Carolina Ale House - Wilmington — Restaurant in Wilmington

You know...I have lived in Wilmington for 3 years, live in close proximity to Carolina Ale House but had never given them a try. Since I recently signed up with Postmates and their unlimited delivery service, it was Memorial Day and my wife and I both wanted to have that classic burger without the hassle of having to make it myself (yes...I wanted to be lazy), I chose Carolina Ale House for delivery. What transpired after placing that order was very good but also a bit disappointing.

FOOD: The Steakhouse Burger (Chargrilled with signature steak seasoning, aged Swiss, grilled mushrooms, beer-battered onion rings, roasted garlic aioli on a toasted brioche bread, according to their current online menu). This burger confused me a little since it tasted so good, but was missing some ingredients and replaced by others?!? As you can see in my previous pics, there were no beer-battered onion rings nor grilled mushrooms on my burger. The roasted garlic aioli was a pleasing spread on the burger, as was the steak seasoning, as advertised, but my burger included house-made pickles, tomatoes and lettuce, which was not supposed to be on the burger. Toasted brioche bread? Check! It was just an odd FrankenBurger that was surprisingly good. Pros: sensational steak seasoning on the patty, garlic spread and cooked a perfect, medium-well...just as ordered!! Cons: Not sure what happened with the mixup of ingredients on my burger?? The other area of opportunity noticed: lettuce on the burger was soggy and limp. Regardless if the excuse of...the lettuce had been exposed to an abundance of moisture from the ingredients, coupled with the time it took to deliver, the lettuce, it was still a topping that should have never been. The patty was perfectly cooked and seasoned, the Aged Swiss cheese....oh my!! Those were the standouts of the burger for me and although I did not get what I ordered, it still came out tasting good. Just to ensure I did not mixup my burger with my wife's, I checked hers and confirmed it was just a patty and cheese, plain. The star of the meal were those fries!!! Dude...seriously I could eat a bucket of these. Wonderful flavor, cooked perfectly and the seasoning is extraordinary. LOVED the fries. Overall, it was very good food, just not what I ordered and paid for, scoring shy of 4 plus stars SCORE: 3.5 STARS!!

SERVICE: I used Postmates for delivery service so there was no direct communication between myself and Carolina Ale House's staff, however, the food arrived hot, nicely presented and on time. Since there were no encounters with the staff or restaurant, directly, I cannot offer up an honest score for service, as it would only benefit Postmates. N/A

OVERALL SCORE: If only that burger would have been the true "Steakhouse Burger" I ordered, this score could have been substantially higher. The patty was cooked exactly as ordered and offered up balanced flavors that packed a punch. Maybe next time, we can try this again? Thank you for the meal! ...

My wife and I visited Carolina Ale House to try the French Onion Soup. We ended up ordering the Cheese Curds appetizer, the Steak House Burger, and a bowl of the French Onion Soup. Before discussing the food, I need to mention the server and Manager as well as the physical restaurant. The server was Haley H and she provided fast and friendly service. With her perky upbeat personality and suggestions for items, it was truly enjoyable being served by her. The manager actually walked around the dining area checking to see if we and others were happy or needed anything. That was very impressive. The interior is clean and appropriately lit, decorated, and maintained at a comfortable temperature. My wife reported that the steak house burger was cooked perfectly to medium as she had requested. The burger is massive and well put together. She shared the burger is worth the price and that the fries were well seasoned and crispy. The Cheese curds were slightly oily and with a slight pressing of the napkin made them perfect. They are served with a wonderful slightly sweet and spicy red sauce on the side. The French Onion soup was good. A nice balance of cheese and bread. They top the soup with swiss however, mixing some Gruyere in would have boosted the intricacies of the flavor profile. Not the best French Onion in Wilmington but certainly not the worst. At a price point that is lower than many places (5.49 per bowl), it is well worth the price. The soup is made in-house and has a bold flavorful broth that has several seasonings including thyme and pepper. Sherry is also added to the stock. The beef stock is rather bold and seasoned but works well for this soup. There was a generous portion of onions in the soup however, they could have used a few more minutes of cooking time. They were a little firm for my taste, with regards to expectations for French Onion soup. Overall, the soup gets 3.75 out of 5 stars when compared to other local competitors. (Paddy’s Hollow, Brasserie Du Soleil, etc...) NOTE: The photo of the Cheese Curds is AFTER approximately 25 percent were consumed, the portion is larger than shown. I recommend the Carolina Ale house. A great place for lunch or dinner in a fun, sports-centric...

We decided to eat here. Our family consisted of two children and two adults. We all ordered water. When the check came there was a charge of over $3.00 for the waters for our children. I questioned the waitress, her name was Bridgette about the charge. She informed us they do charge for water for kids. This made absolutely zero sense so I once again asked her if this was correct. She explained that many customers get upset over the charge but yes, for as long as she worked there they did charge for water for kids. We paid the amount of the check but after leaving my mom decided to call the manager about if this was correct. Unfortunately, the manager asked for information on the card that was used which my mom did not know. So my mom said we are not looking for a refund but needed to know if they charged for water. After the manager saying she could not give that information without the credit card used my mom then said “all I need to know is do you charge for water” finally she got a reply as to no they do not. My mom called to have me call the manager with that information but she informed me the manager was not the friendliest. I called the manager as soon as I got off the phone with my mom to give her the credit card information and found the manager to be rude and abruptly dismissive but just saying no there was no charge and as I tried to explain what happened, she abruptly told me I am aware of what happened and issued you a refund. While this was not what my intention was for calling, she never gave me the opportunity to explain. It’s a little sad that a manager would act this way to a customer who has been to this restaurant on many occasions. Hopefully after contacting corporate office, they will have a better communication when it comes to customer service. Moral of this story, don’t pay for water if Bridgette is your waiter and hopefully if you have the same manager as we spoke with, she won’t be so dismissive of a customers concerns. We ate here on April 12 after...