Jack & Charlie’s No. 118 — Restaurant in New York

I was looking for a place for a great burger and I came across Jack and Charlie’s. The first thing I did was look at the reviews. I thought this would be a hit or miss. I usually dismiss the hit jobs. I’m looking for a place that’s got great food, hopefully great prices,, great atmosphere and a friendly staff. I’ve had the good fortune of flying for the airlines for 40 years and I’ve eaten around the world so I think it gives me a good perspective.

Upon entering the restaurant, I was warmly greeted, the dining room wasn’t open yet. I was asked if I would wanna wait at the bar or outside, nice not to have pressure or be forced to the bar, but I did opt for the bar and our bartender Mia was friendly and engaging, took our order. Of course I’d like to see a hand poor versus a jigger,, especially when you’re looking at $20 a drink, but I understand it’s a business. We were shown our table and greeted warmly by the staff. Our waiter was Kevin, who throughout my meal was warm, engaging and answered all questions, awesome.. The sommelier I believe was Josh. He was Knowledgeable, friendly had good recommendations, kind of bounced off each other. I ended up with a gigondas, Domaine Santa Duc, a decent value for the money. For starters, we went with the BLT wedge the Caesar salad and the steak tartare. Let’s start with the wedge. It was as good as I’ve ever had, crisp lettuce, great presentation, good portion. The blue cheese crumble was good as was the blue cheese dressing. I was ready to order another one on the spot. The Caesar salad, excellent taste, good consistency again, I would order another one. The steak tartar a good portio, presentation was OK, look like a flattened hamburger, but I was assured it was a cut steak and tasted like a cut steak. The initial bite actually tasted a little medicinal and then I mixed the ingredients, it got better. I love the nice crisp toasted bread with it the taste settled down and it was actually good. I can’t say my all-time favorite, but good & then we got the shepherds pie croquettes which I really really enjoyed and so did everyone at my table.

The pace of the meal was great, never felt rushed. The engagement from the staff was excellent. The noise level was good as I can concentrate on our conversation & had a great setting.

For our main course, we tried the bone in duck meatloaf. I went to J & C for the bacon cheeseburger, and the pork chop a la Diablo. Let’s start with the duck meatloaf. It was good, different soft nice flavor not overpowering a decent size portion. Next I really wanted to dig into a bacon cheeseburger and it delivered!! big patty, brioche bun, GREAT slice of bacon, tomato. I asked for medium rare and I usually preferred on the rare side of medium rare. This was a little bit more closer towards the medium side. That’s my only gripe. I’d order it again in a nanosecond. Oh the french fries initially came out warm. I’m a stickler for hot. They brought me out hot french fries in a couple of minutes, great recovery and lastly the pork chop a little pricey at $64, I mean, this is pork we’re talking about. But I must say it was as good, a pork chop as I’ve ever eaten. A great size portion cooked to absolute perfection. I mean it was juicy moist, tasty, what a really nice sauce and with the peppers, just the right touch. It was worth the price of admission for this piece of swine. Can’t wait to order it again.

By this time we were starting to fill up a little bit, so for dessert I had the Sticky-toffee carrot cake. It was served warm, it wasn’t what you typically expect but I really enjoyed it, not for the calorie conscious, but really tasty. Overall I had a great experience again a little pricey, not for the faint of heart but hey, we’re in New York City. You get what you pay for at Jack and Charlie’s and their staff delivered and...

I used to visit this place with my sweet friend of 25+ years, Sean, from Tea and Sympathy down the block, who died suddenly of Brain Cancer awhile ago. I was dropping something for his wife, and decided to stop in for a drink. The bartender, Travis, was just ugly-nasty cold unfriendly from the beginning. Said he didn't know Sean. I hadn't been since Sean's funeral, so got a bit weepy when I saw they'd hung the photo I'd given them of Sean on the bar. An 'airline' couple sat next to me; tourists, and we chatted. I was a F/A for 2 major airlines for decades. He wanted to know how to get into the majors. I offered him advice and references. They asked to follow me on Instagram. A bit later, the couple looked at the overpriced bar menu, and left. I had gone outside for a sec. I limp and am off balance because of Cancer meds I'm on (I'm just recovering from Cancer.) Maybe Travis thought I was drunk? After 1 1/2 weak Margaritas? I came back inside, and the couple were leaving. The airline guy was tipsy and forgot his credit card, and I pointed it out to him. Travis The Bartender yells at me "You drove away my customers!" WHAT? We had a pleasant convo about Airlines. I offered him advice on The Major Carriers. To try to be 'strong', and not let this man belittle and humiliate me, to kind of not to shrink in Bartender's ridicule of me, I asked for a 3rd (very weak and gross and overpriced) Margarita. "NO!" this bartender tells me. I hadn't even finished the second drink, which was ALL ICE ANYWAY ($20.00 each for a Margarita). The bartender was beyond rude and humiliating! Not the "Where everyone knows your name" Friendly neghborhood bar by any stretch of the imagination. If this is who they hire, they need to CLOSE! I'VE SINCE LEARNED OTHER FRIENDS HAVE HAD THE SIMILAR EXPERIENCES WITH THIS BARTENDER! I've been reading the 1 Star Yelp Reviews (which Yelp doesn't show you unless you look for them). Seems so many have complained about how rude the employees here are. (They used to have a lovely Bartender, years ago). The other employees that night seemed lovely. Travis would make a good angry and disgruntled Prison Guard. He's in the wrong profession....

Nice space. Food and service was more miss than hit. Recently had brunch at Leonetta and saw they have a sister restaurant so we decided to check out for mlk day brunch with all day specials.

THE VIBE Whoever designed it did a great job! It's a beautiful room with lots of attention to details right down to wallpaper in the bathroom stalls.

THE SERVICE We booked weeks ago and even though it was about 1/4 full, we were offered a table almost in the doorway next to a storage closet with some sort of ladder that someone neglected to put away next to it. They were very nice about giving us a different table.

There were no food specials after all. There was some confusion about the drink specials.

Service is friendly but absentminded. I had the same experience at Leonetta where there was plenty of staff but they seemed inexperienced and not well trained.

He was very good with bloody Mary cart which added a bit of theater to our meal.

In the middle of meal, he came to tell us he was going on his break and that another waiter would be taking care of us which was nice.

THE FOOD It all looks good. Donuts were a bit stale but the coffee sauce was nice My Eggs Benedict with griddled corned beef hollandaise and perfect poached eggs and excellent breakfast potatoes. The meat was a little dry. Corned beef needs fat. But overall it was the best dish

My friends did not like their paninis. Bread and fries were soggy. Four cheeses canceled each other out tasted more like cheese whiz. Prime Rib, which according to another table is amazing at dinner, was dry on the sandwich. Avocado toast was fine.

THE BILL Apparently, the management never told the staff about the drink specials so we were charged full price for our drinks. We had two Virgin Marys and were charged for regular Bloodys.

They adjusted the bill no problem, but the overall experience...