The Charles Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in La Plata

Well… where do I start with this one… Local in the area and decided to give this place a try. Out on my monthly bourbon hunt I stumbled upon what I thought was a gem and decided to stop in for an old fashion food review.

Upon entry at 6:54PM, graciously met by a wonderful hostess and promptly seated at the bar (solo trip). The atmosphere was well lit and warm full of well dressed people mingling in community and patio seating, over appetizing dishes and high class cocktails. It took a little while before one of the four bartenders to take my order for a half dozen oysters and water. Both of which were delivered to me quickly. As you can imagine, 6 oysters were gone within seconds and I was ready to indulge in more appetizing food and drink. Around 7:15PM I placed an order for the spicy honey glazed duck breast (sounds delicious right?) and an old fashion. One of the best old fashions I had (Templeton rye)! But things quickly turned for the worst in what was a great time up until this point. To be short, Darkwing or Daffy Duck never made its way to a plate and in front of me to devour. Farm to Table is in the name, so I often wondered if someone had to go outside and either hunt the duck themselves or pick up a fresh one. Such a disappointment. But even more no one seemed to have a clear answer as to why this occurred. I sat for 52 minutes (yes I clocked it… I’m a food reviewer) and during that time I was told a few times it was on the way. Dealing with a slight buzz and now hunger pains, it was time to ask questions.

Unfortunately, a manager onsite seemed just as confused as I was and could not answer any questions I had only promising to find out and come back to speak with me (never came back). But an owner, Darren (spell check) walked in and was quickly briefed by the bartenders. We spoke and he provided some insight but indicated it was unacceptable. The owner owned up to the error of his kitchen, providing a gift card for the duck and comp of the entire bill. I wouldn’t allow the comp on the drink because the bar staff were fine and did not deserve to miss out on a tip! I left at 8:05PM with a glass of water, oysters, and cocktail.

To the hostess, bar staff and Darren .. wonderful on their parts. To the manager and kitchen… unfortunately this is where the failure comes. As a food reviewer, I have to come back and revisit this review with an update.

Cocktail 10/10 Oysters 4/10 (not shucked properly (shell bits) and did not offer proper utensils) Duck -/10 (still out hunting) Atmosphere 9/10 Staff 7/10 Parking 9/10 (ample parking available)

Recommend: highly unlikely to recommend but willing to give it a...

It's a newly opened restaurant in La Plata and their concept is Farm to table food which has been around for some time and I guess The Charles is only one of the few places that offer this kind of concept which is good for the local farmers.

Ambiance: Similar to most steakhouse ambiances but they're more simple and subtle which makes it more easy on the eyes.

Noise: I went in maybe past the rush hour but when I walked in there's a lot of people and most tables are occupied yet it's not noisy as the other restaurants and there's no distraction like multiple TVs.

It's a place for a family, friends or group to hang out, eat, chill and actually can talk without drowning on noises.

Food: They have a good selection of food and when I first view their menu online I told myself that I am getting the Pork Shank with Risotto, for which I did.

For the appetizer, i got the Brussels sprout which didn't disappoint me as the Brussels sprouts are crispy and the sauce that goes with it really complemented the taste and texture of Brussels sprouts.

The pork shank is really good, it's not over cooked nor dry. It's soft and moist inside. The risotto, is fine and there's nothing wrong with it per se but pairing it with the pork shank seems a little off. Don't get me wrong but both the pork shank and the risotto are great but pairing them created a confusion on my palette. There's something missing in the risotto to complete the pairing.

For dessert. I ordered the pineapple and carrot cake. When it arrived, I asked one of the servers and asked if they make it from scratch or someone is supplying them and she said everything in the menu is from scratch except blue cheese and hot sauce.

Going back to the cake, I would've given a 5 star rating but the dessert made it short a star. I couldn't taste the pineapple and the taste of the carrot is just a hint and i was expecting more of a tag of pineapple and carrot after taste or vice versa but couldn't point my finger on it. I didn't finished the dessert and have it to go.

Server: my server is ok but he forgot to offer me a bread which the other server offered. I was actually wondering if they have it since I saw it on the other table. I wasn't a hard or demanding or a needy customer. I just asked for a water and ordered my appetizer and my entree. And the time he spent chatting on the counter would've been put to good use if he offered me some bread but other than that, he was nice and courteous.

Overall experience, it was good and since they're just new and hoping this feedback or review might help them even...

Date night for us leaving our twins at their godparents for a few hours. We decided on The.Charles not wanting to leave the area but looking for great reviews and great food but boy did we get a surprise.

Walking in we were seated immediately, just to point out I believe most fine dining restaurants should have some sort of table bread because if you don’t it seems like your sitting ducks. The waitress um I can’t remember her name because she wasn’t memorable and I’m sure she felt the same way. The waitress seemed to be training and I don’t remember either one of their names because I only saw them maybe 3x during the 1hour+ visit.

The appetizer came out quick. The calamari was a little sweet and the hush puppies were burnt but I refused to complain. I ordered the pork shank and my wife the crab cakes and mashed potatoes. I had no complaints about my shank but she asked the unknown waiters if her cakes would have filer and if the potatoes were garlic mashed, the reply was no filler and yes to potatoes. The crab cakes were a disgrace and should have went from table to trash and the potatoes taste like instant potatoes with no garlic.

This is a farm to table restaurant, we had high expectation from them because of this. I was able to eat , but wife had no plate in front of her from returning the food..terrible and this should never happen because of inedible food from a Farm to Table Restaurant. The unknown waitress said the crab cakes were made with lump and backfin crabmeat and we all know backfin don’t hold up to filler, it was table to trash crab cakes with the instant potatoes. I asked the manager if she’s ever had Jerry’s cakes? She said yes and knew my point.

Things got weird from there, finally the manager came over but it’s a lot of people just walking around and you won’t know who is who. I thought the older gentleman was the manager but the hostess turned out to be the manager, who knew. She explained that the food just wasn’t for us and suggested another meal but we were scared although she actually made it right by paying for that meal, unfortunately it took the rest of the night to come but it did and I was ready to go by this time with only a few bites taken and then we were done. Boy oh Boy this was what we were afraid of eating in the area. We would normally go to Coastal in Tyson’s which we did the next day to get real crab cakes. We won’t go back and I’m sure...