Epicerie Cafe Charbon

08/14/2008 Posted by arealnewyorker

The atmosphere is fine and our food was o.k., but the service was beyond atrocious. After dining, we waited almost an hour, for our waiter to return. I decided to talk to the manager. That's when our waiter sprung into action and rushed over to find out what he could do for us. Too late loser. The apology and the two free drinks didn't take the sting out of it. I will never return. Unbearable.

Pros: atmosphere

Cons: "poor service" would be a gross understatement

07/12/2008 Posted by stevebn

Stopped in around 9pm on a busy Friday night. Four of us were seated promptly and I had the best hamburger ever in NYC for $7.95 - served on a beautiful fresh brioche roll, about 1/2 lb, cooked to order, with excellent french fries, and a small salad. Waitress was friendly and very good and the big profiteroles with dark chocolate were delecious. Highly recommended.

Pros: Nice casual atmosphere, very good service

Cons: Open to the street, no a/c

06/11/2008 Posted by saratk

I went to Cafe Charbon last night with some friends. The service and atmosphere was fine and pleasant enough but the food was gross. The bread given as an appetizer seemed stale and airy and the olive oil smelled bad. As a main course, my friend and I ordered the vegetarian risotto which was the most schizophrenic dish I think I've ever had. Weird flavors and smells all thrown together to result in a big mash of gross gloop. Then topped off with some sort of balsamic vinegar strewn about. Ick. My other friend ordered the mushroom ravioli which she said was just ok. They're lucky they've got the location, ambience and adjoining bar going for them because relying on the food alone for success would take them under. Fast.

Pros: Cute decor, nice location, pleasant service

Cons: Gross food

03/11/2008 Posted by phinee16

I was attracted to this place due to the great review by TONY for the all you can eat mussels, which were great. However, I must say the service was pretty obnoxious. I received my bill which was separated out to food and drinks. I tipped about 20% of the food and left the restaurant. However, realizing I left my bag and returned to retrieve it. The waitress asked if everything was good and I replied yes. To my surprise she says " Well you usually tip 20% of the bill" Well I know of no written etiquette on tipping, and I may be wrong but I believe tipping should be up the customer number one. Last I checked, tipping is usually 15-20%of the food service, why would you separate food and drink on the receipt otherwise. AND you defnitely don't tip based on the taxed amount. I did tip 20% of the food total, which I now regret, and how dare you come chasing after me because you weren't satisfied with your tip. If I ever come again, which I won't, you should just do awful things to my entrees . At least your boss would still appreciate the business.

Pros: Great food

Cons: Awful attitude from waitress about what she expected for tip

01/15/2008 Posted by sorenhbech

Had a great meal on Sat night at this cute French bistro/bar with my partner. Calamari was fantastic, and definitely recommend the hangar steak with pepper sauce - YUM! And make sure you save room for the molten chocolate cake which was among the best in the city! Wine list was good. Food was a great value as well. Had been here before with a large group - food is consistent and restaurant is versatile for either a romantic night or a group outing.

Pros: Great food, great value - romantic but also good for groups

Cons: Service could have been a little more prompt

10/14/2007 Posted by klairebear

My parents had never been to New York before, and I'd only been one time, so when they decided to go, they asked me to come. I was super excited, and we wanted to eat in little Italy one night. The place we wanted to go had an hour and a half wait, so we walked around a bit more and came across this place. The atmosphere was nice, and we were seated at the perfect table, it was inside, but right next to the open window, so it was kinda like it was outside, too. Our waiter brought us a very very nice cabernet - it was sooo delicious! The entrees were great..I got the trout, my mother got some chicken dish with capers, and my dad got the steak. All were great, but I loved my trout the most with the almonds on top..mmm! Our waiter's name was Carlos, and he was spectacular! He helped us with our touristy questions as well as provided excellent service. For dessert, I don't remember what it was called..but my dad got this crazy all chocolate super rich brownie thing with ice cream. My mom and I split the best creme brulee either of us have ever had. They also had the only beer I have ever tried that I thought was actually good, leffe blonde. So going into this place we had no idea it was French, and I'm glad cuz we probably would have left since we wanted Italian. This honestly was the very best restaurant experience I've had!!! I'll definitely make this place a for sure stop everytime I'm in NYC.

Pros: Everything! Food, service, ambience...it's great!

Cons: Nothing I can think of...

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

10/14/2007 Posted by konetsovska

Bar itself is really nice, but they bring in a DJ after 10 in Charbon who plays the same 15 songs over and over that were all the rage in junior high. I can't think of any situation in which it's appropriate to play Bell Biv Devoe three times in the same evening. Just painful.

Pros: good food, nice decor, not too crowded bar

Cons: terrible music in the bar

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

10/06/2007 Posted by norabarn

This place is a disney fake french bistro. the food is school cafeteria friendly and the clientele ranges from drunken soccer fans singing on the top of their lungs while inhaling beer and the local traffic fumes on orchard street, to America's Next Top Model wannabes in k-mart knock offs. If you like places like this save your money and drive to the local mall for a cheaper night out without the noise and traffic.

Pros: none

Cons: annoying clientele, noisy, in middle of traffic and noise

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

07/14/2007 Posted by rkhona

my friends and i ordered drinks from the wine list that was written in chalk on the wall, (the menus we were handed had no wines listed). we ordered the $6 roses and when we got the bill the wines were listed as being $8. when i pointed out the difference, the manager and waitress merely noted that they didnt have the $6 wine. when i told them that no one had told us that, they looked at me like i was an alien. its not the $2, its the principle. no where on the board was an $8 rose listed nor on the menu. its not a huge deal, but the neither the waitress nor manager apologized and the 2 of them acted like i was a loser for pointing it out. i use to be a waitress, so i am pretty sympathetic. but frankly they acted so indifferent and rude (even for the LES) it was such a turnoff.

Pros: its french

Cons: bad service, false advertising

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

05/22/2007 Posted by gerrilum

The waiters were very friendly and funny. The entrance is tricky to find. The atmosphere is nice, both inside and outside. The food was fantastic. However, the beverages were not. The water had floating particles and smelled strange. So I had no choice but to order a coke, and that too tasted strange. Even my friend agreed. We had lunch during the daytime, I'm sure the atmosphere is even nicer during the night time. The bar looks nice, and they have a wide range of wines available.

Pros: The food and the atmosphere

Cons: The non-alcoholic beverages...

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful