Charlie's Sports Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Grand Lake

I have been coming to Grand Lake for 30 years. This was one of the worst experiences I have had dining. I don’t expect much, I understand that this is a vacation spot and it is not catered people out solely to enjoy a fine dining experience but I have had better experiences at Taco Bell! I have really enjoyed El Pacifico and Poncho and Lefty’s in the past but Charlie’s is horrible. From the extremely small chips and salsa (we asked for two portions and were told no, not sure that will be extra but, no) to the extremely poor customer service and equally poor quality of food for top dollar. Even a good margarita might have won over, but that was equally as horrible, and just as expensive as the rest of the menu. The restaurant was dirty and unorganized. To be honest though I was starving and did eat my entire beef burrito. However, I do not recommend coming here. Go to Grand Pizza, Stagecoach, White Buffalo Pizza, I would even recommend Myauchi’s snack shack over this place. We were warned by locals not to come here but did not listen. On a busy Wednesday night when the Stagecoach was on a 1 hour wait we let hunger win and risked it and regretted the decision. This probably explains why there were only four tables taken while other establishments were on a wait. On a side note, the mirror behind the bar is still labeled as Poncho and Lefty’s. The menu is 100% Mexican cuisine we were told it’s the same menu as the old Pacifico but it’s now Charlie’s sports bar and grill. What are you grilling??? It’s as if someone bought the restaurant, changed the name and did absolutely nothing else to make it better and in turn it got much worse. I think Charlie’s knows it’s one of only a few restaurants in the Grand Lake area and forced between starving and paying top dollar, people will pay to eat and they will make money. There is so much potential here if anyone cared to make an effort and try. And why are you trying to sell fake Gucci and Chanel hats, jewelry and...

We got seated pretty quickly and were given the tiniest bowl of unremarkable chips and salsa, and were thoroughly ignored for about 20 minutes after that. Eventually our server arrived and we made sure to order quickly. We then proceeded to wait for our food for quite some time. The server at some point brought us our margaritas and then asked if we wanted more chips. I said yes, more chips and could you please refill our waters. She disappeared and didn't return back until some of our food arrived. And yes, the food arrived only for 3 out of 4. My meal didn't arrive at the same time. The server came up and asked if we needed anything. I pointed out that we need my meal and quickly and that the waters are yet to be refilled. She said she would be right back and would also bring some salsa (what will I eat salsa with when there are no chips?!). She came back to tell me that the kitchen was confused about my order (my order was straight from the menu, no changes or substitutions) and that it will be ready soon. I reminded her about the waters, and she refilled them FINALLY and left us a pitcher. So, when you look at their prices ($20-25/plate; drinks $12/person) and notice that there is never anyone waiting for a table, you know that their service sucks so bad that they have to factor in tips in the cost of food because tips will be low.

My recommendation for the management is to provide proper training to seasonal workers who are clearly doing this job for...

DO NOT EAT HERE!!!! We stopped in at Charlie’s for a nice dinner with good views and it was also dog friendly. Initially upon sitting down we noticed we were within a few feet of a fly trap . The patio was empty so we asked to move to a different table so there was no issue, the host told us no immediately (even though that table we wanted to move to was unoccupied our entire visit). The flies were out of control while we were there and the fly trap smelled like a dead body approximately 1 ft from where we were seated. We spoke to the waiter about it and his response was “we’re outside in Colorado what do you expect.” To top it off we asked for more chips, the waiter never brought any. We also asked for a box and he took 20 minutes to bring one. At the end of our dinner we went inside to complain to a manager, she proceeded to disregard our complaints and eventually the owner came out. He then said “what are you scared of a few flies?” Also completely disregarding our complaints and being condescending to us. I told him I wasn’t going to be talked to that way and he said “kids these days.” For context, I am 30 years old and not in any ways a child. We immediately got up and left. My husband then had to track down his card that this restaurant had lost while this was all happening.

To sum it all up, choose ANY OTHER PLACE in Grand Lake besides this place. They don’t respect or care about their customers, right down to the owner!! Will...