We had two potential clients fly in from NY yesterday (for one night). We had them drive all the way to Stillwater so we could take them to Charlies Restaurant. All four of us ordered the ribeye, only to be told they were out of ribeye. We were then told that they had prime rib instead (which seemed odd since it was Thursday) so we all ordered that. We were then told they didn’t have prime rib. Then we ordered the surf and turf, but they were out of it. Then we ordered scallops, but we were told they were out of scallops. Then we ordered salmon, but were told they were out of salmon. Then we tried to order the pasta with scallops, but they didn’t have those scallops either. They basically had ONE entrée available, but nobody told us that before seating us. I can understand being out of 1 or 2 items across the menu, but only having one entrée is unacceptable. This absolutely should have been disclosed before we were seated. All 4 of us had to order meals that we didn’t really want but they were over cooked and tasted terrible. Additionally, the cheese curds were very very tiny and they were over fried and the calamari did not taste good. Due to the fact that this was a business dinner, we were not going to make a scene with the manager and decided to address it at a later date. As you can imagine, this was extremely embarrassing, especially since we had our clients rent a car and drive all the way to Stillwater vs. meeting them for dinner by the airport. This did not leave a good impression on our potential new clients. I contacted the general manager and asked for our money back. He said he would do that, but didn't follow through. He claimed he sent me a gift card, but he never asked for my address?? I have contacted him multiple times since then over the course of 2 months and he either doesn't reply or refuses to give us a credit which was charged to our business account. I gave him the chance to rectify the situation before leaving this review, but he refuses to give us our credit. We will never return and will also let our boating friends know about this experience.
BetsyH111
Great location for dinner on a beautiful summer evening with my husband. We enjoyed a salad and an appetizer. Both were delicious. The scenery was amazing. Service was very good. Great place to visit and taking the sights on a beautiful evening.
Kylee W.
This is probably a place that is great if you're just going out for drinks. Went here at 5:45 on a Saturday - dining room was fairly empty, several groups on patio. Sever was nice. Food was terrible. Not sure how a restaurant can mess up a basic burger - it was burnt! Will not be back.
Ellen M.
Rating is based solely on attitude of server and management referred to as "He". My bill had a 3% surcharge added to total after taxes. I inquired what the surcharge covered and server stated "because he can"! When pressed she said "He started it during Covid because everyone else is doing it". And if I wanted more information I should call "Him". Give me a damn good reason why you are charging me for something without a valid reason. WTF. No tip. Never patronize again. In addition, the $22 Rueben was not worth it.
Samantha G.
I'm not much a person to leave negative review. But I have to share this one. I know for a fact that kitchen is completely disgusting. We order the artichoke dip. When arriving my boyfriend picks up the Bread there is mold on it! The food runner ask if we like a new bread. I said I lost my appetite. We don't even want it. Then waiting on our entrée. We ordered the walleye sandwich. It was $19.99 dish. So much be a really nice size fish. When that came out. It was only a 4 once breaded deep fry fish. When putting the tartar sauce on. There was old fried grease on the bread was Smoky dark, dirty look and musty. Manager came over. He did not look presentable. And he had a eye infection. Over all the cooks don't care.
Alison K.
I'm an assertive Minnesota girl, which makes me a rare gem. My recent visit to Charlie's provided a display of my charming assertiveness. Charlies is a good stop for drinks, the basic normal drinks. I'm a classic Jameson diet consumer with an affection for fancy bourbons on occasion when my wallet feels thick. I'm not your girl to review fancy pants "I just turned 21" kinds of drinks. So all I can recommend is to drink your basic go-to thing at Charlie's. The inside bar is big and fairly original-ish and the patio is spacious with a great view of the river and next to the walking bridge. Stop here on a bar crawl and sit outside. However, the food is a hard no. I'll admit I'm a bit picky, but while I may occasionally lower my standards when it comes to men I'll go on a date with, I can't justify lowering my standards for inedible food. The scallops were cold and the salmon tasted like a college kid with an undeveloped frontal lobe who was experimenting making salmon in their easybake oven. Both plates were swimming in watery fish goo that was allegedly Beurre Blanc sauce. Now, a little known fact, I took 6 years of French language about 20 years ago. Despite not being able to utter a single French word correctly, I feel far more confident in my knowledge of French food content. I can't say Beurre Blanc, but I know what it's supposed to taste like. Unfortunately Charlie's sure doesn't. When the waitress stopped to check on us and noticed the unimpressed looks on our faces, I stuttered for a moment trying to find the right words to convey just how awful it was. This was my internal struggle to be a good lil passive aggressive midwesterner. I failed. I blurted out "this is not good. We can't eat it and it's real yucky". The startled waitress brought the manager, and bless his heart (my southern roots friends know what I mean here). The young man wasn't quite sure what to do with my declaration of dissatisfaction. He fumbled around what to do and say, not unlike too many dates I've been on. I took the lead and let him know he could take the plates away, remove the charge and we appreciated the effort but the mark was missed. He offered conciliatory French fries to which we agreed. The fries were good, and we doused them with salt to keep us thirsty, and a little sustenance to maintain our intentions of continued drinking. There's nothing better than waking up hungover and swollen after salty fries and whisky's, am I right or do you not live on the wild side? Despite the crummy food, the view is great and the waitress was a gem. She was the kind of woman who is someone else's aunt that you sit next to at a boring family function who's got the quick quips under her breath that keeps you laughing while drinking whatever gut rot booze that cheap-a** cousin provided. I can only hope to be like her someday. She was fantastic and deserved all the tips we had to give. She apologized per normal standards of server conduct, which was nice but not necessary, she didn't cook it. You win some and you lose some, but I've concluded there's something about that building that guarantees a bad meal for me. I've had repeated bad experiences at Papas, the rooftop spot on the same building. Clearly there isn't enough sage to burn for the universe to allow my assertive Scorpio energy and a good meal out of that building. We laughed, nobody cried and left hungry but tipsy. Feel free to grab a Drink at Charlie's, just eyes wide open on the food front. I've heard the burgers are better but I won't confirm it for ya. To my fellow MN peeps, there is a way to assertively address bad food, while also being respectful and humerus throughout the experience. As always, tip the heck out of the folks working hard on their feet bringing you grub to stuff your face with.
2theou
Thank you, Charlie’s, for serving a hot, weary couple that struggled to get service, food, and drinks at other diners in Stillwater. The experience wasn’t perfect, but it was good, and we were happy, and that is what matters. We had cold water, cold iced tea, and cold colas to cool us down. The walnut and berry salad and local house salad were just what we needed. Dressings were tasty and not over-done. Service was fair, and staff were kind. The Irish folk music took me back to my Dublin days, but I could have done without the modern Irish grunge:)
violabelle613
Location is great and we were able to watch the lift bridge, which is the main attraction here. Outside seating is great. Food was hit or miss, with the “fried” tortellinis just seeming undercooked and the kids mea was Kraft Mac&Cheese. The spaghetti was 22$ without any sides, which seems excessive even with inflation. My salad was great and fresh.
Kris P.
Great view from the deck. Food was not bad! Device was super friendly! I would visit again
Sheri V.
My friend and I met for an early dinner and planned to meet at Papa's upstairs but it was still closed. We ended up going to Charlie's. Our server greeted with a super friendly attitude. We ended up having two of my favorite things, soup and chardonnay. I am fussy with my chardonnay but they had one I really like. When I asked about the soup, she said it was pretty meaty and offered me a sample. It was delicious so I ordered some. It was definitely meaty and wonderful. I can't remember the name of it but it was whatever kind they offered on June 9. Michelle our server checked on us often. She was delightful! I would return again just to sit at one of her tables!!!! So for me and my friend AAAAA+++++ dining experience!!
waited for 50 minutes for food and served with a prime rib that's so bad I never seen anything worse elsewhere.
Keith W.
Food was over cooked and took forever. Asked for another beer as soon as she put down our food. When I was done eating I asked that she cancel them and her response was just okay.
Ed G.
Where do I start, first when the table was given it was filthy I had to clean it since after 10 minutes the waitress didn't clean it. Second it took 50 minutes to have my breakfast consisting of scramble eggs and french toast and mushroom omelette. Third the food is not tasty at all. You have to ask for clutter and napkins even when the food was 50 minutes late. Don't waste your time and money in this awfully place. I give one star in order to be able to publish my review otherwise I will give it minus 5 stars.
Thomas E.
Slow service, half our parties food was cold when served. Would not recommend this place post Covid
Chris J.
Love the early 20th century building and aesthetics. The Irish music played complimented everything. Very clean place which is always a plus. The food was ok but seemed dry. Everyone at our table thought the same. That was a disappointment. Maybe no luck that day? I'll try this place again. Seems like they have a good thing going on.
We had two potential clients fly in from NY yesterday (for one night). We had them drive all the way to Stillwater so we could take them to Charlies Restaurant. All four of us ordered the ribeye, only to be told they were out of ribeye. We were then told that they had prime rib instead (which seemed odd since it was Thursday) so we all ordered that. We were then told they didn’t have prime rib. Then we ordered the surf and turf, but they were out of it. Then we ordered scallops, but we were told they were out of scallops. Then we ordered salmon, but were told they were out of salmon. Then we tried to order the pasta with scallops, but they didn’t have those scallops either. They basically had ONE entrée available, but nobody told us that before seating us. I can understand being out of 1 or 2 items across the menu, but only having one entrée is unacceptable. This absolutely should have been disclosed before we were seated. All 4 of us had to order meals that we didn’t really want but they were over cooked and tasted terrible. Additionally, the cheese curds were very very tiny and they were over fried and the calamari did not taste good. Due to the fact that this was a business dinner, we were not going to make a scene with the manager and decided to address it at a later date. As you can imagine, this was extremely embarrassing, especially since we had our clients rent a car and drive all the way to Stillwater vs. meeting them for dinner by the airport. This did not leave a good impression on our potential new clients. I contacted the general manager and asked for our money back. He said he would do that, but didn't follow through. He claimed he sent me a gift card, but he never asked for my address?? I have contacted him multiple times since then over the course of 2 months and he either doesn't reply or refuses to give us a credit which was charged to our business account. I gave him the chance to rectify the situation before leaving this review, but he refuses to give us our credit. We will never return and will also let our boating friends know about this experience.
Great location for dinner on a beautiful summer evening with my husband. We enjoyed a salad and an appetizer. Both were delicious. The scenery was amazing. Service was very good. Great place to visit and taking the sights on a beautiful evening.
This is probably a place that is great if you're just going out for drinks. Went here at 5:45 on a Saturday - dining room was fairly empty, several groups on patio. Sever was nice. Food was terrible. Not sure how a restaurant can mess up a basic burger - it was burnt! Will not be back.
Rating is based solely on attitude of server and management referred to as "He". My bill had a 3% surcharge added to total after taxes. I inquired what the surcharge covered and server stated "because he can"! When pressed she said "He started it during Covid because everyone else is doing it". And if I wanted more information I should call "Him". Give me a damn good reason why you are charging me for something without a valid reason. WTF. No tip. Never patronize again. In addition, the $22 Rueben was not worth it.
I'm not much a person to leave negative review. But I have to share this one. I know for a fact that kitchen is completely disgusting. We order the artichoke dip. When arriving my boyfriend picks up the Bread there is mold on it! The food runner ask if we like a new bread. I said I lost my appetite. We don't even want it. Then waiting on our entrée. We ordered the walleye sandwich. It was $19.99 dish. So much be a really nice size fish. When that came out. It was only a 4 once breaded deep fry fish. When putting the tartar sauce on. There was old fried grease on the bread was Smoky dark, dirty look and musty. Manager came over. He did not look presentable. And he had a eye infection. Over all the cooks don't care.
I'm an assertive Minnesota girl, which makes me a rare gem. My recent visit to Charlie's provided a display of my charming assertiveness. Charlies is a good stop for drinks, the basic normal drinks. I'm a classic Jameson diet consumer with an affection for fancy bourbons on occasion when my wallet feels thick. I'm not your girl to review fancy pants "I just turned 21" kinds of drinks. So all I can recommend is to drink your basic go-to thing at Charlie's. The inside bar is big and fairly original-ish and the patio is spacious with a great view of the river and next to the walking bridge. Stop here on a bar crawl and sit outside. However, the food is a hard no. I'll admit I'm a bit picky, but while I may occasionally lower my standards when it comes to men I'll go on a date with, I can't justify lowering my standards for inedible food. The scallops were cold and the salmon tasted like a college kid with an undeveloped frontal lobe who was experimenting making salmon in their easybake oven. Both plates were swimming in watery fish goo that was allegedly Beurre Blanc sauce. Now, a little known fact, I took 6 years of French language about 20 years ago. Despite not being able to utter a single French word correctly, I feel far more confident in my knowledge of French food content. I can't say Beurre Blanc, but I know what it's supposed to taste like. Unfortunately Charlie's sure doesn't. When the waitress stopped to check on us and noticed the unimpressed looks on our faces, I stuttered for a moment trying to find the right words to convey just how awful it was. This was my internal struggle to be a good lil passive aggressive midwesterner. I failed. I blurted out "this is not good. We can't eat it and it's real yucky". The startled waitress brought the manager, and bless his heart (my southern roots friends know what I mean here). The young man wasn't quite sure what to do with my declaration of dissatisfaction. He fumbled around what to do and say, not unlike too many dates I've been on. I took the lead and let him know he could take the plates away, remove the charge and we appreciated the effort but the mark was missed. He offered conciliatory French fries to which we agreed. The fries were good, and we doused them with salt to keep us thirsty, and a little sustenance to maintain our intentions of continued drinking. There's nothing better than waking up hungover and swollen after salty fries and whisky's, am I right or do you not live on the wild side? Despite the crummy food, the view is great and the waitress was a gem. She was the kind of woman who is someone else's aunt that you sit next to at a boring family function who's got the quick quips under her breath that keeps you laughing while drinking whatever gut rot booze that cheap-a** cousin provided. I can only hope to be like her someday. She was fantastic and deserved all the tips we had to give. She apologized per normal standards of server conduct, which was nice but not necessary, she didn't cook it. You win some and you lose some, but I've concluded there's something about that building that guarantees a bad meal for me. I've had repeated bad experiences at Papas, the rooftop spot on the same building. Clearly there isn't enough sage to burn for the universe to allow my assertive Scorpio energy and a good meal out of that building. We laughed, nobody cried and left hungry but tipsy. Feel free to grab a Drink at Charlie's, just eyes wide open on the food front. I've heard the burgers are better but I won't confirm it for ya. To my fellow MN peeps, there is a way to assertively address bad food, while also being respectful and humerus throughout the experience. As always, tip the heck out of the folks working hard on their feet bringing you grub to stuff your face with.
Thank you, Charlie’s, for serving a hot, weary couple that struggled to get service, food, and drinks at other diners in Stillwater. The experience wasn’t perfect, but it was good, and we were happy, and that is what matters. We had cold water, cold iced tea, and cold colas to cool us down. The walnut and berry salad and local house salad were just what we needed. Dressings were tasty and not over-done. Service was fair, and staff were kind. The Irish folk music took me back to my Dublin days, but I could have done without the modern Irish grunge:)
Location is great and we were able to watch the lift bridge, which is the main attraction here. Outside seating is great. Food was hit or miss, with the “fried” tortellinis just seeming undercooked and the kids mea was Kraft Mac&Cheese. The spaghetti was 22$ without any sides, which seems excessive even with inflation. My salad was great and fresh.
Great view from the deck. Food was not bad! Device was super friendly! I would visit again
My friend and I met for an early dinner and planned to meet at Papa's upstairs but it was still closed. We ended up going to Charlie's. Our server greeted with a super friendly attitude. We ended up having two of my favorite things, soup and chardonnay. I am fussy with my chardonnay but they had one I really like. When I asked about the soup, she said it was pretty meaty and offered me a sample. It was delicious so I ordered some. It was definitely meaty and wonderful. I can't remember the name of it but it was whatever kind they offered on June 9. Michelle our server checked on us often. She was delightful! I would return again just to sit at one of her tables!!!! So for me and my friend AAAAA+++++ dining experience!!
Restaurantji Recommends
waited for 50 minutes for food and served with a prime rib that's so bad I never seen anything worse elsewhere.
Food was over cooked and took forever. Asked for another beer as soon as she put down our food. When I was done eating I asked that she cancel them and her response was just okay.
Where do I start, first when the table was given it was filthy I had to clean it since after 10 minutes the waitress didn't clean it. Second it took 50 minutes to have my breakfast consisting of scramble eggs and french toast and mushroom omelette. Third the food is not tasty at all. You have to ask for clutter and napkins even when the food was 50 minutes late. Don't waste your time and money in this awfully place. I give one star in order to be able to publish my review otherwise I will give it minus 5 stars.
Slow service, half our parties food was cold when served. Would not recommend this place post Covid
Love the early 20th century building and aesthetics. The Irish music played complimented everything. Very clean place which is always a plus. The food was ok but seemed dry. Everyone at our table thought the same. That was a disappointment. Maybe no luck that day? I'll try this place again. Seems like they have a good thing going on.