4 Charles Prime Rib — Restaurant in New York

Amazing food, unbeatable service, get there early and wait in line!

My boyfriend and I came here on 7/2 at 3:30 PM and there were already about 6-8 groups ahead of us. The first two or three were seated, and the rest were placed on the waitlist in case of a cancellation. Since there were so many people ahead, we figured it was safer to eat somewhere else instead of waiting around. Good thing we did, because we never got a text about an opening.

We decided to try again the next day and arrived at 2:45 PM. This time, we were third in line! By the time the restaurant opened, the line was already halfway down the block. It's definitely true that your odds are better if you're a party of four rather than two. Around 4:45, the host came out to let everyone know whether they'd be able to squeeze us in. My boyfriend and I, along with the two groups ahead of us, were offered the choice to either dine right away or come back at 6 PM. We all chose to dine right away, with the understanding that we'd need to give the table back by 5:30 PM. That ended up being more than enough time. I believe we were the last party of two to be seated. The only group seated after us was a party of four, everyone else was turned away.

The service? Out of this world. We ordered the cheeseburger, the 4 Charles prime rib, mac and cheese, and mashed potatoes. Our server asked if we planned to split everything, and when we said yes, he offered to bring out the burger first so we could enjoy it separately before diving into the rest of the meal. That small gesture made the experience feel thoughtful and unrushed. The burger lived up to the hype. A little pricey, but totally worth it for a special occasion (we were visiting from out of town and celebrating our 2 year anniversary). My boyfriend inhaled it in under a minute. No exaggeration.

The prime rib was perfectly cooked! Tender, juicy, flavorful, and had the perfect amount of fat:meat ratio. A definite must-try.

Now, the mashed potatoes. Don't even talk to me about them. These were the mashed potatoes l've been dreaming of my whole life and never knew actually existed. Absolute star of the show for me. The mac and cheese was also incredible. Crispy on top, super creamy, and they definitely didn't skimp on the cheese sauce.

We both ordered Cokes with no ice, and the refills kept coming. Not once were our glasses left empty. Each time, they remembered the no ice request without asking. After the burger, our server reset the table with fresh plates and silverware before bringing out the rest of the food. They even wiped down the table with a wet cloth before dessert. We shared the raspberry sorbet, and they brought out two ice-cold cups for us to scoop it into. I found it a little too tart for my taste, but my boyfriend really enjoyed it. We were too full to try any of the cakes, but I've heard they're a must.

All in all, this is definitely a spot you have to try at least once in your life. Just make sure to get there early since reservations are basically impossible to get. No matter how you look or how much you spend, the 4 Charles team will treat you like they would an A-list celebrity. Thank you 4 Charles for making our anniversary an...

What a con game this place is running.

Let’s start at the beginning: I received a gift card for 4 Charles for Christmas. I’d heard great things about it; I was excited! Tried every day for a month to get a reservation. Finally I walked over (it’s right in my neighborhood) to speak to someone about getting a reservation. The maitre’d invited me in and then spent ten minutes telling me how hard it is to get a reservation. (“Half of the tables are owned by regulars” / “We don’t encourage parties of two” / and more welcoming things like that.) Got a reservation for last night at 5:30; she told me in no uncertain terms how lucky I was. What? Strike one, sis.

We arrive for dinner, along with another couple. The bouncer takes our name, disappears within, comes out with a serious face and says, bad news. Don’t shoot the messenger. The reservation was canceled. Now, after all the trouble I had, I believed this immediately. So did my dining companions. He then pointed and laughed - I’m not making this up - at how distressed we were. “Just kidding!” I assume that the hordes of regulars who “own” tables think this is hilarious. We didn’t. Strike two, bouncer bro.

On to dinner! Our drinks orders were taken quickly, and then the waiter immediately came back to take our dinner order. I explained that we’d like to wait a bit. (I assume it was his first night waiting tables ever, and he didn't know that most people want to enjoy their cocktails first, in order to have wine with dinner.) Drinks took 15 minutes to arrive. Then, the second the drinks hit the table, the waiter was back. We caved and ordered dinner. Again, since it was probably his first night waiting tables in NYC, he seemed to have difficulty grasping the concept of splitting a check. We waited out his calculations patiently. Strike three settled in somewhere around here, but we were committed, so we had no choice but to soldier on.

The food was fine - good, even - but not worth the prices by a long shot. The prime rib was fine. Was it $79 worth of fine? No; it was too cool and lacking flavor. The creamed spinach was terrific; so was the salad. Wine was OK; my Manhattan was OK as well. The tables are tight and the ceiling is low; it’s plenty loud. The combined effect is much like a Times Square coffee shop with dark wood tones.

The bill was astonishing. There are so many good local restaurants where the staff isn’t so entirely full of themselves; want an excellent steak without getting the bum's rush? Go to Knickerbocker. Clubby interiors, staff is friendly, and you can have an actual conversation while you have dinner. I have absolutely no idea why 4 Charles is considered so exclusive, or such a great restaurant. This isn't a restaurant, it's a money factory. I can guarantee we...

4 Charles should think about dropping the prime rib from its name, because that does a disservice to the other great, and arguably better, items on its menu.

Came here and ate with a group of seven, which allowed us to share multiple dishes. We started with the Double Wagyu Cheeseburgers with egg, and the table unanimously agreed this should be at the top of the list for best burgers in New York. The wagyu beef was succulent, savory and tender, and you could taste the flavor dripping out of the burger with every bite. The buns are an underappreciated part of any burger, usually becoming soggy and disintegrating after awhile, but the 4 Charles buns managed to maintain their dry but fluffy consistency despite how juicy the burger and fried egg were.

The Prime Rib French Dip was arguably even better than the burger, although opinion was split with our group. Suffice it to say that this may be the best french dip I've personally ever had. It has the same type of bread as the burger buns which made it easier to bite into, while the prime rib was shaved in thin slices that just melted in your mouth after dipping it into the jus and horseradish. Maybe they should think about renaming the restaurant after the French Dip.

The 4 Charles Cut Roast Prime Rib, relative to the Wagyu Cheeseburger and the French Tip, was the weakest dish for all of us. Maybe because it was sliced in huge chunks that made it hard to get through, but it ended up being less flavorful and juicy than the previous two dishes, and felt more like an undercooked and underseasoned hunk of meat. If you prefer your steaks to have more seasoning and searing, the English Cut might be a better option.

We decided to share the Chocolate Cream Pie to finish off the meal. Even though all of us were stuffed at this point, the pie was pretty much devoured in a few minutes thanks to how well the light Chantilly cream paired with the bittersweet Valrhona dark chocolate.

The service was overall fantastic even if the place was packed on a Friday night, and the ambiance is a proper dark wood-panelled steakhouse.

Final piece of advice here - if you're going to get a late seating, be prepared to walk off the meal and not go to sleep immediately after, because 4 Charles isn't the type of place that stints on its portions. They're definitely worth a visit if you're a beef-lover and can manage to snag a reservation, which you need to book 30...