Charolais Steakhouse — Restaurant in Hickory

My wife and I went there 2/25/2023 to celebrate Valentine's Day. I know it's a few weeks late, but we avoided the crowds on Valentine's Day. We made our reservations earlier in the month. On Friday 2/24/2023 I received a text message to remind me and confirm my reservation for Saturday. I was very impressed with not only the reminder on Friday, but I also received a text at 6:00 Saturday reminding me of my 6:30 reservation. We arrived around 6:15 and was immediately taken back by the noise that a private wine club that was having a tasting there was making. I believe that the gentleman at the front said that they were having cocktail time and that they would be seated for appetizers soon. We were seated at a cozy booth to begin dinner. Our server, Sharon, was amazing. From the first time that she came over to our table, to the time we paid the bill, she did an amazing job. We ordered a shrimp cocktail appetizer, which was wonderful. My wife even said how good the appetizer was. We then went to the salad bar to get our salad. The Charolais has an amazing salad bar. Everything is so fresh. If you like potato salad, you should try their potato salad. It's very good. There cheese bar and soup is great too. They have my favorite cheese (Pepper Jack) so I always enjoy that. We ordered dinner. My wife ordered the 10oz Ribeye and I ordered the Dry Aged Ribeye. When dinner arrived, my wife's steak was cooked perfectly. I ordered mine medium and when I first cut into it, it looked to be medium/medium rare. After eating part of my steak, I cut into the thicker part of the steak and it was rare. I asked Sharon to what degree of doneness that was cooked to and she likewise said rare. I finished it. While my preference is medium, I can eat a rare steak. The steak had a great flavor. Our sides were great also. I had baked potato and my wife had a baked sweet potato. If you are asking yourself why I left a three star review, here it is. If you specialize in steak, you should definitely be able to see if a steak is cooked properly before it is sent to the table. While the finger test to check for doneness takes a while to master, if not using that method, at least use a thermometer in the thickest part of the steak. The second was the noise level. While I completely understand that the party there was spending more money that I was, I should not have to sacrifice a quiet dinner out with my wife so the owner can make more revenue. Believe me, we were not the only ones making comments about the noise level. The booth behind us was making comments as well. It's entirely too loud when your server has to speak in a loud voice to be heard. When we walked outside it was so quiet. I made the comment to my wife that it was eerily silent. I have been going to the Charolais since I was a teenager, and I will definitely go back again. The Charolais is an iconic Hickory establishment that I hope will be around for many years to come. If you have never been, you definitely have to try it. I don't believe that you will be...

New Year’s Eve Dece mber 31, 2019 From Dan Traxler This was an unusual evening – I spent the evening with my best friend in the whole wide world. She also doubles as my wife (such talent). As was our custom, we had dinner at the Charolais Steakhouse in Hickory. We have enjoyed many a family occasion here i.e. Birthdays, Anniversaries, Christmas, and New Year’s. We were so sad to hear of the closing; however, we were excited about the re-opening with new managers. Our reservation was made on line without a problem and we arrived dressed up for the evening’s activities. The restaurant had been remodeled with a fresh appearance. The first thing we noticed was a sports bar like area situated in the corner. There was a TV and an active bar. Immediately, we surmised that the once elegant atmosphere had been comprised. Charolais had always been a place of refinement and class even as she aged she maintained that dignity. Now, she is just another sports bar / steakhouse. As for the menu, there were less options and higher prices. The signature salad, soup, and cheese bar had been moved to the outer edge of the dining room without the quality of days past. As far as the steak cart, it was still there; however, the cutter seemed out of place and not very knowledgeable about the process. Men were wearing hats, people were very loud, and ladies were very casually dressed. The special attire of yesterday had been replaced with ordinary Walmart and/or trade lot apparel. The host and the hostess were wearing blue jeans and casual shirts with the shirt tails out. Gone was the elegant dress of the personnel as they worked to make your experience exceptional. We were seated near the hostess stand and were subjected to loud and often interrupting phone calls. The old Charolais had the dignity to place the hostess stand on the right as you entered away from the dining experience of the patrons.

The waitress we had was excellent: she tried to elevate the experience with charm, professionalism, and proficient service. We left with the thought that for this kind of experience, we should just go to Longhorn and save the money. I guess the Charolais has changed….. I miss the old place; but, I do have a frame of reference of what class use to look...

Overall, it was a disappointing experience. The waitress asked if it was our first time dining at the restaurant. We said yes. Expecting the waitress to explain anything about the restaurant or what makes it different. But no. She just moved on and als for our drink order. My fiancé and myself are both sober but do like the occasional non-alcoholic cocktail. We both ordered something off the drink menu, and they were out of both non-alcoholic drinks. The waitress then kept pushing the versions of the drinks containing alcohol even though we both told her we didn't consume alcohol and live a sober lifestyle. After the AmAzInG experience. We ordered our appetizer. We ordered Korean lettuce wraps. No where on the menu did it say build your own lettuce wraps. Everything came out "deconstructed"... meaning make your own wraps. Or lazy presentation. They were actually decent. We both ordered the salad bar with our meal. The waitress dropped off a small plate and a small bowl. Never once explained that the plate was for the salad bar or that the bowl was for the soup at the salad bar. She just sat them down and walked away. So after we observed other dinners taking the plate to the salad bar, we traveled across the dining room, and let's just say the salad bar was underwhelming. While eating the salad, the steak cart came by our table. The gentleman pushing the cart pulled the towel off the steaks and asked what do you want. When we asked what each steak was he replied I don't know. I just push the cart. We both ordered the filet. When it arrived at the table, it was like they lost all of the seasoning in the kitchen. It was bland at best. The temperature of the cook, however, was spot on. After asking for steak sauce because the experience was so bad, we just wanted to finish our meal and leave. The waitress argued with us would not bring us steak sauce and sent over the manager. After speaking with the manager, we got our steak sauce and finished the meal. They did comp us a free dessert, which was the best part of the meal. Overall, it was such a...