Carl & 'Chelle's Grill Room — Restaurant in Goldsboro

I wish I could say we had a good experience. I apologize beforehand for how lengthy this review is, but this evening effectively ruined our anniversary plans and I feel that management should be aware so that improvements can be made for other future patrons to (hopefully) have a better experience than we did.

First, some context: My husband and I moved to Goldsboro in 2020. Since then, several people have recommended Carl & Chelle's for special occasions and said that their food was great. Well... it was our 13th anniversary and we finally decided to reserve a table (5:30 pm) for what we thought would be a very nice romantic dinner. We were very excited because we hardly ever treat ourselves to dinner and we even got a babysitter for the night.

When we entered the restaurant, it was immediately clear that it was not what we were expecting. It was very small, dark, and loud. There was a countertop with barstools near the entrance with an open kitchen that reminded me of a Denny's. We were seated in the far back corner directly under a vent that was blasting freezing cold AC. There was cheese and crackers on the table. We opened the menus and saw the expensive prices, but we remained optimistic that the food must be good at least and placed our order when our waitress finally came around. She was not friendly but we remained polite and tried to make the best of it.

For the next 30+ minutes, we waited and watched as every table but ours received very friendly and attentive service except us. They all seemed to be regulars and we felt very unwelcome. None of the wait staff even looked in our direction except for when a refill of Diet Coke was dropped off on our table without a word. By this point, it was past 6 pm and we still hadn't received anything to eat. No one came by with words like "We're sorry for the wait, your food will be out soon". Nothing. I've worked in food service and I would think that a restaurant with prices like this would be more caring of their guests, but we certainly didn't have anything resembling that experience.

The AC became noticeably stronger and colder to the point where we were literally shivering and finally my husband flagged down a lady and asked if she could turn down the AC, which we never do because we don't want to be "that" guest. It was intolerable. My husband could barely finish his sentence before she walked off. We had a movie we were going to see at 6:50 pm and it was clear at that point that we wouldn't be able to make it. After waiting another 10 minutes, we finally decided we had enough. We still had not been served and it was still very cold. We were starving and I'm sorry, but I didn't come to a restaurant like this to eat cheese and crackers. My husband and I politely asked if we could pay for our drinks and told the lady that it just wasn't working out and that we would be leaving.

She looked visibly shocked, so I explained that it was our 13th anniversary and this was not at all what we were expecting. We were never served or even checked on. I will say that she handled the situation well and (maybe?) seemed understanding but it was hard to tell. She told us that we didn't have to worry about paying for our drinks. This small act of courtesy is the only reason I gave two stars instead of one. We ended up going to another restaurant for our anniversary and then headed home afterwards as we now didn't have time to see a movie as planned.

Please give all of your guests the same attention that you give your regulars. Don't make them feel unwelcome and ignored because they could also become regulars if they enjoy the food...

My daughter and I stopped by for the 1st time last Friday. We were able to grab a seat at the bar right away which I quickly learned we were lucky to get that spot. The restaurant is small and social distancing was not enforced at all. No servers wore mask and out of 3 cooks only the grill master wore a mask. I sat near the register and had people literally leaning on my a few times. The salad bar looked nice but due to the pandemic I opted for a pre made salad from the kitchen. I ordered a 10oz ribeye and my daughter filet mignon. Both steaks were full of flavor but well done, we ordered them medium well with a cool pink center. There was no pink in either steak. I ordered the grilled chicken salad, the chicken was so salty we could barely eat it. I brought it home to go into something else. I did make Lisa aware that the chicken was salty, she offered to make a new one immediately, I told her that's okay, we're headed in now. Our drinks were awesome. Our server/bartender Lisa was awesome! I gave her a huge tip! She made us feel very comfortable there, as I was close to leaving because Im high risk and the place was so tight with no mask visible, only ours. Lisa gave us a seat at her end of the bar and all was better. The cheese....im hoping it's softer or served in warmers non pandemic. Overall, it was 115 for our dinner, pricey but very good; you get what you pay for. The only thing keeping me from scoring a 5 is the lack of disrespect for corona virus. Will I go again? Yes on a slower night, perhaps at 2 or 3 pm before the crowd starts. I left there feeling like i may need to...

If I could give ZERO STARS, I would. I went there to enjoy a dinner date with my wife, had called ahead to make a reservation, and we were literally the first customers to enter the building for its evening reopen. While we talked with the hostess (who was without a mask), another customer came in behind us and went to take a seat at the bar area. Shortly after we were seated, another party came in after us and was seated. While my wife and I were discussing the menu, she noticed that the gentleman that came in after us had already been approached by wait staff and was getting served. Then, the other group that came in after us had their drink orders taken and one of the cooks came out with the cuts of meat for them to choose from. Meanwhile, my wife and I had not been greeted by wait staff, had our drink order taken, NOTHING. Things became blatantly apparent when we noticed ALL of the staff and other customers in the establishment were maskless and White while my wife and I are not. We got up, left, and took our business elsewhere. Congratulations out to Carl and Chelle’s! You’ve lost customers for life who had visited your establishment multiple times without any issues. We are done...