Char-Cu-Te-Rie

Very tasty and unique. Oatmeal, date shake, Gone Fishin’, and a special. Excellent coffee and friendly service. Lost one star because the restroom – shared with the Indian restaurant next door – was kind of yucky. As it was 9a.m. on Sunday and nearly deserted, it shouldn’t have smelled like stale pee. I’m a mom of boys, so I know that smell.

I hate leaving ‘negative’ reviews for places I enjoy but my latest experience was not good. Knowing they close their kitchen at 3 (per the sign on their door) we made sure to get there early enough so we didn’t pull the last minute order thing (got there at 2:10 for a late lunch) When we got there, they told us the kitchen was already closed because they had ‘prep work’ to do and we could order coffee and pastries. I asked if I could get a berry yogurt bowl still and was told I could get it ‘to go’ (even though they weren’t closing until 4). When I asked why I wouldn’t be allowed to eat it at the restaurant, I got a ‘fine you can eat it here’.
Didn’t get that part– were they trying to not have dishes to do?
I totally get trying to close early but I do not like being made to feel like I am being a bother for trying to give business to a local establishment. Will I go back? Probably because I do like the food and coffee. I just hope my business is more welcomed next time!

This is a quaint little shop with yummy food (breakfast and lunch), some espresso drinks, teas, ice cream and other pastries, along Main Street in between the shops and other restaurants. It has a small shaded patio area out front and very limited seating indoors. The decór was cute. The poor young lady was working solo out front but handled it well. She did a good job at describing the food I asked about. I ordered the Croque Madame and my boyfriend had the Pig in a Blanket. The food was ready at a decent time and came out at a good temperature. Both were delicious! My hopes and expectations were high and were met. I would come back!

char is a little slice of heaven. Seriously the best place in the Central Valley for coffee, tea, ice cream (salted Carmel chip: McConnels from Santa Barbra is my favorite. But sometimes they have their homemade ice creams which is always a treat) breakfast, lunch, and the all around foodie experience. They play great music, and have the cutest décor, and retail display. The staff is so friendly and hard working. They put a lot of love into what they do and it shows. A few of my faves for breakfast are the Truffle egg toast and Greek berry bowl. on the lunch menu:!the John Truffolta: a truffle egg salad sandwich with crisp prociotto on a brioche bun. *drools* and dun Dununn nahhh* The EAT CHICKEN… If you’re hungry I suggest this beast of a sandwich. It’s DELISH (but so is everything they make in the Char house): A toasty baguette with double crème Brie, a generous amount of thinly sliced chicken breast, topped with some seriously delicious honey Dijon mustard. It all pairs so nicely. Not to mention they have some pretty awesome beers, wine, and champagne to die for. I love the iced Vietnamese. I could go on forever about their extensive INSANELY MOUNTH WATERING DELICOUS tummy teasing menu… But I’ll save you the extra time and just leave it at: if you haven’t been to Char, you’re seriously missing out on life. Like, you’re not even living, just merely existing. So get in there and LIVE. So excited they are expanding! FresYES!

Oh my goodness this place is amazing. Good coffee, FANTASTIC food. I got the Truffled Egg Toast, which is literally one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. My husband got the Canadian Club and loved it, and my mom got a sandwich (can’t remember which one, but it was delicious). The pastries we had were all very good too. There was easy street parking and no wait on a Sunday morning about 10:30. My only complaint is that the menus were very hard to read, and I would have had a difficult time knowing what the descriptions were if I hadn’t looked up the menu online beforehand.

Catherine is a sweetheart and pours her soul into the creative menu and high quality coffee.
Can always count on a good selection of good sweet baked treats!
We love stopping in for a latte in the morning.

Came to Visalia s bit early to explore some interesting places to eat before hitting a local movie to benefit the local animal shelter… WOW! Ordered the American In Paris sandwich with asparagus… very flavorful! The bacon & Brie were an interesting combo. Will definitely come back again

After following them on Instagram for a sometime I was finally able to visit and was very pleased. My husband and I enjoyed the pastries, mocha latte, an Vietnamese coffee. Not to mention the truffle grilled cheese was also just as delicious. Can’t wait to go back to try the cronut

Good food, but really really really long wait when I came in for an americano.
I was very late for my next appointment.

Chernobyl water. (I got really sick later i the day, I think it was the water)
Bread tasted like refrigerator.
Friendly staff.
I like that they do pour over coffee.
Blah: (/​

Another review
Love this place and the variety to choose from
She plays with food which is refreshing

I’ve been following them on Facebook and Instagram for a while and waiting for the chance to visit.
Had some free time and went to visit them with a friend. I had just ate so the only thing I had was a special of the day «Vietnamese Coffee» which consisted of ice espresso covered with condensed milk. The mix seemed interesting so why not? The mix was actually quite refreshing and perfectly paired together.
I will definitely visit them again when I haven’t ate lol.
See you soon!

Well… This place a ton of potential. I’m hoping, which I hardly doubt, it was an off day.
First they need Gordon Ramsey to clean house. They are super disorganized, I heard a lot of «sorry about that» or «sorry about the wait»
Management needs to properly train these poor girls who working their butts off. Coffee craft smelled like sour mothers milk, everything felt dusty/​dirty, and food was mediocre. The stay away from the condiments… If they haven’t cleaned them by the time this post goes up you’ll see why (I posted some pics to prove what I saw). They messed up our order and said we ordered wrong but immediately came out with our correct order and gave the first order to the poor sap sitting outside. We were told to wait for coffee but it got annoying watching others getting theirs served first. The menu although artistic was barely legible. Like I said before it has huge potential for a great place to eat. Wishing them luck.

I enjoyed a very satisfying and filling breakfast here!
I loved the truffled egg toast, a refined version of egg in a hole. The sautéed asparagus was perfectly done and well-​seasoned enough to appeal to someone who is not at all an asparagus fan. Truffle flavor was present but not overwhelming. This dish was very fairly priced for something that clearly required careful planning and thought.
I paired my toast with a latte that was serviceable (much better than a chain coffee shop, but not up to any hipster in-​house roaster standards).
Service was also incredibly friendly.

Went to char cu te rie because of the great reviews and beautiful pictures on Unilocal and we left without even finishing our food.
Cons. The patio had so many flies it was beyond irritating waiting for our food.
We waited 20 minutes for a simple grilled cheese that was barely grilled that the cheese wasn’t even melted. Half the sandwich had too much cheese the other hardly any.
The menu describes the chips as dirty and they are the most sour vinegar potato chips that weren’t even edible. They should describe them as salt and vinegar for those who would chose another option.
We must have caught them on an off day by other peoples dining experience there.
Pro. The McConnells salted caramel ice cream was good.
There patio is dog friendly.

When I lived in the area I would come here religiously! Always serving the best espresso and delicious food. Now that I moved out of state, I make it a MUST destination, when I’m visiting family.
Try the New Orleans iced! If you’re around during the hot months.

I walked into Char and I knew from that moment on, this was going to be my «go to» restaurant. Love at first smell.
The patio is lovely to have a seat and enjoy the downtown scenery. Inside, the restaurant has a cute vintage shabby chic look. The Staff is extremely friendly. They greet everyone and smile. The Owner also comes out and she’s very welcoming.
I asked the staff what they recommended for a first timer. One said the Iced Vietnamese is pretty good. I told him, one of those please. It has sweet condensed milk with coffee ice cubes. BEST coffee hands down!
I ordered the Croque Madame. A fried egg is over the ham sandwich. The Owner/​Chef uses different tasty spices for the sandwich. After I cut into it, the egg yolk seeps through the bread and ham — Amazing. Another favorite is the Gone Fishin’ sandwich. BEST smoked salmon with cream cheese. Mouth Watering Deliciousness!
P. s. Thank You Erick for having me hooked on the Vietnamese Coffee! I came in every other day for my coffee fix! And you’d always start making it before I even asked. Thanks Bud, I appreciate it!
And that’s how I became a regular… Duchess (cough cough)

We were heading to Sequoia/​Kings Canyon and I was skeptical of quality food options in the parks, so I found this place to pick up lunch for later. Char is located right on Main St, in the heart of the Visalia CBD. Once we navigated the road closures for the bicycle race that was happening, the shop was easy to find with plenty of free street parking.
After a quick glance of the menu, I ordered the John Truffolta (truffle egg salad with crispy prosciutto di Parma on brioche) while my girlfriend went with the Eat Chicken (sliced herb chicken breast, double crème brie, tomatoes, and honey mustard on baguette). Although hers was a hot sandwich, both traveled well in our cooler.
Easily, the John Truffolta is the best egg salad sandwich I’ve ever had. Granted, it’s the only «gourmet» egg salad sandwich I’ve ever had. I love how the egg was in huge chunks. Just a simple but significant difference. I normally avoid truffle anything, but it worked nicely in this case. My girlfriend enjoyed her chicken sandwich. I had a few bites and it was indeed delicious. The brie worked with the chicken beautifully.
While waiting for our food, we changed our minds on drinks and decided to order a date shake and a Nutella shake. I loved the date shake despite the straw being way too small for the big date chunks. The Nutella shake was just OK.
I would definitely stop here and probably dine in if we are ever in Visalia again.

Cute little cozy café on Main Street. This place is hidden next to the Indian joint. So keep your eyes peeled.
The place is small, and at time it seems like the employees are always bumping into you. I like the disarray, it’s filled with different types of package chocolate coffee and beverages.
The food is good! Not the best thing ever but it’s good to experience this place.

So far I have only tried the ice cream and a coffee drink, but they were pretty tasty and I want to go back and try the other things on their menu.
After eating a big lunch I had a sweet tooth and remembered seeing this place had ice cream etc, so I thought I would give it a try.
As soon as I walked in, I was immediately greeted by the girl behind the counter who was very sweet and enthusiastic. I told her that I was interested in the ice cream and she offered me a sample of any flavor that I wanted. I ultimately chose the kids’ scoop of Peanut Butter Choc Chip and Churro. I am glad that I chose the kids’ size scoop because I was unable to finish them. It looks like a small serving, but there was more than enough.
The Churro ice cream was the most surprising, because it actually tasted like a Churro!!! If going to carnivals and getting a churro is your thing, I would HIGHLY recommend getting the ice cream because it honestly tastes just like it!!!
The Peanut Butter Choc Chip was good, but wasn’t outstanding. I would get it again, but it isn’t anything that I am craving and have to go back right away to get.
I also tried the New Orleans coffee drink made w/​pure Maple Syrup. It is a black coffee w/​creamer and then the maple syrup. It was pretty good.
The shop is small and is like a galley kitchen… very long and narrow. They also have outdoor seating.
I like that they have a variety of items available for purchase, including coffee mugs, bottled flavored water and other kitchen needs.
I am looking forward to returning and trying other things on their menu