Center Street Grill — Restaurant in Williamsburg

I have never been to such a terrible restaurant. That is saying quite a bit considering all of my travels and reviews. I also try to keep an open mind when trying new things and try not to complain. I should preface this review and say that the reviews and comments here were the general consensus from the members of the table. I don’t say it often at all, but if I could give negative stars, this establishment would have received the most. Our family had dinner reservations here on a Friday night. It was recommended by someone we encountered who was a local. The area where this place is located is in a very dense shopping strip. Parking appears to be along the streets. Our first warning sign was that it was a Friday evening and the restaurant looked almost empty from the outside. When we entered, it did look very clean and well maintained. The hostess was nice and she quickly showed us to our table. Our waitress soon arrived and we quickly noted that she was not very knowledgeable about the menu, having to constantly look things up. We ordered two Old Fashioned and a bottle of red wine. The Old Fashioned was not prepared correctly at all and tasted like watered down bourbon. The bottle of red, one of the better on their list, was not very good at all. The cheaper wine prices reflected this.

As for their food, it was terrible. We ordered appetizers, including Oyster Rockefeller, Hoisin Spare ribs, and Philly rolls. All were disgusting. The oysters were bland and had the texture of sawdust. Not a single person at the table had a positive comment about these. The spare ribs had very little meat on them. One of them served was actually just a bone. Seriously? That shows poor quality control from the pass. The Philly rolls were tasteless and mushy. They should really consider adding some type of seasoning to these instead of a bland, pasty cheese sauce. The side salads were very, very petite and were heavily salted. Their homemade dressing was thick and overly sweet. For entrees, we had the Surf and Turf and the Hawaiian Snapper. Even though they describe the Surf and Turf as salted and peppered, it was completely bland. No seasoning at all. We ordered all three medium rare. Two came out medium well and one was well. Our waitress was nowhere to be found, but showed up about 15 minutes after dropping off the food. We let her know and she then argued with us that they all looked appropriate. They did offer to cook another, but by then everyone else had finished what they could take of their food and we did not feel like waiting or making them wait for the kitchen's mistakes. Not once did we see or find a manager, but from what I understand from previous replies you only receive mostly excuses about legitimate concerns. Just look through the previous reviews. Either way, the steaks were dry, flavorless, and chewy. The snapper was severely over cooked and tough. There was no skin on it, but the cooking process formed a skin with the meat. We tried dessert. The carrot cake tasted like it came from a freezer box. The molten cake was not a cake at all. It was a shell filled with syrup. As I walked to the bathroom past the kitchen, I saw some of the staff using Smucker’s jelly so it is likely that most of the things came premade.

Overall, I have no idea how this place is still in operation. Rude staff, disgusting food. I really hope that many of those reading this or following my channel take heed. So many of you rely on the importance of social media to understand what you are walking into. I would never wish this place on my worst...

When we arrived at Center Street Grill, we strolled past the patio on the way to the front door. While we enjoy eating outdoors, today we craved the air conditioning, as summer in Williamsburg can be a little stifling. As soon as we entered, Jacx greeted us warmly with menus and took us to a table a little farther into the dining room, along the back, near the large rooms for larger parties. Even the banquet rooms, filled with a party of 30+ people, were quiet to us, as there were glass windows for spaciousness between the rooms, but there were also doors that Matthew diligently and stealthily kept shut for the entirety of our stay.

Matthew greeted Rusty and I cheerfully, with a plate in hand, the amuse’ bouche. This small offering of a crispy fried wonton topped with a flavorful Asian-inspired melange of diced tomatoes, black olives, and red onions in a refreshing vinegar dressing is meant to “amuse the mouth.” Matthew painted such an inviting picture with his description of the dinner specials that my husband and I ordered them. After we finished our amuse’ bouche, Matthew brought us a heaping plate of fresh out of the oven dinner rolls with some fancy whipped butter in a small ramekin, which made us feel relaxed.

What’s a date night dinner without an appetizer? Short! There was no way that my husband and I were going to pass up on the opportunity to try one of Center Street Grill’s most famous fusion dishes, the Philly Cheesesteak Egg Rolls. Enrobed with crispy egg roll wrappers you’ll find American cheese, shaved Ribeye steak, and sauteed white onions, accompanied by a side of creamy scallion cheese dipping sauce. This appetizer was a robust, crunchy, creamy delight!

My husband’s ribeye steak was grilled perfectly to his preference, medium rare, topped with a tornado of crispy fried onions, and paired with a heaping serving of fluffy mashed potatoes and grilled fresh asparagus. My husband’s mouth watered with each and every tempting bite of his ribeye steak, and I’ve never seen him so happy to have a plate in front of him. My crab cake entree featured two all jumbo lump meat crab cakes, garnished with a slightly spicy remoulade, and teamed up with herb roasted potatoes and garden fresh asparagus. The crab cakes were an unparalleled coastal delicacy, with each bite sending my taste buds on a blissful vacation. The herb roasted potatoes ruined me for all other forms of crispy potatoes in the future.

To really lean into that vacation vibe, my husband and I decided to go with the key lime pie. Oh, what a tropical way to end our meal! Crunchy, cinnamony graham cracker crust, overflowing with key lime custard, garnished with a fresh lime slice, powdered sugar, and house whipped cream. Each bite was an explosion of sweet, vibrant key lime flavor, from real key limes from Florida, and not some juice bought at the store. So, you’re probably thinking, the food was clearly spectacular, so what about the service? Matthew checked on us at all the right times, and felt 100% available to us while still giving us plenty of privacy to spend our evening together. His upbeat, witty, and engaging personality, with the fantastic food, created a memory for us that we still talk about and...

We just had dinner at CSG (first time)..... the staff was very friendly and our server (Chelsea) was really great, very friendly and she represents you well. The food was very good and everything was prepared as requested. I ordered the French Dip, I asked Chelsea if there was enough meat to offset the amount of bread (often times you get a big roll with a small amount of meat), she assured me that there was a good amount of meat......lol, that's an understatement, I actually had to eat my sandwich with a fork and knife because there was so much meat and it was really tender....A++ on the French Dip, others in my party had the Grilled Swordfish (special), the steak, the Cubano sandwich and a burger...the kids had a burger and the chicken tenders....everyone was very happy and most of us had dessert which was fantastic.

A few negatives that I need to share because you should be able to see through your customers eyes....1. The drink glasses sweat really bad so water drips on the food and on our clothes, you may want to consider bar napkins to absorb the condensation. 2. We had a party of 8 (6 adults and 2 kids), it's not uncommon to have a tip automatically added for a large party but it is usually mentioned when the order is taken rather than when the check arrives (no big deal) but I will say that a 20% auto tip is very unusual, its typically 15 or 18% with the ability to add to that. I am typically a 25-30% tipper especially when I get really good service but I did not add to the tip tonight because I was really taken back by the 20% and the fact that I found out when my check arrived.

Neither of these things would prevent me from coming back but I did want to mention them to you because they are things that will leave an impression and as I mentioned, you should have the opportunity to see things from your customers perspective.

Thank you for a nice meal and an overall great dining experience.

Response to owners reply....

Thanks for your reply.... I obviously missed to note regarding the auto tip, I wish I...