Charbar no. 7 — Restaurant in Southern Pines

Long story short: this is a sportsbar, even if they don't advertise as such. It's a slightly upscale Buffalo Wild Wings.

The food was ok. The beer-battered mushrooms were essentially flavorless. While they came out piping hot, they were still soggy & wet. The smashburger (Burger No7) came out from the kitchen wrapped, which was odd, but was definitely ok. Fries were decent, but I didn't get very many. The "Fish and Chips" was an interesting experience. It was as though someone told the line cook that Fish and Chips was a fried fish with some fried potatoes and nothing else. The potatoes were cut into rounds, and having had those, I know why 'regular' shaped fries are much more popular. The fish itself was a large chunk of fish (instead of a few pieces of smaller fish that you could eat as a finger food), and the paper beneath it was instantly sopping with grease. The issue with fish too large for finger food is that you have to use your fork...and the paper sticks to the fish. The sauces were pretty good, and I think they were homemade.

The service was bad. It took a while after being seated by one of the two hostesses (in a not-very-crowded restaurant) to even get a waitress. Then, once we ordered our food and drinks (water), it took about 10 minutes to get our drinks (again, water).

The atmosphere is the worst part of this restaurant. There are about 100 TVs in the restaurant, which is fine if you want to watch sports commentary on 7 screens at a time from anywhere in the restaurant, but otherwise...not. Also, the music was turned up to 11 - it was a challenge to hear someone talking right next to me. We sat "outside" and were still surrounded by TVs, but with the added bonus of the noise of the trucks and cars going by on the road that is right next to the outdoor seating. On the plus side, the chairs were pretty comfy.

My thought is that if you want a decent fast food burger, go to Freddies - if you're prepared to spend more money for something nice, go to BHAWK. If you're really committed to coming here, sit inside - at least...

I waited 2 days to make sure I was being fair in this review and not just reacting to a bad situation. My wife and I tried to eat at Char Bar 7. No one was waiting to be seated. We were not greeted as no one was at the front desk. A manager, with a leg cast, came from somewhere to indicate someone would be with us. Finally, a young lady came an indicated it would be 15-20 minutes to get a table. We waited 15 minutes and then the lights came on...about 30% of the tables were full of dirty dishes, left-over food and accumulated glassware. No one was cleaning tables. The young lady who registered us in their system had cleaned a table in the middle of the room. Table around us were full of dirty dishes. We then began the wait...and we waited...and we waited. I could see the young lady trying to convince waiters and waitresses to wait on us...but each refused. Finally, one person approached us and apologized for the wait. When I asked if the kitchen was backed up the person stretched his/her arms out and indicated the kitchen had "tickets backed up for quite some time from parties". This person was the most honest one in the whole place. We got up and left. So frustrating to be misled and patronized. I'm sorry they apparently have labor problems and the wait staff clearly refuse to pitch in and help with clearing tables. There seems to be some leadership problems and a distinct lack of team work at this restaurant. Don't know that we will return any time soon and don't recommend this restaurant...unless you just want to drink. The bar was fully attended. What a difference a week makes. Had dinner tonight, service was prompt, food was good and the place was clean. A totally different operation! I have amended my rating and can admit...anyone can have a bad night. Let's hope the service stays on the positive side and they keep up the service we know they...

We have historially loved going to Char Bar 7. It was our go to date night restaurant. Last night we went with my oldest son. The host did not ask if we wanted to eat inside or outside. She put us outside. We asked the server to move inside because it was hot and we didn't want to be outside. The host took us back inside. The first thing our new server said was "is it too hot outside?" She didn't see us come in, so the host obviously was complaining to them about us wanting to move. The server was really friendly at first and took our orders. When my steak came out, it was extremely well done. I ordered it medium. I tried to eat it anyway, but it was inedible. I asked the server if I could get the steak remade. The manager bought out the new steak and that one was still well done, but better then the first one. After I had asked for another steak, our server became passive aggressive. I asked for a box after eating about half my steak. The server also bought us the check. The check had a $24 charge on it for the "extra steak". We immediately asked why we were charged extra for the steak when they messed up the food. The server claimed that it should have been taken off and it was so the kitchen accounted for the other steak. My husband watched the server go to the register and pick up an already printed out receipt that she brought to us. Clearly, she was planning on pocketing the extra $24. We tried to give her the check/money and she told us to leave it on the table and have a nice day. I just wanted to leave this review because the staff seemed to have attitudes this time and our server was possible trying to steal money. I loved going to Char Bar 7 before. The staff were always super friendly plus, the food was great. We won't...