Oh, Charlie B.'s, how I wanted to like you, but, as you are now, you're just doomed. There's one female bartender who is super nice (and I heard she might even be part of the management, but that's just a rumor)... otherwise, sorry Charlie!
Charlie B.'s is an American style restaurant attached to the Stoewflake resort in Stowe, VT, where I was visiting for a ski retreat. Unfortunately, a few of the week's nighlty events were scheduled at this restaurant, so that's why I wound up there a few times that week. So, why is Charlie B.'s so bad? Well, first, the food--it's mediocre at best. One of the worst was the swordfish, which looked like a fish cake taken right out of the freezer. And, it was super small. If you're gonna pay $20 for a meal, it should be tasty!!! On another night, I ordered the special beef stew. It tasted just ok and was a super small portion for almost $20. I mean, I just came off a ski slope and worked my ass off skiing down a mountain all day. I needed food to refuel... but the portion size was not even big enough to satisfy a toddler. #fail :( I will note that a few of the appetizers were okay... so if you're staying at the attached Stoweflake resort and are forced to go here, stick with appetizers.
So, what about the drinks and service? Well, the drinks are tasty enough, but they are expensive for what they are.... But the service-- ugh! Other than the one nice female bartender, what a nightmare!! Everyone else seemed clueless--the kitchen staff, the wait staff... just wrong! The service was super, super slow both night we were there... sure there was a big event in town, and this was the go to hotel restaurant/bar for the event, but, damn, I'm sure a lot of conventions come through that place. You think they would have learned to be prepared by now.
I went to Charlie B's last month for dinner with a coworker and it was awesome! I was pleasantly surprised, given the previous reviews. Â The food was delicious and our server was very attentive. I will definitely go back!
Side note - I don't eat fried food, but apparently the fries are outstanding.
No idea where some of these negative reviews came from!
We had a great meal at Charley B's and the service from Tyler was top notch.
One of the most extensive - by the glass- and bottled wine lists I have seen and this is more of a pub!
The duck ninja roll was a bit different and quite good.
The Lemon Caesar salad was  large enough for 2 to split, and was excellent.
Even the weiner schnitzel was a nice portion, we split that too. The cabot mashed and asparagus sides were nicely done and served piping hot.
I was actually amazed at the quality of the service and the food execution after reading some of these reviews, I guess we should have listened to the recommendation we got from the fellow at Mr. Pickwicks, another local spot, who sent us to Charley B's the night his place closed early.
He said he ate there often and to disregard the bad comments, he'd vouch for their food! Â
When the Bistro that is in the same building as Charley's reopens in December, I'd check that out, as Tyler said he'd be back in that side of the space.
And the towels in the bathroom were wonderful, so that's the end of that negative post!!!
Slow service, cold appetizers and unknowledgable wait staff. Â 3 strikes.
Our service was slow and the waiter didn't know the menu. Â Brought the wrong drinks, and the appetizer took 30 minutes to arrive, and it was cold and presented poorly. Â Entres took another 20 minutes to arrive. We will not be coming back to Charlie B's.
Charlie B's is just plain BS. Â I wasn't expecting anything great, in fact the gf and I were just looking for some 'pub food' after a nice day on the XC trails. Â the first thing that threw me was the water; mildewy, bleachy, hard, undrinkable. Â the calamari was soft, pale, and soggy, obviously frozen Cisco crap which they didn't have the decency to over fry like any respectable greasy spoon establishment. Â my 'soup of the day' was straight outta the can, no doubt about it. Â if a chef could make a soup taste that canned, well, he would deserve some sort of weird accolades. Â my girlfriends potatoes were clearly derived from a powder, and not even fully reconstituted or warm at the time of serving. Â so they didn't follow the directions on the box that the potatoes came in. Â i won't go into details about her abomination of a wienerschitzel. Â my 'local green salad' was edible, good even. Â the beers were good, although i don't think they clean their lines that often. Â the service was A - OK.
Review Source:This place was horrible - totally overpriced, bland, mediocre and obviously not fresh food, in a dark dingy dining room. Â We found none of the "festive atmosphere, Vermont Fresh cuisine" touted on the restaurant's website. Â We went here for dinner one evening, I had the Asian salad with scallops, my companion had a "steak." Â The salad was piled high with shreds of cabbage, bits of celery, and other cheapo filler, but featured a measly two scallops, which smelled strongly fishy and tasted off. Â The steak was not actually a steak, but rather chopped bits of beef tip, drowned in a thick brown gravy to hide the inferior quality of the meat. Â We also had a hummus appetizer, which tasted like it had been stored in the fridge for way too long, and was served icy cold. Â Prices were comparable to those of a big city fine dining establishment, and I've had better meals at Wendy's. Â I will never eat here again, and I warn anyone considering it to go anywhere else instead.
Review Source:Great place to eat. Not as expensive as I thought. I loved the full kids menu - especially good when u have a 2 year old that wants "steak". I had the duck and my husband had the pulled pork. Both were prepared well and delicious. They sat us right away on a Saturday night without a reservation which was very nice.
Review Source:As a local, I sometimes get dragged to Charlie's and every time I hope to find something good there, but no luck so far. The last time I had a broiled fish dish that was so salty I could not choke it down. Even though I had a 2 for1 deal that night (Charlie's desperate attempt to get the locals to stop in during the tourist lulls) I felt ripped off. I can't even imagine paying full price for the subpar food served here. So, if you find yourself dragged into Charlies, try to stay at the bar - the drinks are expensive but at least after a few you might not care so much.
Review Source:I experienced great service, great beer and a wonderful burger. They don't get a 5 Â because they have fancy napkins in the bathroom, practically cloth. This makes me question their environmental policies and I'll just bring it up the next time I go back and I'd likely go back.
They are also just off the Stowe rec trail which is beautiful.
We went here on a night when a power-outage shut down most of the restaurants on a summer night in August. Â The decor is a bit towards the 80s, but authentic and probably great on a snowy winter afternoon after skiing.
I had a salad with steak on top and the wife had a ravioli with a light broth. Â On the positive side, the steak with the salad was top notch. Â The ravioli was okay, but the veggie/wine broth was too salty with minimal flavor. Â Service was sincere and delivered with a smile.
A red wine by the glass we got was hot, very hot on the nose. Â We almost sent it back, but were grateful for food at 9:20 PM when most restaurants had shut down.
The wine list here is very, very overpriced. Ridge Three Valleys 2005 - $18 in the store - $58 at the restaurant. Â They even had a 2003 which is odd for this wine. Â Castle Rock Pinot - normally bottom of the barrel pinot - priced in the mid 40s. Â Enough said - 275%+ mark-up across the board was disappointing given that their sister restaurant - Winfield's has won Wine Spectator awards. Â I understand the need to markup, but at least drop in a few bargains.
I realize we're in ski country in Vermont, so forget the wine, go for the good beers.
Touted as Stowe's "best kept secret" for breakfast on the ad at our hotel, we figured we'd try the place. But then we realized that it wasn't a secret. People weren't talking about it because the breakfast was overpriced and bleh. I got a Southwestern wrap, with eggs, sausage, salsa, cheese and sour cream. It was decent, but the salsa had a pasta sauce consistency. The eggs were well cooked and the sausage was great though, maybe it was chorizo? The potatoes on the side were cold and lacked any seasoning whatsoever. My gf got an unappetizing-looking eggs benedict dish with corned beef hash. She said the hash reminded her of canned dog food. Her burps indeed smelled like Alpo. It was a long drive back to Boston. Also, somehow the coffee wasn't even good. It was lukewarm and brewed too weakly. It doesn't make sense, since the coffee at the hotel adjoining the restaurant was delicious. Service was mediocre, the waiter didn't check in with us at all. The only redeeming factor was its proximity to our hotel (we didn't want to go out in the rain) and the ok wrap. Even if you're staying at Stoweflake, go somewhere else for breakfast.
Review Source:
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