Charlie's Restaurant — Restaurant in Bolingbrook

Unfortunate experience with the male server on the patio. It was a busy morning, but we waited over 30 minutes for our food and were there for over and hour and 20 minutes with understandably at first, little interaction from staff.We watched several tables who ordered 15 minutes after us without children get their food, pay and leave as we had to wrangle two toddlers. We were told they ran out or gravy as the food was brought out. After asking for our boxes and the check the server came out to clean tables and run food a few times before he decided to help us. I had to go inside to grab our boxes and pay without ever getting the check from the server. My husband had to leave with two screaming toddlers, and they cleaned the table within seconds after ignoring us most of the time, and threw away over $30 of food in the trash before I could get back to the table and wrap it up. Super frustrating because it seems he took our table when another server who was busy, but still efficient was going to take care of us. At this point I regret struggling to pay and leaving a tip, but that’s just not our style. Avoid the male server or busy days if you have small children. This was all not to mention an order of sausage links being forgotten and when they did arrive, they were most definitely microwaved based upon part of the rock hardness and appearance on parts of each of them. Also no grill marks compared to the other set. Regardless, the best way to handle tables with children is to get them their food right away, even if it’s only part of the order, especially when they immediately ordered when first greeted and are obviously not trying to hang around too long. Hard to believe this was a kitchen mistake over a server mistake. It’s a shame to have a sour taste in your mouth with such a cute place, and it feels like we wasted hard earned money. Feels like the customers are taken for granted which is super unfortunate besides the mediocre food. If you go, you’re going...

I visited Charlie’s for breakfast. Like most breakfast places on a weekend morning, it was crowded so there was a wait to be seated. Upon walking inside, my first impression was that the dining area looked a bit dated, but it wasn’t a big deal. Whatever. The vibe was relaxed. I figured since this place was situated at Clow Airport, my kids would have a nice time eating there while they watched the planes.

After about thirty minutes of waiting, my family and I were seated at a table next to a window. We were provided with menus. The first thing I noticed were the little hairs that were stuck within the plastic sleeves of the menu pages. Were they eyelashes? They looked like eyelashes. Perhaps they came from an arm, a leg, or an eyebrow? Maybe even a toe. Likely from a person, or an animal perhaps.

I was able to focus on making food selections, reluctantly. My kids and my husband seemed to be enjoying themselves, so I took a deep, relaxing breath and I hoped for the best. Inhaling that old carpet smell really stimulated my appetite.

My husband suspiciously asked, “Is everything okay?”

I replied, “Sure, it’s okay, just going with the flow.” My eyes were betraying me, of course. “The kids like this place. If they are happy, then I’m happy. All good.”

We had a nice view of the planes. My kids enjoyed watching a pilot prep his plane, then take off. While our little party of five was enjoying the view, our super friendly waitress delivered two coffees and three lemonades. My kids were very excited about their lemonades.

My husband and I sipped our coffee while we waited for our food. Then, my 7-year casually said, “Look, there is a hair in my lemonade.”

I took a closer look at his glass and I saw what appeared to be a 4-inch long hair gracefully floating amid his icy lemonade, trailing the pattern of his straw as he stirred it.

We left.

Sadly, the experience just didn’t pan out for us. I gave two stars because the staff and location is nice. Just can't trust...

Maybe my wife and I caught these guys on a bad day. But I can only go by the first (and probably last) impressions of this place.

1. It is a wonderful location! It's great to sit in a restaurant and watch airplanes taking off and landing.

2. The food is less than wonderful. Eggs, bacon, and toast are difficult to mess up. But you have to wonder about a place that serves hash browns that look like they have been BOILED. These hash browns had no brown. The toast was...toast. So that was OK. But the bacon resembled something you would get out of a vending machine, if there were vending machines that dispensed bacon. To their credit, the eggs were...eggs.

3. The service was almost nonexistent. I ordered a taco salad and a bowl of soup. I asked the waitress for the salsa on the side. She gave me a funny look, but she brought me exactly what she thought I had ordered: A bowl of soup with a tiny container of salsa on the side. I guess she forgot about the taco salad (with the salsa on the side) part of my order.

Now, my wife and I both hate overbearing waitstaff who come up to your table every two minutes asking whether you need anything. That sort of service is admirable, but it can be annoying.

The best waitstaff, in even the sleaziest greasy spoons, will be able to pick up your cues about whether you need something, like more water or coffe or the tab. And they will be right on it, but otherwise just leave you the heck alone.

This joint was the opposite: No offers for coffee or water refills--nada! And the place was not even very busy/crowded. I found myself thinking that I would have to jump up on the table and do weird stuff in order to get the damned check.

This is the first time I have ever "stiffed" a waitress. I left her a dollar, which amounted to five percent of the totally overpriced tab.

Next time we visit this cool airport, we will be bringing...