Char Restaurant
“With superb mastery of textures and flavors, each plate that chef David Snyder created – just blew us away.”
“The dining room is dressed in warm woods and stone with a large fireplace as a focal point in the center of the room.”
“We ended with the french toast bread pudding and the peach and blackberry cobler, again both outstanding.”
Char Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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The best part of this restaurant is the parking lot. It's huge! Plenty of spaces it's one of those big venues I would love to have my parties in.
Anyways, met up with a friend here, I came first to grab a seat inside just incase they were busy. It was a slow night, only a few people in the dining room. The walk up the stairs from the lot was grand; a bit confusing not knowing which entrance is to what or where. No host standing there so I walked in more until someone saw me.
I do love the decor, this is how I would want my restaurant to look like, it's so pretty inside! Screw whoever said the place looks tacky, it's totally homey and comforting.
The service was on point, we had a lovely waiter a bit older with an accent, but very friendly (not creepy friendly) and funny too. He didn't ID me for my drink since I guess I look like an old hag, but when my friend came who was older than me it was funny how he asked her for her ID….(good for her damnit).
The food was good, it wasn't mind blowing since I did go basic and order the lamb bolognese. My girl got the scallops which were perfectly cooked and delicious! We also split the truffle fries, and if you love McDonald's fries, imagine that thin cut potato with truffle on it. Yep…friken good.
The best part of the night was the dessert, that espresso semifreddo was probably the top 2 desserts I have ever had. I sound really perverted saying this but it was amazing in my mouth. It was creamy, succulent, and then salty. Yes. That's what she said.
And afterwards the manager (I'm guessing) came over to make sure everything was going great. He also offered us a round of drinks which we politely declined but I'll have to hunt him down next time I come in for those drinks 🙂
Yet another great meal here.
The menu choices, food quality, and service all 1st class.
Sat right by the fire place and enjoyed an excellent meal.
The restaurant was packed, you need a reservation. That says it all.
This has been a place that has experienced much turnover of cuisine/chefs/owners. I sincerely hope that this place stays. The appetizers go from typical italian, grilled octopus-excellent to the novel, veal cheeks over a fine polenta. Main courses include roasted fish dishes served over a variety of vegetable style sauces, meats such as hangar steak and pork shank. I did not try any of the deserts, I will the next time. The wine list has decent variety with plenty of "by the glass" choices as well. The service was very good, yet not obtrusive . On a Saturday night, it can get noisy since families do come-not limited to couples. It is one block away from Tarry Lodge, a Batali/Bastianich operation; and having been to both, I strongly feel feel that Char is far superior in food quality and preparation. I will definitely be back.
CHAR – Come Hungry And Rejoice!
And that's exactly what I did…
After looking for something new on Yelp, I came across this place which happens to be in a heavily populated restaurant neighborhood with names like Tarry Lodge, Nessa, and ex Lolita's. What caught my attention was the extremely well thought out menu. Rather than being fickle I decided to try it with my friend.
On the approach I was worried about parking since it was a day after some decent snow and I was most overjoyed to find a huge parking lot with an entrance to the dining side of the dedicated building. The street entrance is for the bar side which does connect internally.
The following is from their website which I think is worth knowing:
"Char is a contemporary American Restaurant that only uses the highest quality ingredients and sources local meats, produce, cheese whenever possible. We have menus that change with the seasons and daily specials that take advantage using any item that is currently in season. The atmosphere is upscale casual. The restaurant offers 2 private party rooms for any occasion.
The Restaurant was built using reclaimed wood throughout the building. The wall coverings are former floor joists from old building that were torn down in Brooklyn, look for the nail holes that are all over the wood. The flooring is water logged old white oak from Alabama. The Cabinetry is antique pine. The bar is Antique solid 4" red oak. The lighting fixtures are solid brass, make in Long Island via lights on design. All the walls are painted by local Artist Deb Ryan."
I really loved the ambiance and decor of the place. There's also a gas fireplace which doesn't give away the feel of not being natural at all. The dining room is fairly large.
We started with some wine and a Octopus which was really nice – I would ask for lemon to take it up a notch. Then we got the hanger steak with fries which was also really good – as you can see we were trying to stay away from the carbs as in no pasta but it looked really good on a nearby table. The steak was excellent, you wouldn't think you were having a hanger steak at all.
We ventured on to dessert… I asked our server what he recommended and before I could finish the sentence he replied – French Toast Bread Pudding. So this is how it played out:
"What do you think for dess(me)-French Toast Brea(him)-Done(me)!"
On tasting it our vocabulary swiftly transformed into a teen girl: "Ohhh Myyy GOD, isn't this like the best dessert ever??!!"
I was so eager to try it I didn't get a chance to take a picture to share. Next time I will.
Post dinner drinks continued at the bar side for a change of scene where we met the owner. He greeted us with warmth and welcome and was ever so greatful that we enjoyed the meal and the 6 month new establishment.
I am singing off with 4 stars because I will go back and update my review – as I always do with promising new restaurants because this one has a makings of greatness and can really make a regular out of anyone!
I've been waiting for so long to visit Char. After finished watching a movie at Lowes theater, I decided that it's my chance to grab lunch here. First impression, .. there're plenty of parking spots. An interior looks nice and elegant at first glance, then after looking around .. that flat screen tv on the wall just felt really out of place. We got to cozy up next to a fireplace since we were the only group of (4) people there. It felt a bit uneasy and awkward to be the only people eating lunch for the duration of an hour or so that we were there. Our waiter seemed a bit jumpy too. It seemed like they were still trying to get things together for brunch/lunch menu. Our waiter mentioned that the new menu just came in a week ago. I looked at their menu online before I headed to the restaurant and I was hoping that I would get to try skirt steak, but sadly .. I didn't see it on the menu (on Saturday).
Warm bread with olive oil was served while waiting for our lunch. Bread was soft and crusty on the outside just the way I like it. I ordered soup of the day which was cream of mushroom. Since there are so many great reviews on Grilled octopus, I had to order it as well. My soup was good. However, grilled octopus was a big let down. The presentation was very sloppy. There were 4 small pieces of octopus tentacles laying on a bed of watercress, squirted with lemon oregano dressing. Since it's a 'signature' dish (and quite pricey for the size of that small bowl of octopus), one would assume that taste and presentation have to be a bit more appealing and delicious. Well .. lemon oregano dressing was overly sour. Grilled octopus didn't taste like fresh octopus. It left me with bad after taste. I had to keep eating my soup in order to get that bad taste out of my mouth. I felt slightly sick to my stomach. It wasn't horrible, it just wasn't good.
My other friends ordered a burger, far east tuna, and Buccatini Lamb Bolognese. Out of those 3 entrees, far east tuna stood out the most. Tuna was fresh. Didn't leave me that fishy taste in my mouth. Burger was alright and lamb bolognese was slightly on a salty side. Overall I didn't feel that my money was well spent on lunch here. Perhaps I had too high of an expectation?
I will probably give them another try for dinner menu at some point.
In all fairness we were fans of chef David Snyder at his prior venture in NY, and traveled to Greenwich to see how things shaping up at his new venture.
The dining room is dressed in warm woods and stone with a large fireplace as a focal point in the center of the room. We arrived at about 8pm for our reservation (recommended) on a busy Friday night.
We were greeted enthusiastically and seated promptly. Bread and water arrived shortly thereafter – a tuscan style bread drizzled with olive oil.
An array of appetizers flowed across our table – octopus, beef cheek, veal meatballs.
The veal meatballs were moist, tender & terrific, and the chef has a way with octopus (a fav of his) and delivers a tender, flavorful dish. I have never had beef cheeks before – they looked great, but were heavy and and not my favorite texture (like a meaty mushroom).
Our entrees arrived and we paired a big Napa cabernet we brought along ($25 corkage) with the Braised Short Rib Pappardelle and the Steak Frites. The pasta was big, rich and wonderful. My steak was done perfectly medium rare and the fries were crisp and tasty.
We packed some leftovers from our entrees but fortunately had some room in our dessert compartments as the espresso semifreddo with caramel drizzle (see pic) was out of this world.
Stuffed, satisfied and had a great time.
Service was extremely attentive and pleasant throughout. We got to meet the owners and enjoyed our time with everyone.
This is the kind of place where everyone will go out of their way to deliver what you crave.
The wine list features some interesting choices with a price range from inexpensive to moderate, with several nice pairing opportunities.
I loved everything about my experience at Char. Great food, ambiance, and service. After not being able to decide on where we wanted to eat, I just used Yelp to find the nearest restaurant based on ratings. I called Char, and the hostess said there were no table available, but nicely suggested that we try sitting at the bar. My boyfriend and I decided to go anyway, and luckily there were no-shows on reservations. We were seated at a table. We ordered from a pre-fixed Valentine's Day menu, which was $55 per person. It was worth every penny. Each course was excellent and filling. Try the spinach and Asian pear salad! I ordered hearts of Palm, and when it came I looked at it like, "what the hell is this?" But I took a bite, and it was delicious!
Fantastic seriously good food. The grilled octopus appetizer was incredibly tender and delicious. Also highly recommended is the grilled lamb shank. It was melt in your mouth tender and so tasty. The portion was large enough to allow for a wonderful lunch the following day.
The decor was interesting and welcoming. On a chilly night we appreciated the warm glow from the fireplace. The wait staff are knowledgeable, attentive and accommodating.
It's a a wonderful place so be sure to have a reservation! Don't let the unassuming outside fool you. This is a gem.