Hef's Bar and Grill — Restaurant in Charlotte

Cutting through from Independence blvd on Sardis rd towards Monroe rd. I noticed an outdoor seating area with the patrons having a bite to eat and/or a cocktail as well. Just relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather. One quick u-turn later, I was pulling into the parking lot and checking out the nautical themed exterior. Leilani, the floor manager seated me at a very comfortable table, with excellent cushion and padding in the seats. There were TVs everywhere, with the volume kept at a very comfortable level. You could have a very nice conversation without the TVs volume disturbing you. The nautical theme extended to every part of the interior as well. My wait persons name was New. She was a very charismatic, pleasant and personable individual, who is very good at her profession. I started with the raw oysters and I thoroughly enjoyed every single one of them. A nice portion of horseradish, cocktail sauce, sliced lemons and crackers accompanied the oysters. And they remained chilled, served on a tray in a bed of ice. For my dinner, I had the grilled shrimp wraps. This meal came with a choice of side. I had the garden salad with Italian dressing. In and of itself, and excellent choice. Everything in the salad was fresh and crisp. The wrap was nicely toasted on the outside and held together the interior of the wrap very well. One thing that I have to make sure and mention is; that instead of having to hunt for tiny pieces of shrimp. This wrap had plenty of grilled shrimp tucked away inside. So many that, I ended up with 5 shrimp on my dinner plate after I had finished eating the wraps. Not only was the food exceptional, but the price points were quite a bit more reasonable than I expected from a seafood establishment. A very pleasant and welcome surprise. If this establishment was located on the coast, it would be promoted as a upscale dining experience. I for one am very appreciative that it's here in Charlotte NC. Take the time and make the drive. It's well worth your while. The ambiance was low key and relaxing. Very good vibes as soon as I entered the restaurant. Not counting the outdoor dining area, the interior of the restaurant has enough seating for any size party. The restaurant is nicely laid out and expansive, but you can still have that feeling of intimacy when dining. They have a number of events coming up shortly. The restaurant and restrooms were exceptionally clean and well taken care of. Everything is handicap accessible. Shortly before leaving, I spoke with the manager for a short while. A very pleasant and professional individual. He struck me as someone who cares a great deal about the customers, clientele, staff members and your overall dining experience. If you took the time to read this review, please take a 1/2 second and click...

Tonight was supposed to be a good night. We were celebrating our friend's birthday. However our server Jillian did not allow us to enjoy our night. First, she was very flighty and her attitude the whole night was as if she had somewhere better to be. Maybe she had an emergency, which management should have let her take off. She would ask us if we needed something and before we could answer she was rushing off. Then someone gave her a box a cigarette box while still on the floor. I don't know about you, but that's kinda gross. THEN the food comes out. Everyone's comes out, one by one, except mine. She comes around five minutes after the last person gets their food( none for me still) and asks how is everything. We notify her that I still don't have mine. Another 10 minutes go by and nothing. I see her zip out of the restaurant presumably to smoke the green box of cigarettes I saw earlier. Finally after 15 minutes I get my oysters, although without my fries(which are clearly indicated in the menu). Then after about 15 minutes she comes back in and finally gets to our table and I inform her I didn't get my fries. She said she would discount it. So we were ok with it. But then she grabbed some silverware(for her end of night duties) and sat in the booth next to us and kept staring at us so viciously in an attempt to have us leave(as if we were there for 4 hours, even though it has only been about an hour). Soon after that she went into the back and brought her phone out to the table and began texting, then looking back at us. She even called another waitress over and kept talking to her and looking at us, obviously talking about us. I finally couldn't take it any longer and to make my friend's birthday more bearable I tried to ease the night and we got our checks and left. It was just a night that was supposed to be a fun night that ended up being pooped on by the service. We still left get a decent tip (20% versus 30%) but discounted the fries value she had told us she would have($3 value).

Then I just called to ask for an email since there was no email on the website and Winter answers the phone and "Hellooooo?" Not a friendly greeting. I ask if this is Hef's and she confirms it is. I ask for an email to complain and she says "Hold on." Instead of putting me on mute, she laughs and makes fun of the fact that I want to make a complaint. Not a great image of the bar. I'm sure there is good business, but I will not...

We were excited about this place. We used to frequent the Hef’s on Woodlawn years ago before it closed, and moved to the area and were looking for a good bar to frequent. Just went tonight, on Christmas Eve, for a dinner out for the holiday. The bartender Crystal, seemed nice enough, and seemed like she’s been there for a while, (all while spraying cool whip in her mouth.) She also seems like she has her everyday regulars that get all her attention. Drinks could get low without her noticing. Also had to order some drinks more than once before we actually got them. I ordered the fried chicken sandwich tossed in buffalo with fries and a salad. I only got the salad. And the sandwich didn’t come tossed in the sauce and had to get sent back, which Crystal noticed. My friend ordered the crab cake which was just mush. Not cooked well at all. We sent that back, and ordered food to go. The salad was supposed to come with a vinaigrette and when we got home it wasn’t in there, and the avocado was literally brown. The crowd was rowdy and kept breaking glasses. The taps weren’t working right and were pouring foamy beer, which wasn’t the bartender’s fault. On the way home we agreed we were one and done with this location. The other location was classy. This one just feels like the only person that cares is the manager who is fastidiously measuring liquor counts by marking every bottle with a sharpie. That to me also screams that this place is pinching pennies, which never sets well with customers. It says “trying to cut corners.” The bar was messy and looked like they’ve gotten to the point they only care about regulars and not trying to impress newcomers. We weren’t impressed and more than likely won’t be back. Which sucks, since we were hoping for a nice little Christmas Eve drink and food...