BLT Steak

Beautiful restaurant but pretty ordinary food. From the start we informed by our waiter that the Waygu was not available, they were low on mushrooms and had no lemonade. The bacon appetizer was a disappointment but the shrimp cocktail was amazing. The fillet was good but not memorable. Au gratin potatoes and asparagus sides were fantastic. Good drinks and complimentary petit fours evened out the negatives. It was an up and down night. Our waiter made a huge error on our bill so make sure you double check. Not really interested in going back.

BLT is an upscale steak house located in the lobby of the Ritz Carlton. This is a national chain and I have noticed they are often located in upscale hotels. I have been wanting to give BLT a try and thought restaurant week would be a good opportunity.
We had 7:30 reservations, but we were running a little late. The restaurant did not have a valet parking stand out front, and I was a little confused on whether they shared the valet at the Ritz, so we parked across the street at the B of A tower ($ 5 at night). Promptly at 7:30 I received a text from the host that our table was ready and they provided a number to call if we were going to be late (a nice service). We walked in around about 5 minutes late and was greeted and promptly seated. The décor is modern, but the vibe in the restaurant was a little boring. Since the restaurant services the hotel for breakfast, lunch and dinner the décor is less upscale than you would expect for a such a high end place (no white tablecloths etc).
Our waitress greeted us quickly as we sat down and gave us a very nice overview of both the regular menu and the prefixed options. We started with a nice bottle of 2012 Charles Krug Pinot Noir ($ 59). It was excellent.
For starters I had the corn chowder and my wife had the wedge salad. The chowder was velvety smooth and served with a small amount of crab meat on top. It was outstanding. The wedge was very nice with large chunks of blue cheese, crisp bacon bits and roasted grape tomatoes. Both were served along with their house made Gruyère cheese popovers, which looked impressive, but were rather bland.
My entrée was the hanger steak, pommes frites and BLT steak sauce. The hanger was cooked perfectly medium rare, but was tough as nails. Hanger is never tender, but I found this piece so chewy that it was difficult to enjoy. The flavor was good and the seasoning excellent. The BLT steak sauce was a nice complement to the steak and perfect for dipping the crispy hand cut fries into.
Our other entrée was the Scottish Salmon with heirloom tomato, panzanella with a sherry bacon vinaigrette. The salmon was cooked perfectly, but the tomato salad was a bit bland. Salmon has such a mild delicate flavor that I felt the tomato salad could have been punched up a bit to add additional flavor and interest to the dish.
For dessert, we had the chocolate peanut butter mousse, served with banana ice cream. It was sweet, but the sweetness was nicely offset by the pool of bitter chocolate that formed at the bottom of the plate. It was just like having a large Reese peanut butter cup. We also had the peach cobbler. The cobbler was good, but not great. We found it a little dry and they were very chintzy with the ice cream served on top. Definitely could have used more vanilla ice cream, if not only to add additional moisture to the dry cobbler.
Overall, I give BLTs 3 stars. While I thought the service was excellent, the atmosphere, food and high prices (for what you get) all fell flat. At this price point, there are so many other great options that I would choose before heading back to BLT.

My wife and I went for restaurant week. In my opinion even if you are making a cheaper menu to allow other to try your food you would have a better representation of your food. We got the steak and fries dinner and the steak was tough almost like chewing leather. Maybe the salmon or chicken dinner were better but that is still no excuse. We had a 9pm reservation and we’re not seated till 9:30 which would not have been so bad if the food was better. The guys at the bar and the waiter staff were excellent which leaves me to believe they could have done better with the food. Which is almost more disappointing.

Great bar service. I ate at the bar because the service from my pre-​dinner drink was outstanding. Great wine selection, fantastic hanger steak. I will add this to the happy hour rotation!

Even a bad experience here is better than most good experiences anywhere. The management staff is alert and eager to please. The steaks are memorable and the staff makes you feel like you are eating at home. Win I hit the lotto I am eating here three meals a day.

Good service, good location. Tuna app is amazing. Sides were ok. Not a fan of the filet. Also the view up to the street is strange, and getting food out of a skillet on the the plate… I think there are better choices in this price range.

The atmosphere is nice and it was quiet enough to hold a conversation. The food we ordered was great. I checked the menu out prior to arrival and had my heart set on the hamachi appetizer and Waygu skirt steak and they were out of both items.
I was happy with every aspect of our meal.
Our waiter did a great job.

Went here for a team dinner. We stated off with wine and they have a decent collection. The popovers were really great and I ended up eating one whole. I liked the family style sides though none of them were exceptionally great. I’m not a big steak person so opted for the Dover. That turned out quite well. Rich buttery melt in your mouth flavour. But the dessert course was underwhelming

I visited BLT Steak on Wednesday after work with two coworkers and was surprised at how packed it was. At 7:30PM, we had no choice but to eat in the bar area, since it was a 30 – 45 min wait otherwise. Luckily, the bar is full service, although the high top tables are quite small.
Service was great; the wait staff was attentive, and the food came out pretty quickly. Great atmosphere, albeit a little loud when it is a full house. We ordered the Porterhouse and shared some apps and sides.
Food highlights:
— BLT’s signature gruyère popovers are always a delight. Light, fluffy, and so cheesy… I always look forward to enjoying one.
— The grilled double-​cut bacon was awesome. It’s a great cut — not too fatty but not too lean, with just enough flavor. Has a nice chimichurri sauce on top.
— The brussels sprouts side was accompanied by a slightly sweet sauce, which was nicely offset by the saltiness of the bacon. Would definitely order again!
Food lowlights:
— I was disappointed by the tuna tartare. I thought it was rather unbalanced — the tuna itself lacked flavor; the avocado base was overwhelmingly wasabi-​flavored.
— We shared the Porterhouse. While it was a perfect medium rare, I felt it was under-​seasoned. The meat carvings off the bone were delicious, of course. Next time I would probably order a different cut (bone-​in rib eye, anyone?).
— I thought the sides were pretty small considering their price. I would’ve expected them to be slightly bigger, especially since the table typically shares sides.
Charlotte’s uptown is full of steakhouses. While our meal was good, I didn’t think it was enough to set it apart from the other chain steakhouses nearby. That being said, it wasn’t terrible — it certainly warrants a try for yourself. Be prepared, it can get pricey, especially if you order drinks!

My husband and I went this evening and it was excellent! We ordered more than we usually would and everything we had was perfectly executed.
The fig and whiskey cocktail (forgot the name) was great. The popovers were huge and super good. They bring out the recipe with the popovers which is a nice touch. The tuna tartare had a beautiful presentation and was light and refreshing. The steak was cooked perfectly and really large, we could have easily shared one. They offer a variety of sauces, my fave was the bearnaise and my husband’s was the raclette. For dessert we had a peanut butter chocolate mousse and assorted gelato… amazing.
I’m happy and stuffed. Our server, Kyle was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Ask for him when you go! I would definitely come back either for lunch or for a dinner to celebrate.

Visiting from California for work. Was craving a steak and figured I would try BLT.
So $ 150 later, my meal here was underwhelming.
This places seems to thrive off its reputation of being an expensive steak house in the Ritz, while the food is just average.
Ordered a Rib Eye, Caesar salad, and shrimp cocktail.
Steak was good, but not worth the $ 40.
I paid $ 18 for four shrimp.
I don’t mind spending a lot of money on food.
But the quality of the food did not justify the price.
Would rather eat a steak at Firebirds.

Please don’t serve my steak in a skillet — it is hard to cut at such a steep angle.
It isn’t great if my favorite foods at the steakhouse are the appetizer and the dessert. The correct answer to favorite food is. .. STEAK!
I went for Queen’s feast and I think they are offering a very cheap menu keep this on track, they give you a nice appetizer, a sub-​par entrée, and then an alright dessert. It is just my humble opinion that they front load the wow factor.
As for the steak I have put up pictures so you can see how many sinews were in the hanger steak. Combine sinews with a skillet that made it hard to get very much knife in contact with a hard service and you have sinews floating in are as you push at them using a dull steak knife. The Bearnaise sauce was fine, nothing to get excited about. The flavoring and the degree to which the steak was good was excellent, although we got two steaks that were rare and medium rare respectively and from looking at them I couldn’t tell them apart — the conclusion being the medium rare was a bit more rare than it should have been and that the rare steak could have been even rarer if they had purple rare or some other option.
Parking! This is tricky, there is free parking. You must valet your car at the Ritz Carlton, if you make any alternations or do anything than follow this mandate exactly your parking validation won’t work. VALET at the Ritz Carlton, not park at the Ritz Carlton, but valet. You must also avoid parking in one of the indiscernible parking garages in the same block. It is only $ 5, but then the meal is going to be only about $ 80, with that saving the $ 5 is nice.
Don’t bring sunglasses or sunscreen. You may want to pack a flashlight, the place is dimly mood lit. I wish it was a bit brighter but I am sure the vampire crowd loves this place. I joked that they wanted to make it into a sensory imersion place and serve everything in the pitch black.

It’s kind of fun reviewing places after you’ve been there about five-​six months ago. Sure, a lot of the details start to get fuzzy, but that’s where imagination fills in the blanks. Besides, anything that’s really memorable, you’ll recall the details.
This place gets a four for the service but didn’t think the dinner was all that special.
Came here to catch a nice dinner before heading out to an opera at the Belk Theatre — don’t remember if it was Verdi or Puccini. It’s located in the Ritz so the restaurant looked fancy and staff was friendly and helpful. They even started us off with some complimentary chicken liver pâté. Nice touch.
They had some special for that day and I stuck with the small filet. The filet itself was cooked pretty good, but I couldn’t tell for the life of me why my filet looked like it had a tumor growing on it. Didn’t look appetizing, but in the end, it’s red meat — I’m gonna eat it. The sides — asparagus, wedge salad, and tuna hamachi were all prepared fresh and clean and tasted pretty good.
The drinks were flowing like crazy… and dinner-​before-​the-​show turned into just dinner. Blame it on the alcohol, or lack of appreciation for opera! Either way, the raging drunk side of me (default) said «F THE OPERA! KEEP THE GIN FLOWING, KIND SIR.» On balance, the sophisticated cultured side of me (hah) whispered, «But, but, but the tenor reverberations in Belk Theatre compliments the symphonic undertones of the orchestra! A true delight for the ears!» Raging Drunk Dan: «Shut your pie-​hole, this GIN’N’TONIC down my gullet is delight for the soul.» Raging Drunk Dan — winner.
dmo out.

I had never been before but I thought, «typical steakhouse, I’m sure it will be ok» I was very wrong. The service was excellent, the wine list was great, the gruyère popovers… Oh my GOSH. The food was wonderful. The interior is rustic/​Modern… love all the wood details. Bright. And a great place for a casual business lunch.

Went here after celebrating a friend’s birthday, so I’ve already eaten the MAIN course… so had some drinks and just had to order dessert. I mean, this is a FRENCH place, right? The French can certain cook up a mean dessert, and BLT Steak delivered in this arena. I ordered a Crêpe Soufflé with a Passion Fruit Sauce and it was SCRUMPTIOUS! Very, very light yet flavorful. The outside was clearly «torched» so that the sugars carmelized ala crème brûlée. But that passion fruit sauce was to die for! If you’re wanting a dessert that 1) won’t break the bank and 2) is light yet delicious, get this one!
The 2 bartenders (Ashely and Nicole — sisters!) were awesome! Very attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. My only knock on the place was the the wines were VERY EXPENSIVE! Do NOT come here expecting a bargain! The average price of wine was about $ 15/​glass! The Priorat Spanish wine I ordered was superb so that deadened the pain somewhat. But 2 glasses set me back $ 32!!! The BOTTLE’s retail price is around $ 30 so THAT is some expensive bar wine! But again thankfully, the pours were generous and the wine quality was superb so I was OK with it overall.
My friend said she’s been here for dinner and that it was awesome. In looking at the prices it better be! For example, a 22oz Bone In Ribeye was $ 52. I’d pay that IF AND ONLY IF the quality was at least PRIME, and the flavors were sublime. These are NY, Vegas and LA prices. Worth it IF it’s really THAT good. I will let you all know.
This restaurant is right next to Bar Chocolate, which had some very YUMMY looking desserts. Can’t wait to try the full menu of BLT Steak and Bar Chocolate in the near future.

Yummy! Went with a group of friends to celebrate a birthday. Every item we got was incredible. For appetizers we got the double cut bacon and shrimp cocktail. Both realky good. After apps, the bread service arrived with the colossal popovers that were worth coming her for alone. The steak comes with a choice of a variety of sauces. (The peppercorn was amazing.). We ordered every side, which were served family style for sharing. The favorites were the scalloped potatoes, green beans and the baked potato.
The check arrived with bite size molten chocolate cakes.
I highly recommend this place for date night.

Great steak dinner, jalapeño mashed potatoes were to die for! Its pricey so save it for a special occasion or a business dinner.
also had the double cut grilled bacon– loved it.
waitstaff was attentive and very friendly and the pop overs are AWESOME.

Great food, great atmosphere, and great servicr.
I definitely coming back here for special occasions.

Really good while dining in, but absolutely horrible as room
Service.
The popover thingys are amazing (dine-​in only). I ordered the grilled lobster, and it had a burnt grill taste to it. Hubby ordered the short ribs, and they were extremely good.
Please see the picture of the room service food — it was actually the SECOND order of extremely burnt food.
Could be a nice place, but the inconsistency is scary.

Charlotte might not realized how spoiled they are to have this restaurant — BLT stands for «Bistro Laurent Tournel», named after the NYC-​based chef-​restaurateur. Apparently LT left the group a few years back, but the quality of food and service is still insanely high.
**Tuna tartare was one of the best I’ve ever had
**The popovers were so amazing my wife broke her GF streak to try them.
**The hanger steak we ordered came out a little late — and they comp’d it. (It was perfectly cooked.)
**Bar scene is hot and lively.