204 North Kitchen & Cocktails — Restaurant in Charlotte

In the epic words of King Arthur in Monty Python -“you make me sad”. This was probably the most lackluster brunch I’ve had in years, as in, we didn’t even finish eating. I’m not saying any of this to be cruel, mean, or spiteful at all, but aim to be as honest and as helpful as possible. This was legitimately terrible. 204 North Kitchen and Cocktails does indeed have a lovely hipster vibe/decor going on that is accompanied by frequent heavy country music, which is very odd. My sister and I walked in to find only around 6 customers present, which is worrying on a Saturday at brunch time. But we always try to give restaurants a fair shot.

We really wanted to try this place as it had pretty good reviews, although it stumps me as to why🤔. The service was polite and quick but when the food came out, it started sliding downhill very quick. I ordered the Summertime Pancakes which comes with peach preserves, blackberries, toasted meringue. As for the side, I ordered scrambled eggs. What I received instead was probably the most disappointing flapjacks in all of pancakedom. Those things were so dense, due to over mixture of the batter, they could’ve probably been used as body armor. They were in such desperate need of leavening, vanilla, maybe some cinnamon and nutmeg that they probably could’ve pleased the most persnickety of bland food eaters. In addition, I never received any preserve fruit topping(it was only after I pointed this out that the waitress brought me fresh strawberries and blueberries, which is nice and all but isn’t what it’s supposed to actually come with it), and as you can see in the picture, the tiniest topping of meringue ever. May I also point out that scrambled eggs are NOT supposed to be brown! They were completely inedible. Moving on to my sister’s Avocado Skillet. Anything that has the word “Skillet” in it usually comes out hot and bubbly yes? It was COLD, the asparagus was chopped way too fine, and it could have used some seasoning.

Note: This is not a rant by any means, but it needs to be said because this place is in desperate need of gastronomical help.

Let’s recap shall we? It takes some actual effort to screw up something as simple as pancakes, scrambled eggs, and delivering something that is supposed to be extremely hot. Do you hate your own cuisine? Because the lack of care, respect, and love when I tasted your food was tangible and stood out like a sore thumb. This, ladies and gentlemen, is why most restaurants go under. You can have the best location, the best decor, the best service, and STILL fail all because you neglect to transfer any of the positive emotions mentioned above...

Disappointing Experience at 204 North Kitchen & Cocktails I wanted to take a moment to share my experience from my visit to your restaurant last night. It was my first time there, as well as my cousin’s, and unfortunately, it was not the positive experience we had hoped for. Upon arrival, we were surprised to find that we had to pay $20 to park. While this wasn't ideal, we proceeded to enter and were seated. Our server, Ashley, greeted us and immediately filled our glasses with water—so much so that it overflowed onto the table, creating a mess. Thankfully, my phone wasn’t on the table, but it was an awkward start to the evening. We ordered the Brussels Sprouts as an appetizer, and my cousin ordered the wings. While waiting for our food, I ordered a Lemon Drop cocktail. My cousin, on the other hand, was hoping to try a beer, perhaps something similar to a prickly pear beer. Unfortunately, Ashley was not helpful in suggesting anything or even providing insight into what beers were popular or worth trying. She didn’t offer any recommendations, so my cousin ended up ordering a martini instead, something she was familiar with. To add to the confusion, the wings arrived before the Brussels Sprouts. We asked the cook if we could get more ranch, and he said he would let the server know. When Ashley returned, I asked her how long it would be before the Brussels Sprouts came out. She assured me it wouldn’t be long and went to check. My cousin then mentioned that she didn’t think the Brussels Sprouts had even been ordered, and when Ashley returned, she confirmed that the order had only just been placed—despite me clearly requesting them when we first sat down. At this point, I was frustrated and, quite frankly, upset. The Brussels Sprouts should have either arrived with the wings or before them, as they were intended to be an appetizer. I then requested to cancel the Brussels Sprouts order, as we had already eaten most of our wings by the time they were even ordered. To make matters worse, the ranch we had asked for earlier didn’t arrive until after we had finished the wings. We decided to pay and leave early, heading to another venue to salvage the evening. I was truly disappointed by the lack of service and attention to detail, especially considering the food was on the pricier side. I hope you take this feedback seriously, as I will not be returning to 204 North Kitchen & Cocktails after this experience. I truly hope you can improve both the service and training of your staff to ensure future guests don’t have a similar experience. Thank you...

We were very surprised this restaurant wasn't packed on a Saturday night. There were about 5 or 6 other tables sat in the entire place. We arrived at 8pm and spent about an hour and a half or so at 204 North.

We were sat immediately, our server arrived about 5-10 minutes later to take our drink order (both my husband and I were able to use the restroom before he got to our table). Our drinks arrived after about another 5 minutes and we placed our appetizer order. This was around 815pm. We ordered the pork belly sliders. About 20 minutes into waiting for the appetizer, our server asked if we wanted to place our dinner order, we did. Our server was friendly and our drinks stayed full. Our appetizer finally arrived after 30 minutes at 845pm. The sliders had good flavor but the pork belly was overcooked.

Our entrees arrived around 905pm. I ordered the salmon and my husband ordered the filet. The salmon dish had great flavor but was a little overcooked. My husband ordered his filet medium, the temperature was correct. He said the filet was ok in flavor and he did not care for the mashed potatoes served with the filet.

The pork belly sliders were $13, would have been worth it if they weren't over done. The salmon entree was $36, a respectable size piece a little overdone, the price can be justified. The filet entree was $51, a respectable size, ok in flavor and the side could have been better; hard to justify the price.

Considering the small number of customers, I don't feel the appetizer should have taken 30 minutes to arrive, nor should have the entrees. Having 15 years experience working in the restaurant industry ourselves, these dishes should have taken no longer than 10-15 minutes each to prepare and serve.

Accounting for the time it took to get our food, the average quality, and the prices it comes to no shock this restaurant wasn't busy. I'm glad we tried it but we won't be going back. Hopefully, this review helps this business make the changes it needs to...