The story below is from our March/April 2020 issue. For the full issue Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
Whether you seek fine dining or a casual atmosphere, Bernard’s is a welcome addition to downtown Roanoke’s restaurant scene.
One of the best things about Roanokers is they’re always ready to welcome one more place for folks to gather around food. Enter Bernard’s Gastropub, one of downtown’s newest, and most welcome, additions.
Jon and Lindsay Bernard are no strangers to Roanoke’s downtown restaurant scene. Jon, a Danville native and graduate of Johnson and Wales Charlotte, has been running prominent downtown kitchens since he moved to Roanoke in 2015. Lindsay, who grew up in the Valley, has been part of Roanoke’s restaurant scene for years, mostly in front of the house operations.
The couple met through downtown work connections and shared similar ideas and aspirations when it came to the restaurant world. So, when the Jefferson Street location came available, they went for it.
“This is our first restaurant; first business. We’re green as grass,” says Jon, and then grins in a way that reveals the wild thrill of it all.
One of the first challenges the new owners faced was renovating the building. Everything had to be stripped “dirt to ceiling,” as Jon describes; literally, the flooring was taken out, revealing the Roanoke dirt beneath it.
Only then could the Bernards transform the narrow, hallway-like space into an upscale, yet comfortable atmosphere where customers feel part of a larger gathering while still maintaining some intimacy at their own table.
Part of the transformation process included making choices about what would be included, and what wouldn’t. For the Bernards, dining space won over food storage. This makes grocery shopping an everyday essential.
“Shopping every day was part of the plan, anyway,” says Jon. “I like to hand pick my produce. We buy locally grown produce whenever we can. And having our meat and seafood shipped fresh multiple times a week is a must.”
Besides this, the Bernards created a menu that demands freshness.
“When we wrote the menu, we didn’t take it easy on ourselves,” says Jon.
The menu is a combined collage of the couple’s restaurant experiences, adding Bernard’s identity to each thing. Jon and Lindsay make everything from scratch: cutting fries, grinding meat and making their own corned beef, pastrami and dressings. Originally, they planned on changing the menu seasonally, but customers’ overwhelming positive response altered their plans.
Eating at Bernard’s is an easy, “Yes.” There’s a sort of magic brewing there making it a great place for any occasion. Want a casual lunch with friends? Or a place for closing the deal? Celebrating something? Craving comfort? Want to dress up and dine fine? Or, wear jeans and have a burger? Or, add pearls to your denim and indulge in both?
Go to Bernard’s.
I’ve dined at Bernard’s several times. Each time, I leave feeling I’ve been gifted with this excellent, easy dining experience without suffering the fine dining price tag. Because of this, I’m more bold to try menu items I normally shy away from. For example, one of my favorite Bernard’s sandwiches is the Irishman.
This is unusual for me on two fronts: I don’t often order sandwiches, and I especially don’t order sandwiches considered “heavy” (read: high-calorie and over-filling). But, because I had a hankering for comfort food and I’d had enough experiences at Bernard’s to trust I wouldn’t be disappointed, I went for the Irishman. Score!
Since that time, I’ve gone on to order more of Bernard’s sandwiches: the Cuban, the Hirshman and the Sailor. All wholesome, tasty food experiences.
I’ve also enjoyed several of Bernard’s appetizers. My favorite—strange as this may sound—is their fried pickles called “frickles.” Bernard’s frickles are this perfect combination of crunchy, juicy, crisp, sweet and sour. When I told Jon his frickles were my favorite, he chuckled and told me they went through 10 different pickle chips before finding the right one.
My favorite salad at Bernard’s is their poached pear with salmon. The salad itself is chock-full of fresh ingredients with a healthy-sized, thick cut, beautifully seasoned, pan-seared salmon filet sitting atop it.
Jon says they use the same seasoning mix on all their proteins, which makes me excited to try their other meat entrees. Bernard’s warm spinach salad is also delicious. I would never consider spinach a comfort food, but under Jon’s chef expertise, it certainly is!
Jon and Lindsay say their Steakhouse Burger is one of their most popular menu items. Its secret is the brown sugar candied bacon they basket weave into its own patty-like shape. It’s one of those unique twists that makes a burger at Bernard’s more than a great burger. It makes it a Bernard’s burger.
“We’ve poured everything into this place,” says Jon. “We want people to be comfortable here. Everything has to be top-notch, excellent. We want people to leave Bernard’s thinking, ‘this isn’t just an average restaurant.’”
... for more from our March/April 2020 issue, Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!