Char & Stave — Restaurant in Lower Merion Township

Great service from the bartenders, very helpful and quality drinks! Unfortunately, the actual trivia night experience was made unpleasant the last time we went. The team I was on was accused of cheating with no real basis after being regular players for about a month and a half at that point. When we tried to defend ourselves, I was informed by multiple people who were in the room at the time that the host Jeff aired out the negative review left by Cassy (my friend/teammate) and proceeded to tell the group that we were most certainly cheating. This creates an uncomfortable atmosphere, and is highly unprofessional to not only privately accuse us of cheating, but to bring the issue to the entire bar, involving customers who had nothing to do with the situation. Next time, Jeff: if you believe someone is cheating and have no proof, I recommend that you keep that between yourself and the people that you have the issue with rather than involving other patrons and trying to put them against total strangers. As for the other reviewers: I understand the compulsion to fight for the honor of the host of a weekly event that you love, as I also was a big fan of this trivia night before this event! But for next time, I would urge you to listen to both sides of a story before coming to a conclusion, and to give your fellow competitors some grace rather than simply taking a host’s public shaming at face value. Once again, thank you to the bartenders for all of your hard work and kindness in my time coming to Char and Stave, you were all amazing, and my issues are not at all with any of you! Jeff, I implore you to think about how you conduct yourself as a host as you continue on in...

Quick review: Char & Stave is fantastic. Coffee is great. Cocktails are creative and delicious. Staff is incredibly friendly and they know their stuff — whether it be coffee, bourbon/whiskey, or cocktails. The atmosphere is that of a quintessential coffee shop but not overwhelming/stressful (ie.: one that is overflowing with college and high school students and you can’t find a spot to work/relax).

Longer review: this is one of the first places I visited when I moved to the area a few months ago. Was looking for a great old fashioned in the area after work and Char & Stave is in a perfect location. Discovered one of my favorite old-fashioned cocktails in the city and just a place where I can get work done or simply take a breather after a long day. My understanding is that it’s relatively new, but it feels like an Ardmore staple that has been around for decades. They also have a great assortment of coffee and whiskey/bourbon/rum/etc. available for purchase. Just bought a bottle of the pre-made old fashioned after trying it and it’s the best pre-mixed (and overall) cocktail that I’ve had in recent memory. Looking forward to becoming a...

I would like to say over all i like the place. Great atmosphere and the cocktails are great. I did have a bad experience not once but twice. There is a bartender at the Admore location that deliberately did not make my drink right. I ordered a Prescription Strength which has a shot of whiskey in the tea and a shot of honey whiskey on the side. He brought the drink out to me minus the shot of Wiskey but with a shot of honey instead. When I mentioned it he said he made a mistake and gave me a splash of honey whiskey in a shot glass. When I confronted him he said that the drink only called for a half of shot on the side when the menu clearly called for a shot. From my understanding a shot is normally a ounce and a half, and that's what the menu say "s "shot of Honey Whiskey" on the side. I can go on and on about the conversation we had but I don't want to ramble on. Needless to say, I purchased a bottle of their Honey Whiskey to take home, I will say anytime I go the the Admore place I will not spend my money if the same bartender is working. I will give his name on my...