Charleston's Restaurant — Restaurant in Westfield

So super rare date night. We have 5 boys and never get out, so this was a treat. We opted out of downtown Carmel due to Christmas related festivities happening off Main...so Charlestons. So...Charlestons. We are a young couple send the games were on. We had a reservation (wasn't needed) and were seated as far from the bar as possible in what honestly felt like a dark MCL cafeteria. I sunk into the springs of the booth to the extent my chest was level with the table. I was told when I asked there was no seats available in the bar atm even though there were 4 open visible booths during our entire ordeal. I walked to the bar twice to check the scores. A very kind waitress addressed us and informed us there would be 2 persons "taking care of us"...5 minutes later we ordered water and cocktails. 10 minutes later informed they didn't have the rum I ordered and was given a bottom shelf alternative. 10 more minutes to get mine, wife never got hers, and eventually ordered an iced tea. Steak (ordered medium rare) was no less than well done and sent back for a refire. Manager did address the issue but it took longer to get my new (and much smaller oddly) second steak than it did the first. By the time my refire got to the table my wife was done with her prime rib, which was decent I must say, and our sides were cold. I asked the waitress to possibly just heat up our side of mashed potatoes and she said she'd just ask for more...they never came. So cold mashed potatoes and a second tiny sirloin, slightly overcooked. Okay no worries. I'm hungry. Then we order dessert. (Plates from dinner were NEVER cleared but actually moved out of the way when dessert arrived). A 3rd waiter brings out dessert and says "enjoy the peach cobbler." (We ordered pineapple upside down cake.) Brought it to the primary waitresses attention and she said no, that's pineapple cake. Served in a bowl of carmeled peaches and a scoop of ice cream? Ummm, okay? Finally, after a 2 hour and 10 minute frankly embarrassing experience, the waitress brings the $118 bill and drops the paper bill into the baked beans that were not cleared, pulls it out, says sorry and hands me a bill like I'm at a McDonald's drive through, says sorry, and have a good night. No apologies or referral back from a manager regarding any issues whatsoever. Paid the bill in full, tipped her 20% because, well I'm not a total jerk and she has bills too. A really just awkward and like I said near embarrassing experience to have taken my wife on such a rare occasion to the retirement home of restaurants. I'm sorry Charlestons, but we will NEVER be back. I understand the service industry is very difficult right now, but I'd suggest much better training both in your kitchen and wait staff, and management that actually gives a hoot, doesn't make clients feel bothered by obvious oversights, and a much more welcoming decor and attitude amongst staff in general. I'd like to add, we watched a poor family of five that were seated after us, wait nearly an hour for their kids meals and then mom and dad's meals came later. We felt bad for them and their growing anxiety seated next to us just contributed to our horrible experience. Thank you Charlestons for ruining date night. I'm sending the Mrs. off to get hair and nails done today as an apology I feel so bad. All she wanted was a nice dinner with no kids....

First of all, I wanna say I have never ever left a one star review for any restaurant. When I was in college, I worked in the food service industry and know how tough it is and always have grace. However, I have never been treated so rudely.

My son and I visited Charleston’s for the first time tonight. We were seated promptly, our server greeted us quickly, and things started off well — until it all unraveled.

After waiting over an hour for our food, an expediter approached with our meals in to-go boxes. I asked, “Is that chicken and salmon?” and she confirmed. I said, “But we’re dining in.” She looked confused and replied, “My manager told me to bring it to you.” I told her to take it back to her manager — we expected to eat at the table like any dine-in guest.

Another 10 minutes passed. A waitress brought my meal, but not my son’s. Then a young man showed up with the salmon, placed it down silently, and walked away. The waitress threw me a dirty look over her shoulder. At this point, our food was cold — but we were hungry, so we just ate it.

Eventually, our waiter returned. When we explained what happened, he seemed surprised and offered us free dessert. I declined, explaining that we were in a hurry and just wanted to pay the bill. He pushed, insisting I choose something. Just to end the conversation, I agreed to a cheesecake.

After another 10-minute wait, I used the QR code on the table to pay. That’s when I saw we’d been charged for the cheesecake and two extra meals we never ordered. Running out of time, I walked up to the waiter and pointed it out. He was rude and dismissive, saying, “Yes ma’am, I have to ring up the cheesecake, and my manager rang up the meals. We’ll fix it if you give us a chance.”

I said again that I just wanted to pay and go. That’s when he told me, “The GM is looking for you. He’s at your table.”

I returned to find the general manager leaning on our table, talking to my son, holding the boxed cheesecake. When I explained what happened, he never once apologized. He acted like we were the problem — as if we were trying to get a free meal. I hadn’t even asked for anything to be comped. I just wanted to eat, pay, and leave. He told me he had already rung in fresh meals for us, and when I told him we didn’t ask for that and were short on time, he finally said, “Fine, I’ll just take care of the whole bill,” in a tone that made it feel like a punishment.

And just like that, he walked away — no apology, no kindness, no accountability.

The food, even cold, was good. But the leadership and customer service? Not even close. What happened to simply saying, “We made a mistake — we’re sorry”?

Restaurants are built on hospitality, and that starts at the top. Charleston’s failed tonight — not because of one mistake, but because no one knew how to take ownership when it...

My wife and I go here probably once a month and have never had an issue. This past Sunday we went for dinner like we normally do. We showed up 15 minutes early for our 6pm reservation. After we were seated we ordered our apps, salad and dinner as well as a cocktail. We watched two other tables come, order, and eat before we got our food. I finally got my app and salad and I asked the waitress what the issue was and how these other tables had already finished their food and left in the time we waited. At this point it had been an hour since we got there with no main dishes out. I finally told my waitress I was over it and we needed to leave as we had a one year old. I asked her what the hold up was and she blamed it on the kitchen. At this point I should have asked to talk to the manager but I thought the waitress would take care of it. The waitress btw, only stopped at our table twice in this one hour wait btw. Finally, I said move it to a to go order cause our one year old was going to start loosing her mind since she needed to eat. After moving it to a to go order it still took another ten minutes. I’m almost positive our waitress forgot to put our order in as I watched two other tables after the first come, order, and eat and we still had no food. I can’t remember the waitress name but I remember she had face tattoos. After all this she just said sorry and to ask for a free dessert next time we come in… if it wasn’t for my kid starting to get upset I would have just taken the time to speak with the manager. After all this we get home to missing food on a $140 bill…we buy the gift cards at Costco when they’re on sale and still have $400 left. I think after this, I’ll just give them away for Christmas. I will say, the steak my wife...