Chuck’s Restaurant

Conceptually, I love this place.
Gastronomically, I was unimpressed.
It’s incredible that you can get lo mein and fried chicken, or meatloaf and hot-​and-​sour soup — but if all of it is greasy and limp, what’s the point?
I’ll keep going to the Chuck’s in my head, and skip the actual one in Placerville.

Smells a little weird, looks a little weird, but you have to take it all in context. You’re in a strip mall surrounded by fast food chains and yet here’s an old school diner that’s still independently owned. And the food? Pretty damn good. I had a very respectable Philly Cheesesteak. My wife had a great chicken sandwich. My daughter had a sausage/​biscuit/​gravy thing that she devoured.

Scary health code violations!!! the waitress was very friendly and gave excellent service. The food on the other hand was scary. My friend is extremely allergic to shell fish. so out of habit always asks if her food is touching shrimp etc. The waitress came back and stated that the cook informed her not to eat. anything fried. The waitress was just as disgusted about this discovery. All of the shrimp shellfish fries chicken fried steak
fried in the same oil!!! also, they have about 40 options on their menu which suggests that large amounts of various items are stored for who knows how long in this little towns restaurants fridge :/​not very great, but we’re still alive and haven’t «up chucked» yet. btw. People behind us ordered chinese foods and it was kind of gray greasy noodles.

Since we are fairly new in town, moving from the Bay Area, we’ve only been to Chuck’s three times. My family and I enjoy their friendly customer service and feel-​at-​home ambiance each time we visit. It’s priceless to be able to walk into a non-​chain, mom and pop restaurant often greeted by the owner, alongside a smiling face of the waitress who knows the locals by their first names. We’ve enjoyed everything we’ve ever ordered to date. Definitely a repeat customer.

Oh… Up-​Chucks.
It’s definitely an old-​era dinner. I’ve grown up around Placerville and my friend and I kept saying we’d try it. One day we did.
I ordered a Turkey sandwhich. Turns out its open face with chunks of turkey and gravy. It was on break that I would buy at safeway. Honestly… it didn’t taste to bad but it was about room temperature. Hot gravy and turkey and it would have been another story. My friend got a grilled cheese, which is pretty hard to screw up, so she enjoyed it.
I think we were the only people under about 55 or 60 in there. There were a few oxygen tanks and birthday balloons.
The staff was pretty friendly
I did it once to experience it… but I won’t be back.

Ok so I was a little intrigued by this place at first. A diner with chinese food. I have seen the concept executed pretty well before, which I think is why I was saddened when I came to Chuck’s. My crew got the Dinner B. Yes Dinner B. It came with some foil wrapped chicken in a pretty tasty sauce, then came from some fried chicken which I later found out was actually fried prawns. Next came the entrée dishes … or gravy dishes as I remember them. They all looked different, but all tasted like the gravy they were all soaked in. Not good at all imo. There were some noodles that were saved from the gravy which were the table’s favorite and because of which they were eaten fast. I ordered a hot choco earlier on and thought I would wash away some of the taste with that and I found that the mug had a taste to it too and it wasn’t hot choco.
The service was nice.

Chuck’s is an old diner with a twist. It has the charm to go with it. The menu is split with american diner and chinese cuisine. Nothing spectacular, but not bad either. My brother and niece make a annual stop at Chuck after a day up in Apple Hill. We always look forward to the Prime Rib Special on Sunday.

One of the other reviewers talks about sticky tables like it’s a bad thing. This ain’t no chain coffee shop. Chucks is a throwback to an earlier era… when weak coffee and old grease were par for the course.
I work near Chucks and appreciate it for what it is, a sorry old diner whose day is past. But yet it lingers on, and the food is not that bad. I wouldn’t get too far off the main culinary trail in here, but I’ve enjoyed eggs, pancakes and standard sandwhich fare on those sticky tables many times.
The staff at Chucks is invariably friendly. The waitresse’s name should be «Madge,» and the old Chinese guy that apparantly owns the place should be «Henry,» or maybe even «Chuck.»
The decoris exquisitly, and genuinely, retro. This stuff wasn’t recreated in some factory to look old. It’s the real thing. I particularly enjoy the CFL bulbs in the vintage 1968 «mod» light fixtures.
And the people watching is supurb… way better than the Placerville Wallmart on Saturday morning, which is also excellent.
But seriously, Chucks is a step back in time. It’s uncrowded and unhurried, altho the service is not slow. Take a copy of the Mountain Democrat in there, order up some eggs and sausage, a side of toast and a cup of weak coffee. Read the letters to the editor. One of authors might be in the next booth. Or maybe that’s Tom Waits.

Nice big menu! I had a burger/​fries — very good. Fish and chips were good and we had potstickers — which were very good with a nice sauce. Although this place looks ‘interesting’ from the ooutside, the food is great, service is fine and the ambiance takes you back to the 60’s. Very reasonable prices too. If you are tired of the diners on the west end of Placerville –Dennys/​Carrows/​Buttercup/​Mels — give Chucks a try, you will be pleasantly surprised.

It was near our hotel and we wanted diner food. Husband got chicken fried steak. I had BLT. I’m too picky about Chinese food to try it here. Everything was OK; the place was clean, the service pro, and we left full. The waitress even gave us fortune cookies.

This place was great. It is a Diner in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains so don’t think 4 stars means it is a 4 star restaurant. It is just what you are looking for in a nice small town diner. I had a mushroom omelette and it was very good.

Chuck’s is a gem. Chuck’s is the main reason I drive to and from Tahoe (aside from the snow — snow is nice too), because every time I drive to and from Tahoe, I can stop in Placerville and have brunch at Chuck’s. I’ve done this semi-​regularly for about three years now, which is a sample size that I think is approaching statistical significance.
This is the thing that you need to understand in order to see why Chuck’s is so special: it is a good old-​fashioned American diner, and it is also a Chinese restaurant. You can get steak and eggs, liver and onions, chicken chow mein, and a side of egg rolls all in the same meal.
Do you get me now? Do you see that this is a big deal?
One of my companions found out this morning that he could have half a Belgian waffle, eggs and toast, and a Tsingtao beer for breakfast, for Christ’s sake.
If you are hungry and are driving to or from Tahoe, go to Chuck’s. Bring carloads of people. Order Chinese food family-​style, and also order omelets or chicken friend steak if you like, because this place is a diner and also a Chinese restaurant. I have to keep repeating this because it is such an important concept.
Okay, bullet points:
* Each menu has at least ~80 items. You can order so many friggin’ things at this restaurant. How cool is that.
* Check the specials — I didn’t until after we ate this morning, and regretted that I was too full to order a cinnamon-​peach waffle with bacon or sausage. Also, they have pecan pie! What better way to chase that curry beef?
* Actually, don’t get the curry beef, but that’s a rule that applies to all Chinese restaurants everywhere.
* The house special fried rice is killer. The mu-​shu pork too. Maybe pass on the chicken chow mein and sweet-​and-​sour chicken, though.
* I’ve had the same waitress every single time I’ve been there, and she’s a pro. Got a good heart.
* This place is an American diner, and also a Chinese restaurant.
Next time you’re heading up to Tahoe, stop by Chuck’s, and come hungry. Maybe I’ll see you there.

I like the place better than Norm L. does, because I like the old sign and the old, never-​updated (it appears?) décor. Check out those hanging lights; 1950s cancer causing synthetics all the way!
Three stars for décor.
The food is stuff that you can make at home and make a lot better. But, three stars also because if you’re out of town you may need a big (albeit beyond simple) breakfast.
They serve chinese food here, too. It’s not all that bad in certain circumstances that might be out there (say you have 15 unkempt kids that like it here, then you can get some basic chinese food and they can get something from the kiddie menu, or a side of hillbilly surprise).

I haven’t seen a restaurant like this since ‘You Can’t Do That On Television’…
Dingy, grimy, threadbare décor. A menu straight out of ‘50s Iowa. Food quality that makes you yearn for a TV dinner.
The best I can tell, there’s a handful of septuagenarian rednecks keeping this place in business — but anyone whose taste buds are not gassed and locked in the basement will find this place a total waste of time.
Avoid.