CharBar No. 7 — Restaurant in Mint Hill

I really debated leaving this review because this was our third time at Char Bar No. 7 since moving to the area & the other 2 times our servers were fantastic. We made a reservation for Tuesday night 4/1/25 for 4 people at 5:30PM for my best friend’s birthday. I included in the reservation notes, “It’s Kim’s birthday! Birthday vibes.” not expecting anything along the lines of a song, a piece of cake, etc., because we’re all 30-something & picked this location for the nice but lowkey vibes. We’ve been here twice: One on the day we toured our new house & decided to buy it, the next time to celebrate it being close to finished, WITH this same couple: Again, it was such a nice experience that Kim picked this location for her birthday. I feel a little bad to say this, because everybody has bad days, but I say this with years in the service industry under both mine & my husband’s belts - about a decade each of serving at various fine dining, fast casual, & fast food establishments: Our server, a man with red hair, could not have been more cold, rude, & unprofessional. He acted like a sulking child we were imposing upon, if I’m being perfectly honest. He had no interest in refilling our waters, never smiled, & barely spoke or sat items down in silence. He could’ve been really going through it, but so are we all, & we came here as people working 10-hr days in various medical & legal fields just hoping for an hr of decent service for someone’s birthday. My best friend/the birthday girl ordered a standard burger on the pink/rare side & received it almost black on the outside & well-done on the inside. She pulled it in half to double-check that it was very well-done & it was. She was very hesitant to ask for a rare one given our server’s cold & annoyed demeanor but she did, & what happened next is really the kicker/why I am leaving this review: When she asked for the burger to be remade, the server literally PICKED BOTH HALVES UP with his BARE HANDS & put it on a small white appetizer plate on the table & THEN carried it back to the kitchen. So strange, & not that ServSafe or any kitchen practices apply here because the burger was going in the trash/being sent back, but that’s WEIRD & GROSS. Just pick up the burger basket it’s in, that it came in? Why did he grab a half in each hand & use an appetizer plate to take it away hanging off the appetizer plate? At this point, we all thought about asking to speak to a manager about changing servers, but again, just trying to have a lowkey birthday we made light of it & said maybe he’s stoned? In hindsight, we should’ve said something immediately, as it was happening, but we were shocked. Again, no one was going to eat the burger & I guess if you want to levitate it back to the trash, by all means, use whatever method, but I have never in my 30-something years seen a server manhandle food being sent back onto a different plate leaving the plate it came on. To the manager (or person who seemed like the manager)’s credit, he was very professional & kind when he brought the rarer burger out, & he even asked if my friend would like more tots or a new plate, which she politely declined. We can overlook a server having an off day, but I would get a handle on that COMBINED with manhandling the food as it does not seem to be the vibe of the restaurant itself...

Just had dinner here for the first time. They are brand dandy new so any so called "negative observations" - are only because they are new....it should not be held against them in any way. Most places take a few months to find their rhythm if they are a chain. Which CharBar 7 is... So....I gave them a five star for food delivery speed, quality of food prep/presentation and flavor as well as server personality and pleasantness.

I had the 12oz ribeye, side salad and sauteed spinach with a slice of garlic/Texas toast. Amazing!!! Cooked Medium and delivered as such. Wonderful seasoning.

Suggestions for the chef...serve a slice of fresh lemon to put over the spinach to give it a nice flavorful zing. It breaks up the spinachs ability to put a chalky feel on the back of your teeth. A bit oily/buttery so to a little lighter. Otherwise really good!!

Their house Merlot is very good, fruity and smooth. Desserts were great. Glad the menu wasn't huge, they definitely focused on the right mix.

I had to ask for extra napkins, I had to ask for A1, I counted apx 14 servers and bar staff and while seated quickly and with a smile, took almost ten minutes to get someone to take my order. For a drink but I was ready with my food too :D

Having said that...folks that's just normal growing pains and training which CharBar did in spades tonight! Great job, every waitress I saw had someone shadowing them. It was quiet when I got here before 5. The staff were amazingly pleasant and attentive once served. Which is why I said the five star is for what counts.... everything was what I'd expect and want in a new place to eat out. You shouldn't and can't write a review bashing what amounts to training.

Time will tell, wait six months and write another review but from what I saw tonight? Great new place!! Can't wait to come back again. Just go during the week and before 530pm to avoid crowds.

Oh, they close for the afternoon so plan to arrive by 4pm on a week day to...

New in town and was looking forward to a nice restaurant close by especially after reviewing the menu and drink specials. Hostess’ were sweet and welcoming the ambiance is nice very open low lighting, a few TVs near the bar where I chose to sit and was full except that one seat that had not been cleaned off from the previous customer. It was a good wait before the bar tender acknowledged me.. he was fairly busy .. when he did acknowledge me he gave me about 3 secs grabbed his tip that was left from the prior customer left the dirty napkin and dirty area I waited, thinking he was gonna come back to clean the area off, but he did not so I asked the hostess around the corner from where I was sitting if she could clean it off for me which she graciously did as I looked over the menu, trying to decide what to order I realize there was no special menu that was listed online so then I started looking online for what I had came there …..while contemplating the menu on my phone I kept smelling a very strong scent that smelled very sweet and perfumy realizing it was the candles at the bar. Very strong like walking into a candle store. I ordered my drink, but this scent was so strong. I could not eat I don’t understand why a restaurant that serving good food would even want scented candles around The drink was great an apple cinnamon old-fashioned for those that like a twist of a old-fashioned I would recommend but not sit at the bar. Maybe somewhere else away from the bar . to each is own … not my vibe…I did not eat because of the candles. I went to Village Tavern and had a great meal without the scent of the strong...