Charred Oak Grill — Restaurant in Somerset

I usually don’t mind going to dinner by myself. 🥘 Today, I felt like a bother.

This place, with an impressive whiskey and bourbon menu, comes highly recommended, so I thought I’d check it out.

Here’s my experience:

First, I was completely looked past by the hostess to the group of four who walked in behind me.

When she asked them, “how many?” I had to speak up and basically announce that I was dining alone.

She asked if I wanted to sit at the bar, so I took it as a suggestion and said, “sure, I’ll look”, only to find the bar full other than about three chairs of which a couple were clearly being saved.

I returned to ask for a table and was seated at a two top high top. 🍽️

And there I sat. And sat. And sat some more.

I sat there long enough to watch other parties get seated and get drinks🍸

I sat there long enough to contemplate leaving. 👀

I even sat there long enough for the hostess to walk by and ask if anyone had been by yet. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Finally a server comes by and says she’ll be right with me.

Sat a bit longer while watching those around me getting served.

She finally comes and apologizes stating that no one told her she’s been sat in the midst of a couple big parties coming in. (A party of 8 did arrive just before me, but was seated at the other side of the restaurant)🤷🏻‍♀️

She makes a suggestion based on two choices I was considering and I opt for the brisket tacos and a cucumber limeade to drink.

A few minutes later, another server comes by and apologizes for my wait because they “had her doing something else” and I let her know someone else had finally come by. Idk what that was all about. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I give up on my drink as I watch others around me, who were seated after me, get cocktails, so I got a water.

My food arrives and looks good, but kind of disappointing. The lettuce and such is in the bottom of the tortilla with a bit of brisket on top, but I am too hungry and annoyed to even say anything, so I dive in.

It’s good, but not as good as I had hoped. The waffle fries were just warm and no ketchup or sauce anywhere in sight. Halfway through, I ask my server for some ketchup or sauce or something and she suggests a southwest ranch. Sounds good and upon its arrival, I’m pretty happy with it.

Oh, my drink finally arrived after I’ve eaten one taco, and was quite delicious. Honestly, had it arrived sooner, I would have had another. Yes, I ate the cucumber slices that came with it! 🥒

At this point, I’m starting to feel better as I was legit on the verge of “get outta my way” hangry when I arrived. I had not eaten all day, and feel like why not have a dessert?

Well, this definitely was a highlight of my meal!! A baby blackberry pie!! 🥧 yum!

Overall, I was pleased with the food and refreshing beverage I ordered.

I was not impressed with how I felt as a solo diner… almost like I was a bother. I will say, Kelsi (my server) definitely tried her best to make things right and was friendly once things got rolling.

Perhaps I was just hangry. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Regardless, it’s not a place I’d recommend going to alone. If I ever go back, I won’t...

We asked a local shopkeep what was the best food in somerset and her answer was Charred Oak Grill, so we took her advice. Upon entering, we were met with a lovely atmosphere with toned town lighting and simple yet modern earth toned decor.

Our party of 3 was quickly seated and greeted by our server Kenzie. To begin our culinary journey for the evening we ordered the chicken nachos as a shared appetizer. They arrived quickly and were unlike any nacho I've ever had. The chips were in'house made and weren't your run of the mill corn chip, but rather crispy tortillas, like the shell of a taco salad. My husband and daughter dont like pico de gallo, but they soon found that unlike most picos, this one was more like a chunked salsa without the loads of soapy flavored cilantro.

My husband ordered the bourbon burger with waffle fries as an entree, as well as a cup of tomato basil soup and a coffee. I tasted his fries and burger, and OH WOW! The burger flavor was phenomenal with the carmelized onions and the glazy sauce.

My daughter was leaning towards the club, as it is her go-to sandwich, but ordered the smoked gouda burger and waffle fries instead. USUALLY, were really good at sharing bites so that everyone can taste different thing, but apparently, this, to her, was too good to share, and she snarfed it down and praised it afterward.

I had a Bleu cheese wedge salad and a bread bowl tomato basil soup. The salad left no lacking for the bacon or bleu cheese topping, as some salads do. The soup was awesome though. It was obviously fresh made with chunks of tomatoes in a fresh warm bread bowl.

Just when we thought we were fully satisfied and stuffed to the gills, Kenzie came to our table and said "It's that time when Im supposed to harass you for dessert." Seeing that EVERYTHING we'd ordered thus far was above expectation, how were we to say no??!

We ended our meal by sharing a quite large, rich yet surprisingly summery, lemon berry mascarpone cake for dessert.

This easily made the list of top 10 meals we've ever had at a restaurant. With a total bill, of $72, it was very reasonably priced for the quantity and QUALITY of food. We will most definitely make the drive to Somerset to...

Excellent meal, service and atmosphere. Top quality steaks cooked perfectly. We hope to come again but may be awhile as prices are high though quality and quantity supports the price. We ordered meals that were not hot sandwiches. Sandwiches a bit more affordable. We did try the pork sliders to sample which were wonderful. Hope they one day add fried mozzarella sticks to appetizer menu for those who don't care for others they do offer. We greatly enjoyed brisket nachos! Also baked potatoes for those who like basics with a steak. Mac & cheese would be appreciated very much! We ordered quite a variety between our party of 4. EVERYTHING well cooked, high quality and quantity. I added a side salad. Every bite was crisp. No brown bits nor soggy veggies. Homemade dressing gets A+! Husband likes plain, basic foods and struggled ordering foods he enjoyed and asked for his steak to not be seasoned but it came seasoned. He did enjoy it but prefers not seasoned. Meal doesn't come with bread or roll or Texas toast. Hubby asked for some kind of bread and server had him some toasted bread brought to him. Anywhere else he'd just been told they don't serve bread with steak orders. Impressive move from our server tending to the small details and going that extra mile! Still it was a comfortable time and a great meal. We highly recommend. Must try and keep this one on your list for great steak. Just keep in mind it is high end pub grub done very well... EXTREMELY well and not a typical steak house. LOOK UP as the standards are set high at Charred Oak Grill. Bartender makes a great Lemon Drop! 🍸 We enjoyed finding all the little men sculptures made out of pipe. They add nice eclectic and industrial feel. In awe of the wall of bourbons! KY well...