Char Steakhouse — Restaurant in Red Bank

It was supposed to be a fine dining restaurant when we arrived there were people in t-shirts at the bar was a gentleman wearing a baseball cap which was on backwards, this is not what I call fine dining. We had a bad experience at the table, it was a square table with folded wings to accommodate more guests. These wings tend to bend over time and product a large gap between the wing and table. When they open the wings it make a round table but it's never secure or stiff. The restaurant seamed more focused on alcohol then the food (that's how i felt) and to be fair the mixed drinks were very good. The bar area was very nice they were playing music so the vibe was good you can see a second story to the restaurant but I am not sure if it's a private room or part of the regular restaurant. The seating on the first floor was no crowded so the restaurant gets an A for decor. The food was good and the presentation was nice. But back to the cheap table, it was so bad the the sever had to place my fathers soup bowl about 12 inches away from him as did mine and my brothers. When we sat at the table we experienced at least five occasions where the silverware fell on the floor do to the angle of the wings. I could see that my father was having an issue with eating like this and he even folded his napkin and placed it on the table to make up for the pitch, the server brought him a place mat to help (so it would seem that the restaurant was or is aware of this) but so far made no changes or just didn't care. I was so mad that my father and family had to endure this ridiculous issue that I got up and went to the manager to complain. She was apologetic and offered to move our seats but the damage was already done (I would bet the other round tables have the same issue) but I declined to move with our drinks, coats and food to another table it's an embarrassing thing to do. But it was so bad my brothers plate leaked the juice from the steak onto his pants (I didn't want to beat a dead horse) so we just pushed through it not to completely ruin the dinner. We traveled to Red Bank to celebrate my dad's 75 birthday and thought we were going to a hign end restaurant but it was really disappointing. The manager did cover two of our deserts which we were greatful for (and I want to be clear we were not looking for a free meal or free anything). Poor attention to the details where their guests sit for the entire stay and not be aware of an issue like, that will affect everyone is just inexcusable especially in a highly competitive location. For me I will never go back to Char, there are plenty of other "Fine Dinning" establishments in Red Bank then to be exposed to a really...

2.7 is my actual rating for this place. I do want to compliment the decor/ambiance as well as the wait staff which do a great job. Food, failed. Starting off with the appetizers, the onion soup was terrible. All the flavor was in the cheese and the rest had the taste as if it was made from a French onion mix found in your local store. We also got the tuna tar tar which was very good. However, the presentation was way off as it came out in what can only be described as a cat food can. Lamb lollipops were delicious and the sauce they were paired with was fantastic. Onto the steak. I got the cowboy ribeye. Dry aged and came recommended. Huge disappointment. It was over seasoned and too salty. The meat was cooked well...just flavor overkill and I will have to drink water for 2 days to get that taste out of my mouth. The yellow fine tune was another dish I ordered. Had the potential however flavor was again off as it was was way too fishy. Sides we got were mashed potatoes, fries, mac and cheese, and asparagus. Not much going on here and the only one worth mentioning was the mashed potatoes which, like the previous dishes, were a disappointment. Once again felt like mashed potatoes out of a boxed mix watered down. Zero taste/flavor. This place needs a corn side as it is one of the few steakhouses I have been to that does not offer one. Fries, as uneventful as fries can be, were pretty good. Dessert was the only reason this place hung onto the 3rd star here. If you have a sweet tooth, and need to feed a whole table dessert, do yourself the favor and go here and order this cookie jar sunday. I really should say how massive it is on the menu, which it does not. However, based on all the things in it, I probably should have known. The waiter did say that it can feed 5 when I ordered, but I just thought he was making a joke. Boy was he serious. This thing had everything in it. Ice cream, peanut butter, brownie, berries, cookies, macadamia, and who can even remember what else. Point it, it was delicious and came in a large, fish bowl, looking bowl. Overall, Char was a disappointment with some things that did stand out. Place is overpriced for the menu and flavor that they offer. I generally have good experiences with restaurants in Red Bank. This one, was the exception. I do think that they have the potential of being good. They really just need to introduce a new menu and bring in new flavors to help them be the quality steakhouse...

Every single bad review about this place is completely accurate. I went home and 4 hours later had an upset stomach and felt sick. Which I see many other people experienced the same thing. As someone who eats at a steakhouse weekly (see my other reviews for steakhouses) I wouldn’t even consider this a steakhouse. $300 for dinner with not one drink and a absolutely horrific meal should be a crime and this place should have a “closed” sign on it. The atmosphere is terrible. It feels like you are in a modern Chinese buffet and not a steakhouse. The waiter stand is right out in the open and they watch you eat the whole time. It doesn’t feel private or secluded at all.

Our waiter was okay. Not very informative or helpful, very quiet and didn’t seem to care much.

Now the food. We did not have one good thing. The oysters which they claim were Kumamoto’s were definitely not that. The lobster dumplings were completely tasteless. I feel bad the lobsters had to die for that. The tuna tartare tacos were also terrible. Tasted like there was too much cilantro in them?

For dinner we had a ribeye, a filet mignon, the kung pao brussel sprouts, and the potato gratin. The ribeye had way too much seasoning. “High quality” “prime, dry aged” cowboy ribeye was the quality of a ShopRite steak ( I’ve had better at Applebees). Way too salty and whatever else the seasoning was way overpowered. It’s also small for a $70 steak compared to other steakhouses. The filet was also not great. I had a better steak from a breakfast restaurant as “steak and eggs”.

I’m going to be honest, I would not feed the potato gratin to a feral cat. It was 110% frozen and reheated. It was horrible. Not even edible. It’s sad that the best thing I ate was the kung pao brussel sprouts and that is not saying much.

The atmosphere is not good. The place feels dirty. It does not feel like a “high end” steakhouse they try to portray themselves to be. There is no luxurious or steakhouse feel to it. If they didn’t pay influencers to come give them rave reviews I’m sure they wouldn’t be in business as the restaurant was half empty on a Friday night at 7:00. This place is highway robbery for serving steaks and food at the equivalent...