88 Charles St Cafe

Second time here. Love the lamb shank and the Italian soup. Very nice and professional staff.

Dissatisfied beyond belief! I have been going to 88 Charles St. for 10 – 12 years now. Basically I have always had good food and good times and dropped a good amount of money. I will never go back!
I made reservations 3 weeks in advance for a Christmas party. I requested a particular table and chairs as we planned to be there for the evening and wanted to be comfortable. There are only 4 good chairs in the place. The others are so small and uncomfortable you just want to eat and leave.
When we got there they took us to a table that I had not reserved. It wasn’t even in the room I had requested. It was in the busiest traffic area of the restaurant. No comfortable chairs at all. As a matter of fact, one of the chairs was even broken and we had to ask for another one. At this time I was ready to walk out. But, rather
than upset my husband and the other couples we were with, I tried to compose myself and go with the flow. I was really fuming though. It went down hill from there.
My husband expressed his dissatisfaction to the mater’d, who in turn sent over Mario, the owner. Mario explained that he has been in the business for 30 years and he knew better where we wanted to sit than we did. He said there was a party of 16 in the room where we wanted to sit and it would be too noisy. It couldn’t have been any noisier than the room we were in.
I don’t want to make a saga out of this so I will close by saying that my husband and I dine out extensively and at one time we considered 88 Charles St. the best restaurant in Orange County. Moreover, we considered 88 Charles St. and Marcello’s in Suffern to be the best in the Hudson Valley between Albany and NYC. Now we would only recommend Marcello’s.
Maybe it’s time for Mario to collect social security.

Outstanding dining experience — wait staff uses a teamed approach — increasingly common in many fine restaurants –ensuring that everything from water to wine to entrée service to table clearing — is done expertly and expeditiously. Mario is a first rate host; a top drawer chef and a gentleman of the highest caliber. The extensive menu offers a wide variety of expertly prepared dishes that are fresh, delicious and well-​portioned.
Among the tastiest are a truly outstanding steak au poivre expertly prepared at table side; veal chop valdostano that is soft, juicy and cooked just right; superb soups especially a cheese-​topped onion soup and the best seasonal butternut squash soup.
While we prefer the older original restaurant area — the newer dining room is equally wonderful!
Great ambience — soft piano bar music — and great atmosphere

The four of us really enjoyed the food and the selections. The rack of lamb was very good. The seafood Diavolo was a little too spicy, but delicious. Overall, highly recommended. Worth more than three stars!
Thom H.

this place is amazing. carefully prepared authentic cuisine, attentive service.

Had dinner here last night, July 19. Absolutely awful — ordered veal saltimbocca — no cheese — no brown sauce — spinach stems — friend that was with us who had ordered the same dish and had had it there before said it was unrecognizable. Never, never go there again. We also had baked clams, one of my favorite things, horrible, worst I’ve ever had.

I actually have never left a negative review … and I will make this one brief! Everyone reading reviews can draw their own conclusions!
We will NEVER … EVER go to 88 Charles Street Café again!
It was not our first time but it most definitely was our last!

They have a huge menu to choose from. Sit in the bar area to hear the pianist play lovely music.
Pete the bartender makes a fantastic Cosmo and will make any drink you ask to order.
They will make a caesar’s salad right at the table for you — a special treat. There are usually a dozen delicious desserts (cakes and pies) to choose from. Expensive but well worth it.

Where to begin this review. Heard many compliments on this restaurant but also heard it was pricey. Definitely was a place I had to check out being that I enjoy unique places. So to start out my wife called to check the dress code and was told any attire except hats and tank tops. We dressed casual but not business casual. Upon walking in, it was very dimly lit. We were led past the first half full dining room to the back dining room that had one other couple in it that was next to the kitchen and service station that had all the pitchers of water and silverware. I noticed that everyone in the front dining room were wearing business casual attire and were we got seated, that couple was dressed casual as we were. Definitely felt segregated.
The hosts were fabulous, very attentive and never let out drink glasses get more then half empty. They knew and explained everything on the menu that we questioned. The warm fresh bread with antipasta to start was great except they failed to mention that the whole peppers on the plate were super spicy burning your taste buds, make you sweat, and would make your nose run. I like spicy food so it didn’t bother me, but my wife on the other hand does not and had to suffer until the burn went away. I mentioned this to the server and all they said was «ya they are hot.» No sorry or anything.
So we then ordered the antipasta appetizer for 2 which was all great except the shrimp. It was very chewy had a very fishy nasty taste. They dumped half the sauce off the plate onto the table when they served the dish and didn’t even attempt to clean it up.
Now for the dinner. My wife had the surf and turf. Filet mignon, scallops, and shrimp. She order the steak medium and when she cut into it, the steak was rare. Had to send it back to get it cooked more which the server did without hesitation and then her steak came back perfect and delicious. The scallops were amazing and the shrimp was delicious too. She doesn’t ever finish her dinners so I always get to sample her food. It was very tasty but can’t figure out how the shrimp in the appetizer was absolutely terrible, but the shrimp with her dinner were amazing.
Now for my dinner. The hostess recommended the Steak Au Piere because she claims and other customers supposedly claimed that it was delicious and very tender. Upon receiving my half of a cow, right then I knew that it was a cheap cut of beef as my dinner was the same price as my wife’s and my steak was 5 – 6 times the size of her filet, I had a feeling it couldn’t be that good. Well it looked delicious with the table side presentation that came along with it, but when I cut into it and tasted it, the sauce was terrible and the steak was very chewy. So we called the hostess over and told her it tasted bad and was chewy and I asked if I can just have a filet mignon in place if it as my wife’s was very tasty. I asked for it to be cooked medium. Well I sat there and waited for 20+ mins to receive my medium filet as I watched my wife slowly eat her dinner and finish. Finally my filet showed up and when I cut into it, it bled all over the plate and was raw in the center. Omg! Are you freaking kidding me.
So I tell the server and she sends Mario, the owner over. As soon as he got to the table, he had a bit of an attitude and said «so what is wrong with this on SON?» So I explained that I ordered the Filet in place of the other because it had bad flavor and was very chewy and that this Filet was suppose to be prepared medium which it wasn’t and tasted completely different from my wife’s. Mario then says, «well they had to rush this filet so you could eat.» I looked at him and asked how could I wait 20+ minutes for a «rushed cooked filet» and receive it raw in the center. How hard is it to cook a steak medium? He then gets even more of an attitude and raises his voice saying «SON, I’ve been here for 29 years and no one has ever complained about anything and you SON are the first to do that.» So I now felt belittled by him calling me «SON» and told him I’m an adult and he should refer to me as such. He then called me SIR and angrily turned around and stormed away without any kind of apology.
5 minutes later he comes flying back to the table with a tray and a foot long raw piece if Filet Mignon on it and starts poking it with his dirty nasty fingers and says «see, we buy the whole filet here and cut it from this so there is no way yours can taste different from your wife’s!!!» He then takes the poked piece of Filet back into the kitchen where I’m sure they will cut it up and serve it to someone else. Mind you, he was poking his nasty fingers into this piece of raw meat.
Anyway, I could critique more on everything else, but this book is long enough. They did not charge me for my dinner, but we did tip our awesome servers as if we paid for everything. The owner is not nice and I’ve read other reviews that complain about him also.

Over the past year or so, my family started giving 88 Charles St a shot again. After all, any restaurant can have an off night. I’ve been back here a few more times, and have seen much better – if unspectacular – results. Basically, we had settled on this as our go-​to Italian restaurant nearby as it was the best option. Inconsistent on some dishes and overpriced on others, but still better than places like Tre Angelina and La Vera Cucina. I was about to give this a re-​review and bump up the rating, until we came here for dinner on Christmas eve.
First off, the owner insisted on seating everyone in a depressing room in the back of the restaurant. This room has no windows, has a big clock that goes off every 15 minutes, and generally looks like an elderly person with poor eyesight’s den. Tables were crammed together in here as well, and as a result the table the 5 of us sat at was better suited for 4 people. Instead of bringing a large board around like they usually do, everyone got a menu printed on a basic piece of computer paper. That doesn’t bother me, but the menu itself did. It was pared down from their usual offerings and priced up. Just a quick reminder that this was on Christmas eve, not New Years eve. Service was alright overall, but all of this – along with the smallest $ 12 negronis I’ve ever seen – put a damper on things.
For starters, we got an order of fried calamari and zuppa di clams. The fried calamari was good, but was small for an $ 12 portion, let alone the $ 18 they were charging. The zuppa di clams was unlike any I’d ever seen. The sauce was good, but almost every clam had been served to us broken. One was literally broken in half. The clams themselves were fine, but this dish should never have left the kitchen – let alone on Christmas eve. The salad that comes out pre-​meal was good, but I noticed a few of the normal greens missing from it. I got the surf and turf for my main, which was filet mignon with scallops and shrimp. The filet was ~6oz with no char, but was properly cooked and a decent piece of meat. The 2 shrimp I got were tiny, and the 2 scallops I got were horrible. Think flavorless, broiled seafood that would be served at a retirement home cafeteria. This dish was not worth the $ 35 it cost. My brother’s lobster ravioli dish was so bad he sent it back, which he literally never does; I tasted a bite, and the ravioli were all filler with the mushroom suace they were in having no flavor whatsoever. The waitress handled it the right way, but the replacement shrimp scampi she got him wasn’t much better. The shrimp were fine, but the scampi sauce was muted and the pasta was overcooked. My mom’s chicken francese and my dad’s chicken scarpariello were both nothing more than mediocre, as was my little brother’s chicken parm. All in all, we were none too pleased.
The only reason I’m not knocking this down to one star only because of the decent experiences I did have previously. However, Christmas eve was a one star meal that cost over $ 300. Suffice to say, our confidence in 88 Charles has been shaken again, and it’s back to the bottom of the list. My parents will probably give it another shot after a few months due to there being no good alternatives, but I’m no longer bothering with this place if I can help it again. Overall, 88 Charles St. is just another overrated Italian restaurant in the Hudson Valley.

FANTASTIC!!! Love the desserts!!! Highly recommended. Beautiful atmosphere and very comfortable place to sit ad relax with friends or family.

10 years ago I came to 88 Charles Street for dinner with my family. It was the best dining experience I ever had. 10 years later, I’ve yet to find a restaurant that can compare. It is simply the best.
Before I get to the food, let’s talk service. 88 Charles Street has the best you’ll find. Never will your water glass be empty, never will a waiter be out of reach in case you need something. The menu is presented on a whiteboard, which is helpful for things like specials which change nightly. The staff is extremely knowledgeable about every dish on the menu, so whether you have a question about how the steak is prepared tableside, or what penne vodka is, they can answer it.
Right, the food. 10 years, and I’ve yet to find something that wasn’t spectacular. I’ve eaten all over Italy, but even overseas, I found myself comparing restaurants to 88 Charles Street. It’s that good. You’ll find it becomes the standard to which you measure all other Italian meals.
Diners are presented almost immediately with a cold antipasti, which includes eggplant caponata, aged parmigiana cheese, sopressatta, and hot peppers. Freshly baked bread is also presented, with a house-​infused olive oil. Many entrees come with a house salad, which is always served on chilled plates. It’s this attention to detail that sets 88 apart from everywhere else.
Yes, some might find it pricey, but 88 Charles Street is a stunning example of getting what you pay for. In my opinion, if you haven’t figured it out by now, is that this is the gold standard of eating out.

This is one of those paces I have been going to for years and am always happy with whatever I order. I’ve had good, great, and average wait staff but most of the time I have no complaints. The menu has a variety of classic Italian dishes and if you have room finishing with cannoli is a must.

«DO NOT» UNDERSTAND THE HORRID COMPLAINTS
As a chef, I have read these reviews and one wonders if they have been written by someone just out to poison 88 St. Charles. Since I moved in the surrounding area, this is one of the best restaurants in the Hudson Valley area, let alone Orange County, New York.
The complaints regarding Mario, and his wait staff are unfounded. We were there again this afternoon and it was sooooooooooooooooo pleasant. Mario, Hugo and Carlos who we have know for years were all there. We have not been there for a while but absolutely nothing had changed, all was fantastic.
People complain about the menu board, well get over it people, this is the way they do things at upper scale restaurants, and European style. On the other hand the othr restaurants, everybody tries to copy someone else and they fail, 88 Charles has stuck to their «OLD» ways and they are doing a wonderful job.
As someone with «Culinary» experience, Oh and by the way, Mario nor staff has knowledge of this, I can safely say this restaurant is the «Bomb». I love it, but just cannot understand what the others are complaining about.
One comment that consistently sticks out is about their pricing, you certainly do get your monies worth at 88 St. Charles, you may not think so by the price, but the taste and consistency of his products speaks for itself. He does not skimp on his product and or menu.
The only comment I would agree with is the back room, it use to be darkened, etc. but this has changed.
As well you cannot expect to arrive at 88 St. Charles on a Friday or Saturday evening and expect to be seated right away. Take the time and make a reservation, even then after you are seated you will not get served like if you went to McDonalds, if this bothers you, then you shouldn’t come to a refined establishment like 88 St. Charles. My husband and I hear this time and time again at the finer restaurants. It is meant to relax, enjoy and savor the fine food.

First time here, ambiance is very nice, staff is wonderful, and food is excellent

Love love love this place!!! Amazing food every time and the staff is extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive! I would recommend charles street café to anyone and everyone who is looking for a reasonably priced restaurant with a wonderful atmosphere!!!

Took my family here to celebrate my cousin’s birthday. I had never eaten here before and was nervous after seeing mixed reviews on several sites. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and the service.
From the moment we arrived, we were doted on by a friendly and well informed waitstaff. The selection of appetizers and entrees was excellent, and we ordered a variety of different dishes. Our food was delivered in a timely manner, and at a temperature appropriate for each dish.
I started with the prosciutto and melon appetizer, and the portion was well-​sized with enough for sharing. My sister ordered the stuffed artichoke appetizer, and it was delicious; great for sharing as well.
For my entrée, I had the calamari fra diavolo over linguine. The portion was huge, the seafood was cooked perfectly and the fra diavolo had the perfect amount of spice. I can really put it away, and I couldn’t even finish the dish. By the time desserts options were offered, all of us were stuffed to the gills, and a few even had take-​away boxes for their leftovers.
Even though the place filled up very quickly after we were seated, the waitstaff remained diligent throughout our service, and we had no problems whatsoever. In fact, in comparison with most restaurants in Orange County, this place was heads above the rest.
I look forward to eating here again in the very near future.

Food and service were great. Will certainly return.

My husband and I went for valentines day and the food and service were outstanding! He got the Steak Au poirve which was brought to the table and cooked in the sauce and prepared right in front of us. Salad was included which is hard to find at many restaurants now a days but its nice to see that some still include it. I had a tough time choosing between the tortellini bolognese and the chicken franchese but our server helped me decide on the chicken and I was not disappointed! We ended up getting the fried calamari for an appetizer which was light and fluffy, not chewy like some places serve. Dessert was delicious even though the server brought us out the wrong cake, we didn’t complain thought because it was just as satisfying as the one we wanted!
Definitely recommend and will be back for another special occaision!

where to begin.
Really neat setting when you first walk in — but they walked us to the back, past dozens of empty tables, to the back, near the kitchen and RIGHT next to the serving station where they banged drawers open and close and congregated alllll night…
Well, having started with a crappy table, we ordered a bottle of the house wine — which was pretty bland and almost flavorless, but VERY strong. I had 1 and a half glasses and I was feeling preeetttty good.
Too bad it didn’t dull my taste buds.
At first the service was good, very attentive, the owner was walking around saying hello to regulars and even us!
Soon enough, the owner went home and all hell broke loose —
Being seated so close to the serving station is why I think we got some much random attention from too many people interrupting our meal –Three different people stopped by to keep trying to top off wineglasses –which i dislike as it makes it harder to judge how much I’ve had —
A good waiter should be paying attention to your wineglass so when you’re ALMOST DONE, they offer to pour another glass —
After awhile one got so enthusiastic, or rather, zealous perhaps, she dumped WATER into our wineglasses by mistake.
Not only was the service odd, we were waited on by 4 different people, ALL of whom were consistently reaching over us to serve, utensils, plates, food, extra cheese and fresh pepper.
Loud and spacey waitress. AWFUL service.
What really took the cake was when a server was setting the table next to us and picked up a fork he dropped and put it right back on the table. Ugh.
Food was overpriced. Would expect 4 star food but got 2 star food ruined by absolutely horrid service.
Appetizers were french onion soup and seafood soup. The french onion soup was HORRID. It tasted like buttered onions and absolutely no beef stock flavor anywhere. If I wanted butter and un-​carmelized onions I certainly wouldn’t want to pay 10 dollars for it.
The seafood soup was briny, ocean and fantastic. The garlic and parsley nicely balanced out the tender calamari and scallops. The seafood was on the scant side though, I had a quarter of a scallop in my entire bowl of soup. A bit pricey for $ 10 and very little soup but for that incredible taste! Oooooh, i ate all the bread to sop up the broth.
Dinner itself was a huge disappointment as this restaurant was recommended by a worker. Ordered veal marsala that was the size of the cow but sadly only diner caliber and certainly not worth the huge markup in price. Huge portion but absolutely mediocre.
The other dinner entrée ordered was the filet mignon in a port sauce.
Oh my.
That sauce was incredible, the meat so tender I could mash my head on it and fall asleep.
However, it IS filet mignon and HOW do you bring it out gray and overdone when it was ordered MEDIUM RARE.
BUT, the sauce was to DIE for.
By the end of this odd meal, I was ready to strangle the waiters, and ask for my money back. The receipt showed the house wine was absolutely overpriced at $ 30 for a tiny carafe of bland strong alcohol.
All in all, I’ve paid the same amount of money for similar meals at 4 star restaurants and will NOT be a patron here again.
Note to self– bathroom décor is hysterical blend of hippie naked photography with precious moments-​esque photography.
Naked lady staring in the wheat fields mixed with stock photography of small children giving each other flowers and kisses.
Pretty sad that THAT, along with the scant seafood soup was the highlight of my meal…