Characters Sports Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Parma

(Last visited September 20, 2023.) Hanging out in Cleveland, OH on business and it's #WingWednesday! So I did some searching on Yelp to see who's got the best in the area! A place called Characters Bar & Grill kept coming up. So here's how things went!

Atmosphere/Appearance: This place is like... at the EDGE of Cleveland's city limits. Lol. Brookpark Road or something. Once I pulled up it just felt like a nice, neighborhood spot! It does have a private parking lot, big outdoor section (where we sat) and plenty of space on the inside. It's a traditional setup. TVs everywhere, random swag and decor all throughout, plenty of high-top tables for seating and a big bar rail. The energy was lively and the music was so random. Lol. If you've been, you know what I mean.

Service: I can't remember the name of who took care of us, but she was funny, sweet and just made sure we had everything that we needed.

Food: While here I was able to try a few wings, so let's begin. First up were the Mike's Sweet Island Heat. For the record, if you order 10 wings, you can split them into 2-5s for an extra $1.00 if you want separate flavors. Also, on the menu there are 3 "types" of sauces that they offer. The first kind are Buffalo based sauces, the 2nd are barbecue based sauces and the last is "other". Lol. Anyway, these looked amazing, were super saucy and were a decent, seemingly normal size. I got lots of good fruity notes and aromatics as I put the wing to my nose. After tasting the flavors carried through with a bold, fruity, rich flavor. There was good spice and it felt like a chipotle based spice. It was a unique flavor for sure that I hadn't tasted before. Next up was Lenny's Honey Sriracha Teriyaki which is a mouthful of a name, but the flavors showed up! It was a good teriyaki base with citrusy lemon flavors that actually made my lips pucker just a bit. These weren't spicy at all, but it was missing something, I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Next up was Chipotle which I was lead to believe would be the hottest sauce on the menu based on it's placement on the menu, but I was wrong. This one did have some GOOD heat to it. The ingredients were balanced very well that created very bold, rich, hearty, chipotle flavors. I really liked this one. Next up were the Mild Buffalo. These were super saucy, juicy and had a very straightforward traditional Buffalo flavor that had some excellent flavor. The bleu cheese to go with these was a creamy, mild sauce that would cool your mouth down if you can't handle the spice. Next up was the XXX Buffalo which is actually the hottest sauce on the menu. The sauce was a bit watery which is a dead giveaway that it wouldn't be as spicy as it claims to be. It was still delicious, but the spice took a while to kick in, but it's nothing to write home about. It was like a kicked up Buffalo.

Value: It's a sports bar, so the food won't be terrible expensive. I was there on Wednesday and wings were $1.00 each. Not bad at all considering how expensive I've see some. They even had $5.00 steaks this night, but I can only imagine them being a Salisbury steak or something. Lol.

In conclusion, I had a blast here. The food was great, the people are awesome, I felt welcomed and it just felt like a good place to hang out! I look forward to returning and trying some...

I came here with my parents and my 7 month old son to get dinner last week. This is my 2nd time leaving this review. The first got deleted. While we were waiting for our food some guy came walking over and bent down like he was going to talk to my son but he fell onto my son and then held onto the booster chair and fell to the ground but tried to pull the high chair with him. I held onto the chair so that it wouldn't tip over. The man was laying on the ground and still trying to pull the high chair over so I literally had to get up and pull his fingers off of the high chair so that I could pull it away from him and pull my son out of the seat. My son was screaming and crying but the two other servers that saw the incident came running over to help the drunk man that fell and hurt my child. Told him repeatedly that everything was okay and that accidents happen it was nothing to worry about. they even patched up his scratches on his legs that he got from falling on my son. The two servers pushed our table so they had more room for the drunk man and all of our beverages spilt over. And at this point nobody has asked if my son was okay or if we were okay. My server eventually came over and asked if we were okay and moved us to another table. After that point everything else was great. the food was amazing and the drinks not so much. But the tacos were really good. I don't think I will ever come back here again. I am very upset with how the situation happened and how it was dealt with. The manager did stop over to our table at the end of the meal and told us that the meal was free. But for the situation I would have expected...

UPDATE OCTOBER 7 2021— ** Here yee here yee. LET IT BE KNOWN BY ALL — Bringing a terrible dining experience to the owners attention will get you banned. Yes ANY DISSENT, my review follows. So rather than attempt to resolve the problem which is they are “ cooking burgers ahead of time , leaving it in a water bath till ordered and reheating it is acceptable in your world ? Just shower the restaurants practices with accolades and everything will be seashells, sunshine, candy and roses. OR SHE WILL BAN YOU!! How utterly repulsive.

8/24/21 7:15PM One word- DISMAL. Cocky server named Cathy who clearly was inconvenienced taking my order. And an unexpected snarky reply from the Ralph Macchio looking kid out back, smoking with his other female cooking companion. When I pointed out to him that a previously ordered burger a week earlier was charbroiled and that today's burger seemed "boiled" he laughed and said, "oh yeah". I told him that is was terrible! He laughed again. He said well maybe Lee should make your burger next time. The bun was soggy "wet" and didn't even come out with lettuce,tomato and onion which i asked for. Look, I've had many great experiences in the past however it seems that consistency is something that is missing at Character's. Not withstanding a snarky reply from the fledgling little jerk in the kitchen who, regrettably is totally satisfied with putting out a product that is horrible. In the end it is unfortunate he and Cathy are ultimately the face representing the owner of the restaurant. Sorry Smita I...