St Charles Place

I bought a Groupon coupon for St. Charles Place after reading reviews.  My husband and I went there on Saturday at 6pm to celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary. We were shown to our table by a pleasant large gentleman. He also greeted us on our way out, a very nice gesture.
Our experience had pros and cons.  We sat in the area to the left just passed the check-in desk.  We started with Oysters Rockefeller and some champaign. Both were incredible. My compliments to the chef.  After some time the waitress came back and took our order. AND I don't know what happened after that, but it was close to 30 min. before we received our salad and rolls! It was as if we were invisible! There was a pepper mill on a ledge by my husband's head, so I asked my husband to get it so we could have fresh pepper.  As I looked over at another table about 15 min. later, the same waitress was using a pepper mill on salads at their table!  We were not even asked. We waited another 45 min. for our entrees.  I ordered the flaming duck, my husband the ribs. As the waitress brought out a tray, it was set behind us on a table.  Next thing I knew a table started conversing and joking with the waitress.  I leaned out to see what was going on, and she was preparing my duck, lighting it when needed and turning it.  Glad I gave a show to the other tables.  I would have thought the prep was part of the enjoyment.  I must say on a happy note, that after I had the duck in front of me, it was divine.  I think it was the best duck I have ever had!  Compliments, again, to the chef.  My husband's ribs, on the other hand, were very dry, and his green beans were tasteless. His twiced baked potato was very good.  At the end of the night the waitress apologized for the pathetic service (those are my words) and gave us both a free dessert when I told her it was our anniversary.  SUMMARY:  If you don't have a special event, have money and plenty of time, check this place out.  I highly recommend the oysters rockefeller and the duck.  SUGGESTIONS: Waitress needs retraining.  Would be great if when seated just an automatic, "Are you celebrating anything this evening?" was said. Not personable at all..  Overall just expected more.

I think 3 stars is extremely generous.  For a drink, I like this place.  It's dark, it's interestingly decorated, and the service is good.  The food is mediocre, at best.  We visited most recently with my boyfriend's parents.  It was a Monday, and the marquee outside advertised "1/2 price burgers".  My boyfriend got a burger, I think due to the fact that their steaks etc were expensive and his dad was taking us out.  I opted for a pasta dish, since I don't eat meat and I didn't want to pick a pricey item either.  Now, perhaps our choices weren't the best since they weren't expensive, but I see a flaw in that.  Not to mention, I've never been overwhelmed by their food, any of it..so I don't think it's worth the risk to pay that much for an item at a so-so restaurant.  The pasta that I got was angel hair provencale...I actually have made better at home.  The portion was generous but the food was nothing special.  I liked my Caesar salad, that was probably the highlight of my dining experience.  Everyone else thought the food was decent but I have no desire to return for the food.  When we were leaving, my boyfriend's father noticed the marquee and said that they had not taken 1/2 off the burger.  I drive by this restaurant probably 10 times a week...the burgers have been 1/2 price for at least six months.  The responsibility to adjust the bill should rely on the establishment, not on the customer.  We didn't go back in for the price adjustment and will not return for dinner any time soon.

I came here with my wife and a friend of ours to celebrate my wife's birthday, and had purchased a Groupon for this event. We were early for our reservation and had asked to be seated near the fireplace. We were told they would see what could be done. No biggie, we waited in the bar.  The decor is very interesting; you can't quite pinpoint the theme of the restaurant.  We were seated near the fireplace. We sat for approximately 20 minutes before we were even asked for our drink order. I'm not sure how long we waited for our drinks to arrive, but it was at least another 20 minutes. Once our drinks finally arrived, we were able to order our appetizers, it seemed to take quite a long time for the appetizers to come out. By the time our appetizers had arrived, we had been at the restaurant for over an hour. My wife and I were very irritated because of how long it was taking for the different components of our meal to arrive. We ordered our main entrees, which again took forever to arrive - over two hours of waiting since we arrived at this point. I had ordered the prime rib, which was over-salted. The manager said it has a salt crust but that is not listed in the menu. He took it away and trimmed it down when I brought it to his attention. My wife (extremely irritated at this point) had ordered the ribeye, which she had ordered medium rare, and it arrived well done. We brought this to the manager's attention, and he offered to replace it and said that it takes a while to cook which is why it took so long the first time.

I'm sorry, but almost 4 hours for drinks, appetizer, salad, entree, and dessert???? I enjoyed my appetizer and prime rib but we won't be coming back. We also enjoyed our conversation with the manager, but the wait time was inexcusable for the evening over all. Our friend also wrote a review based on the same experience and the manager wrote a defensive reply. I'm sorry, but that just put the nail in the coffin.