....such amazing flavor. My husband had the Seared Tuna and he enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed my steak. Christner’s is a must. The customer service was 5 Stars, also.More