Char Steakhouse

Sad to say I had a pretty disappointing experience here. First of all, the service was super slow. Our appetizers were brought out about 20 minutes apart AND they forgot one of the orders completely. I get that cocktails are going to be overpriced from the start, especially when there is no price listed on the menu, but we were charged $ 105 for three drinks. Unbelievable. I have been to fancier places than this, with better service, that does not charge that much for a drink. As for the food, it was decent. until the waiter threw out our leftovers after we requested he wrap them up. That was a bummer.
I highly recommend saving your time and money and going elsewhere. This place definitely did not live up to the hype.

I absolutely loved Char. The ambience was to die for. The noise level was average.
I ordered the special which was a bone in NY strip steak. It was delicious. We also ordered a side of hot peppers, mashed potatoes and spinach… All very very good.
My date had the cowboy steak. I thought it lacked flavor, but he enjoyed it.
The dessert was delicious too. And our waiter phenomenal. I will most definitely be returning.

Best steak restaurant hands down! As a daughter of a butcher, I’ve had my fair share of delicious, high quality steaks. Char is by far, the best steak restaurant I’ve ever been to. It is pricey, but the food is excellent, the presentation is lovely, and the service is fantastic — it’s also an experience. I’m not big on carbs, but the gnocchi with short rib appetizer is a MUST! You also can’t go wrong with the Ribeye & a tasting of all of their sauces. I love that the meal comes with a roasted head of garlic that you can add to your steak to taste. You certainly will not leave hungry! Save it for a special occasion and enjoy!

Pricey–
We ordered Calamari and oysters to start for a party of 4. The calamari was chewy, I’ve had better at a franchise. The oysters were great, we had 6 west coast and 6 east coast. The west coast were great.
For entrees we all ordered Surf and Turf, Steak was perfect, I would not change one thing about it. The lobster tail stuffed with crab meat was delicious. Wine was good. The guys had beer, Total bill for our group including tip was $ 400.00.
I recommend giving this place a try, and will recommend to friends when they’re in the are.

The food is great at Char, but it takes so long to get the food. It took me almost an hour! When I went to Char I got the roasted chicken with french fries. The chicken was delicious! It had nice flavor. I got the big ice cream sundae for dessert. It was in a big bowl. It was cookies, cake crumbs, ice cream, and berries. It was the best dessert I ever had! I also liked the the atmosphere. There were flames and they had a little water fall! It was great!

My first time here and I’ll definitely be back. The restaurant is beautiful. We sat upstairs. Our server was great, ask for Jon, you wont be disappointed. Everything from start to finish was amazing.

This place I eat at at least every two weeks. Great bar, food is always very good. I have never had a bad meal and I eat here a lot…
Bartenders are great… They do a really good job. Wish it was less expensive but all in all, it is worth it!

This was our first visit to Char and we weren’t disappointed. The escargot was delicious and done to perfection. Our table ordered the filet mignon, the halibut and the salmon. All were tastefully prepared and presented. There is a good wine selection. We ordered by the glass and I was pleasantly surprised; all were excellent. We could tell that our server was «new» and was just «ok» but the manager more than made up for any deficiencies by sending our table a delicious dessert, Warm Brownie a la mode, on the house! We will return.

Prices and menu are similar to big city steak houses but the quality is not the same. We ordered some steaks and side dishes. The side dishes were fine (grilled asparagus and Au Gratin potatoes) but the steaks were not cooked to the temperature ordered. Rare was delivered medium and medium rare was delivered medium/​medium well. The steaks were tougher than expected but this may have been because they were overcooked. Service was just OK. Desserts were acceptable for the price. I felt cheated when I left.

Ever since they have gotten a new chef a few months ago the food has been impeccable. I have literally been to the finest steakhouses in the U.S. and I can honestly say that Char can compete with the big boys. Try the escargot and the filet mignon. Also, the «cookie jar» dessert is outrageous but is too large for one person.

The food is expensive and not very tasty. We were celebrating a birthday so we brought in a cake and were charged $ 22 plating fee. We just spent $ 800 on your food!

All and all I was disappointed in my meal. We started with a heavy «encouragement» on ordering an appetizer, that was tasty but not essential to a steak dinner.
My steak was good but overdone. I ordered a medium rare but was served a medium/​medium well steak.
The Brussel sprouts were undercooked and bitter.
The creamed spinach contained nutmeg and was inedible (they did remove it from my bill however after I made a negative comment).
All and all, I will not be returning to this restaurant. There are plenty of other options with better food with a smaller bill at the end.

Very good! Waiters were attentive and nice. Everything we ordered was good! Atmosphere was nice

Wife and I came to have drinks and appetizer/​light bite. Yes, you can do this here and not feel like you were punished for not going large with the excellent looking steaks that came out of the kitchen cooled to perfection. Drinks were well done. Martinis were martinis. Cocktails were different and a great selection. Started with lobster cocktail which was good. The dipping sauces were well crafted. The size initially was disappointing, but the staff recognized and brought a second serving. The power of Unilocal checking in? Hope not, but if so more power to us. Next up was a Caesar salad. Perfect! Fresh and refreshing! We split two apps. The crab cake and gnocchi with braised beef. Both were exceptional! Liked the non-​rushed atmosphere and lively crowd. Will be back for the Bone-​in soon, but was the perfect call for a light bite, great drinks and fun night.

Three of us went to Char last night for the first time and left completely unimpressed. Nothing was bad but nothing was good either. The best part of Char is the décor.
We had a 7:30 reservation and didn’t get seated until almost 8:00. I ordered the lobster avocado salad as an appetizer and the lobster was chewy and you could barely find any avocado. For my entrée I went with the surf and turf. The lobster was overcooked and lacked any flavor. The steak was fine but nothing special about it.
With so many other good opens in the area; I wouldn’t go to Char again. The meal was not worth the price we paid for it. Prime 13 is a better option around the same price range.

Last night was our first visit to Char after seeing a show. It was our special evening to celebrate the beginning of the holidays together. My daughter and I expected a lovely dining experience, but we both agreed that our expectations were well exceeded and that last night was truly perfect in every way from the time we stepped in the door until our coats were retrieved and we made our way back out into the cold (that we vaguely noticed as we were feeling warm and happy from our experience.)
The ambiance was lovely with the cheerful holiday decorations and carols playing in the background– very, cozy, warm and fun. Service was fantastic from everyone. We didn’t want for anything all evening as everyone was attentive and kept us very well cared for. Our server, John K., was excellent. He was well versed in the menu, while being friendly and quite helpful. We will request him next time as he really went out of his way to make it a very special experience for my daughter, as well as myself, and we truly appreciate it.
We will definitely be returning as there were many items on the menu that sounded fabulous, so it was a bit hard to choose, but that’s definitely nothing to complain about. :) What we did choose was so delicious! The fresh bread choices were varied and baked on premise and the popover melted in my mouth. My filet had the most beautiful sear, flavor and was perfectly medium rare. Phenomenal! The asparagus and lobster mac and cheese we shared were spot on. My daughter absolutely adored her fish and chips and we both really enjoyed trying each others meals. They went out of their way to make sure my daughter had a dessert she absolutely loved. I could go on, but suffice it to say we’ve been dreaming of last nights meal all day today.
Thank you, Char and especially our server John K., and everyone else for making it such a special evening for my young daughter and myself. We always enjoy each other, but at the table she hugged me and thanked me for the wonderful evening and on the way home told me it was a very special, beautiful evening she would never forget and wanted to tell her friends and someday her children and grandchildren about it. How very special!!! :) I have dined in many beautiful places all over the world, some with her, but last night was definitely on the list of one of my best nights ever. :)

Alright, here it is, my first Unilocal review!
Pros —
1– Excellent service
2– Location and décor are definitely better that most restaurants in the area.
3– Beautifully cut steaks.
Cons —
1– Very Expensive. No matter what you order
2– despite the fact that we ordered 2 of the same steak and we asked for both of them to be cooked medium-​rare, one was actually cooked more that the other.
3– Some tables are quite close to each other, I could clearly hear the conversations of people around me.
Would consider coming back if I’ll be paying less or the food quality was over the top :)

Char is a hip steakhouse. I have only had dinner while sitting at the bar. The food is good but expensive. Fries with fresh jalapeño are a good combination. I had one of the best tomato and mozzarella salads ever at Char’s steakhouse.
I have no problem going to Char’s wearing shorts and a t-​shirt but my daughter was a little uncomfortable because she felt under dressed in her casual clothes. I mentioned this the bartender and he said not to worry about it. I have found the bartenders at Char’s to be very cool.
One of these days I might actually sit at one of the tables but there tends to be a wait on the weekends and the bar works fine for me.

I had the pleasure of having lunch at Char a couple weeks ago. Jenni, our perfect server, was quite knowledgeable of the complete menu and various adult refreshments! It was hard to choose because I had heard Char had «the best burger in the state» and I had my heart set!
We started out our meal with calamari and stuffed mushrooms and then yes, the best burger of my life arrived. A mere $ 12 for a lunchtime burger, with great outdoor seating. I was more than happy! The burger was cooked to perfection!
My husband had the Lobster Grilled Cheese — it had huge chunks of lobster! He was overwhelmed with the portion size, but he did manage to finish every last bite!
As with every restaurant experience, the food is important, but your server is twice as important! It was nice to have various suggestions and be served with a smile. We will most definitely be back!

Pretentious. That’s probably the best I can say after dining at Char the other night.
We arrived early for a Friday night; but still, the place was unusually empty for what was supposed to be a hot spot in town. We were seated upstairs alone in a large, cold, dining room. Except for the possibility that they were trying to give every server a table, there was no reason for us to have been put up there. Yet, service was prompt and attentive — as it should be given the circumstance. OK — we said, let’s order and hopefully things will get better.
We began with oysters and clams from the raw bar, and an order of St. Louis ribs. The bivalves were served over ice with a nice selection of sauces, lemon, and a frothing chunk of drying ice for effect. They were shucked and cleaned nicely, and very fresh. The ribs were not as good. They were smothered with bbq sauce, soft but very fatty — almost as if they had been boiled, and then baked. They certainly weren’t smoked. I’m a big fan of good ribs, but these were not enjoyable. Although I came with a pretty good appetite, I left about half the plate.

In between courses, I asked our server to bring me a glass of Chianti to breathe before dinner. I happen to enjoy a nice Chianti with steak. I was told they don’t have Chianti but there were a number of other red wines on the menu. I chose a Kaiken Malbec instead (which averages around $ 7 — $ 10 a bottle at the store) for $ 14 a glass. What was disturbing was overhearing the other wait staff mocking Chianti, like any of the other wines they had by the glass were significantly better.
For entrees, when in Rome… So my companion ordered the 12 oz. Strip, medium; and I had the 20 oz. Cowboy Ribeye, medium rare. For sides, we shared the sautéed spinach, potatoes gratin, and hot Italian peppers. The strip steak was prepared nicely, and thoroughly enjoyed. My Cowboy on the other hand was not. It was red and cold in the middle, with grizzle so tough it made sawing through very difficult (and sawing was what I had to do). You will notice the heavy white band through the middle of the steak in the photo I’ve included. Not exactly what I would call a good cut of beef. The entire steak was not really even warm, and after cutting it, not juicy at all — almost as if it had been sitting under a heat lamp way too long. The sides I would call pedestrian at best. Spinach was not seasoned; potatoes were ok, but very dense; and the not so hot peppers were overcooked.
Since I was still hungry after dinner, I could have easily gone for desert; however, I just felt I couldn’t justify paying $ 10 for a coffee drink and $ 15 for a piece of cake. Desert was had elsewhere. We really expected better for the $ 230 the two of us spent on dinner (with tip).
Walking through as we were leaving, I noticed there were three people at the bar, and maybe eight tables dining. If you’re looking for a great steak experience, spend an hour or so and drive up to Luger’s or Homestead. Otherwise, there’s plenty of other places to get good steak in the area.