Charlie’s

Very disappointed! I took my boyfriend here for his birthday and experienced a major LACK of service. We only saw our waitress maybe every 20 minutes or so, and when she did show up, she rarely did anything we asked (turn up the very quiet jukebox we were spending money on or refilling our waters). The happy hour was good prices, but because she was so slow, I wasn’t even able to order a second drink before it was over. VERY disappointed in this place. Yes the food was good and I enjoy the atmosphere, but for the prices you’re paying, you’d expect at least halfway decent service.

The service here is awful. We waited and waited and waited all night. I had to wave my arms to get the waitress’ attention. The jukebox was really quiet and when I asked them to turn it up, they did nothing. The loaded nachos are really good but that’s the best thing I have to say about this place.

Love this place. They make some very good sandwiches. We eat there all the time. The staff is great. Very friendly!!!

We have been here over 20 time for dinner and everyday for breakfast. Food is spot on always delicious. The wait staff are amazing. Desserts are absolutely to die for.

My family came in for dinner to Charlie’s after appraising a few other places that weren’t too far away from the house. The restaurant (or lounge) is within a motel, so parking is not too difficult to find at night. It definitely does not have the feel of a proper sit-​down place, though — much more of a sports bar, with TVs everywhere, a couple pool tables in the back, a bar at the front, and what can be generously described as mediocre furnishings for regular dining. The table we were put at was still quite messy from the previous folks who were sitting there, and the service was pretty inattentive — it took us quite some time for the waitress to come over and take our order.
I ended up going with one of the daily specials — the breaded chicken breast cooked in balsamic vinaigrette. I actually liked the flavoring of the balsamic, as it was well-​cooked into the breast — so at least each bite had a nice little acidity to it. As for the chicken itself — I probably could have cooked it better without trying… very tough to eat, and I don’t really think it was a chicken breast; the thinness of the chicken suggested that it was a cutlet at best. Either way, it was one of the driest pieces of meat I’ve had in some time. The sides were also carelessly served on the plate, with the gravy from the mashed potatoes (which didn’t really have much flavor to them) running into the chicken… gravy and balsamic do not mix terribly well.
While I was filled after dinner, I definitely came out disappointed with the quality, particularly as it was a special and was one of the more expensive items on the menu. Charlie’s seems like an okay place to hang out to watch sports — and it feels quite big with very high ceilings — but I’d probably look to eat elsewhere in town.

This is the only place in town that you can get a drink after work and not be among trashy locals. They have tv’s which is cool if you want to watch the game. Their food isn’t good, and I’ve heard many horror stories from friends about getting food poisoning from this place. I haven’t eaten here in years but still come by often for drinks. The furniture and décor could use a little upgrade. Green chairs are just gross looking lol.

Returned home too tired to cook. Joined friends at Charlie’s for dinner. Waitress was pleasant, not too busy in restaurant.
Ordered my d steak and it was supposed to come with Cajun garlic butter. NY steak made it to Friend’s plate. None of the steaks came with garlic butter as advertised. My friend ordered Cobb salad; what she got seemed like a mix of taco, Caesar and Cobb salads, with Parmesan cheese, olives and no bacon or bleu cheese. Food was tasty but cook apparently does not read or understand menu.
Typically we come for appetizers before a movie, but we learned that we have to plan for 2 hours as service has historically been slow.
There are other places in town that serve better food, but our dinner wasn’t bad. Enjoyed the atmosphere and company

Food is not as good as it use to be. Hoping new owners will change the menu and the quality. Service is good and great place to meet for drinks. Very comfortable.

The best part of staying at the downtrodden Comfort Inn was getting to choose any item from a real breakfast menu for free, instead of the usual hotel morning mashup. Charlie’s opens at 5am and my choice of the breakfast croissant with eggs, bacon and cheese was executed perfectly. It came with a side of home fries and these had alot of peppers and were nicely seasoned. They even gave me the whole shebang to go with coffee as well. This place is worthy of a breakfast stop even if your not staying next door.

The waitress brought us our check and then we sat for over 10 minutes waiting for her to come take our credit card. She finally came by and said, «oh, were you waiting for me to come get this?» I asked, «were we supposed to take it somewhere?» To which she said, «the only person who can run the cash register is the bartender and if you pay at the table we tend to forget.» Um… what? I then pointed to the occupants of the table next to us who were also sitting there waiting for her to take their money. Is this new since the change in ownership of the hotel, because we’ve ALWAYS paid at the table. I’m sure the five elderly couples we saw scattered throughout the restaurant are not going to go picking up their checks and go to the bar to pay. Is Charlie’s having an identity crisis? Cloth tablecloths, higher prices, fine food, and we’re supposed to take our check up to the bar so that the waitress won’t forget us??? Whaaaaaaaat?
The food, on the other hand, is delicious, with a couple of specials every night. Hopefully the waitress who handled us was new and will soon learn the meaning of customer service.

Definitely a nicer bar in RC. Happy Hour is half price apps but no discounted drinks, or so I was told. Ended up being $ 1 discount on the bill. This is usually an immediate turn off for me when a place says they have a «happy hour» and no drink specials. Should probably be advertised a bit better. They have Sierra Nevada on tap, but serve it in a small glass. SV is meant for PINT glasses! When sitting at the bar there’s one semi decent TV in view. This place is one of the classier bars in RC. Definitely a placetto take friends or family when they visit!

«Many the good meal over the years. Never a complaint, though I do usually ask the servers what’s good. Great beer selection and several good ones on tap!»

Updating my review from over a year ago…
Charlie’s is my favorite place for Happy Hour. They have a nice big space made warm with wood-​beamed ceilings and comfy leather seating at round tables. They always have a few good types of wine (Louis Martini Cab is nice) and I have to give high marks to a server there named Elias who is hands down one of the most attentive & classy waiters in town. He’ll remember your face and your favorite drink, and be unobtrusively checking on your progress and happiness throughout your meal.
I can recommend the salads here, which are huge and full of crisp veggies. Whenever they have a seafood special in their spicy marinara sauce, i will order it. SO GOOD sopped up with their fresh baked rolls!
Also good with a round of beers is their Irish nachos, with potato crisps that I’m pretty sure they cut and fry on sight.

This is a decently good place overall and especially a good choice when one finds oneself in the Ridgecrest/​Inyokern Area. It has a pretty good, varied beer selection and overall the mixed pub/​eclectic American food selection is good. They have good soup, decent salads, macaroni & cheese, etc. We have had reasonably good service. This is nothing great, but it’s good and does the job, especially since there are not many choices in this area. A good plus for travellers is that it is appended to the Carriage Inn motel.

Service has become unpredictable over the past year. You never really know what to expect.
Food quality, and creativity of the dishes are both lacking as well. Like many of the restaurants in Ridgecrest, they need to pay more attention to the quality of food they prepare for their customers. The prices are a bit high for what you get.

You never know what your gonna get. We go here all the time… Ridgecrest is limited in nice places to have dinner in a lounge setting… Sometimes the service mediocre and we cheer for joy! Food is usually edible atmosphere is very nice.

Traditional bar food-​not many options for vegetarian and gluten free. I allow myself fish/​seafood so settled with a special of marinara mussels appetizers and asparagas side –both very buttery and rich. Just depends if you’re in that mood. I thought the sauce was a bit salty but it wasn’t to the point of needing to send it back or complain. Their salads looked good-​no iceberg lettuce to be found! The chairs are pretty plush and cozy if you’re going to be there socializing awhile. I’d prob go somewhere else if given the option just for more of a variety and healthy options.

This is a pretty decent place to grab a few drinks and play some pool if you want to avoid the usual Tommy Ts/​Djs/​Mickeys routine. The food is pretty mediocre (at best) and overpriced… but it is inside of a hotel so you should kind of expect that.

A relaxing place! The ambiance was nice since it was lit by candles and each table had a tablecloth. The chairs are also comfy. The staff was attentive and pleasant. There is plenty to look at with the pictures on the wall and a variety of televisions. I liked the jazz music selection mixed with Sade (one of my favorites). The patrons were an older crowd, and it was fun to people-​watch here since they were all meeting up with friends (lots of hugs and toasting in the New Year).
The food was great. The clam chowder was homemade and had a very decent taste. I liked the fresh garden salad. We had grilled orange chicken skewers and it was perfectly grilled.
I will ask my husband to include this place into the rotation of places to take his wifey on a date.

This is the only decent bar in Ridgecrest. I can say that now that I have been inside Tommy T’s.
Sporting events are big here, which can be a negative if you’re not into drinking or eating with a room full of men shrieking at the multiple tv’s like fifth graders with uncontrollable hormone surges. If you’re rooting for their team, or go on a night when sports are not the main attraction, this place has a great bar atmosphere. If you’re a military aviation buff, NAWCWD contractor, government employee or active duty, the walls are a virtual shrine — even if you’re not really into it, there are some cool pictures.
There’s plenty of seating, and a decent bar-​food menu. The drinks are good, the wine list is surprisingly good for this town, and there’s room to stand and hang out, if that’s your thing. I especially like that the wine is served in these cute single serving mini-​carafes… I don’t know why, I think that’s a nice touch! The jukebox is great (maybe not if your’e 24, but it works for me, a woman of a certain age… ahem), and I’m always happy to find a pool table that isn’t being run by 24-​year old frat boys (though I can take ‘em — or at least I think so after a couple drinks!).
The one down side may be the service… I think the service is a bit spotty because this place is never consistently busy, so it’s probably hard to staff adequately. Having found myself served quickly at lots of packed bars when I lived in big cities, it is pretty disappointing to stand at the bar for twenty minutes before the bartender manages to get your order (and potentially another 10 before you’re served).
Overall — a favorite.