11/08/09

good food, amazingly poor service

by hungryinharlem

We are big fans of Charles's chicken and had very good meals in their former location on the corner. But we've been twice recently and been amazed at the unhelpfulness of the waitstaff. The first time, they clearly lost or forgot our order; we waited nearly an hour while tables around us were served quickly. Each time we asked for our food, the waitress acted annoyed we were bothering her, and never apologized when it finally came (cold). More recently, we went in on a warm day to find the heat on full-blast; it must have been 85 degrees inside. We were the only people there and asked if they could turn it down. They said it was automatic and would turn itself off. Okay, fair enough . . . but it didn't happen. Then we asked, nicely, if they would consider could propping open the door; no-one else was there and we were baking. No, they wouldn't. We left.

• Pros: Charles's chicken
• Cons: The people he hired to serve it

08/01/09

Best place ever

by ladyshy

I have read the previous reviews on this place and it doesn't do it any justice. The barbecue chicken is amazing and the ribs are to die for. Oh yea, I almost forgot the biscuits are awesome. The staff there are excellent and they serve your food super-fast. My husband and I have been here on many occassions and truly love this place.

• Pros: Excellent food, amazing service, great drinks
• Cons: None

05/30/08

Good Ribs, average to below average everything else

by ny516

The Ribs at this place were really good, but the side dishes were really mediocre and the staff wasn't exactly the friendliest. Aside from the ribs, I wasn't thrilled with this restaurant.

• Pros: Good Ribs
• Cons: Side dishes were disappointing, service was below average

05/30/07

To die for salmon and pulled pork, great side and leamonade.

by dlev111

I've been here a few times and i have to say the food is really good, the salmon is huge and the pulled pork is like butter. they give you two kinds of barbeque sauce in a squeez bottle sweet and spicy. the lemonade is great and you get your pick of two sides from a nice list. it seems like a family owned biz so it has that home feel. i really like that there are young people working inside which is always a good thing for the community. my only critique is that some of the young ladies could use just alittle training in customer service and proper attire when serving food.other than that i really like this place and you should check it out. P.S. they give you a basket of hot corn rolls that taste heavenly.

• Pros: The barbeque,Salmon, sides and lemonade
• Cons: The customer service and attire can be worked on

03/04/07

poor portion control, food is ok

by cfuller123

my friend and i went here for lunch. i had been once about a year ago when they first opened and wasn't impressed, but i figured i'd give it another try.

i got the 1/2 slab of ribs and he got the combo of 1/4 slab and pulled pork. the two dishes were the same price. imagine my surprise when the food was delivered and he had received more ribs than i! it's tacky to complain about that sort of thing, so i didn't, but i was really upset. i left a bad tip and will be very wary when ordering next time.

• Pros: delicious ribs
• Cons: rip off, bad sides

02/18/07

Horrible Take Out Service, Great Ribs

by newyork101

Coming from Texas, I am an expert on barbecue, especially ribs. This place has great ribs, but on more than one occasion they have failed to provide the barbecue sauce that is supposed to come with the platters. This is even after I explicitly told them to include the mandatory sauce. Try eating pulled pork dry. I'd rather eat dog.

The manager was very nice and tried to rectify the situation, by sending some free cake with the extra barbecue sauce over an hour after delivering my $80 order. This might have been nice if I enjoy my bbq sauce on carrot cake. Yeah right. Maybe if I was pregnant. Ok so yeah, nice manager. However the girl manning the phone and taking orders was very rude and when I tried to ask for help her response was that they are busy. So in a nutshell, good ribs, sorry service, nice manager, nasty phone girl.

• Pros: Great ribs and pork when they remember to put bbq sauce on, nice manager
• Cons: They frequently forget to put bbq sauce in, and the girl on the phone was rude

Neighborhood soul-food lovers converge at this cozy corner restaurant for Southern barbecue and homemade desserts.

by Contributor

In Short
The interior of this Morningside Heights eatery has the feel of a diner, minus the garish lighting. Patrons cram into red vinyl booths or stools at the no-frills bar for soul-food stapes like fried chicken and catfish, each served with two sides. Applewood accents the barbecue, which includes pulled pork, baby back ribs and short ribs. All-natural sauce is added in the kitchen, and squeeze bottles of the stuff--sweet and spicy--sit atop each table.

09/26/06

Decent Soul Food.

by mershy02

Okay, so I'm from Texas. Houston to be exact, born and raised. Recently took my family visiting from Texas to NYC since I live close. They were hungry; we saw this place; my Dad is not used to eating anything but BBQ, TexMex, or Southern food, so this was a safe bet. It really was not that bad. It was not fantastic, but we got a nice table near the front. I had pulled pork which was fine, asparagus which was good, and everyone else's food was decent. The best thing was the Lemonade! IT ROCKED!!! As a southern girl grown on this stuff I was amazed. I probably had 4 glasses. Anyway, it's NYC. There are not a LOT of choices for true soul food. So this one's good enough.

• Pros: Lemonade!!! Good selection of veggies. Nice rolls. Price.
• Cons: Nothing special.

09/24/06

Customer Service

by hotep49

Customer service is the utmost principle regarding the success of a restaurant, a neighborhood bar or a momma and poppa coffee shop. When I order a meal, whether I remain at the restaurant or I take it to go, I do not expect the bubble gum smacking take out girl ,who allows me to stand there for ten minutes, not to address my presence. Nor do I like her to address me as "Are you ready?" after answering two delivery orders without addressing me or apologizing for the inconvience. Then to add insult to injury you dont apprise me of the dishes that are not longer available until I request it. Despite this, I still order and upon receipt of my food no "Thank you for coming" or "Please come again" instead I receive "Here you go"while smaking bubble gum and making no eye contact with me. No warmth, no apology, no customer service etiquette. I own two restaurants and have never experienced such unprofessional behaviour and customer detachment. Do we blame that on her lack of interpersonal skills or do we direct that toward management who should train their employees that customer service is the center of financial success? I would not recommend this place for a chicken sandwich or for using the restroom. And if that young lady worked for me, she wouldn't.

07/11/06

So so

by cianadoll

This is a full-service restaurant/spin-off of sorts to Charles' Southern Kitchen in Harlem. And, it's not that great. As the Harlem location is a walk-in/take-out place, it is more acceptable to have what tastes like boxed or powered mac n' cheese. I expected more from this location though. And, the fried chicken is medicore too (a supposed specialty for soul food establishments). Having grown up eating soul food, I'd like to think that I know good food and this restaurant just isn't doing it for me. Not to mention my son had an "ok" serving of chicken and french fries. How do you mess that up? The only good thing is that this mediocre food is not expensive. Did I mention that the wait staff are not pleasant?! There are a bunch of teens who don't really want to be there.

• Pros: inexpensive
• Cons: food, wait staff