Charcoal Grill Restaurant

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  3      Ambience  3      Service  2      Value  2     

A group of six of us went here for a post-Christmas catch up. Charcoal has a reputation for fantastic steaks so we thought we would try it out.

Despite asking for my steak well done, it came out, as one person on the table quoted, 'still mooing'. So I sent it back. The second time it came out still incredibly pink with blood coming out of it. Not too sure how the staff at Charcoal define 'well done' but my definition certainly isn't mooing.

What was even more disappointing was the service of the staff who on each occasion were so rude about the fact that I was sending it back.

I will not be going to Charcoal again, nor will any of us who dined there that night (service was terrible for more than just steak issue) be recommending it to any of our friends or colleagues.

Mar 18, 2012 

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  3      Ambience  2      Service  4      Value  1     

Not sure where they buy their beef from, but probably the worst tbone I have ever eaten. In fact I left a large amount on the plate. Chips barely cooked and a miserly serve. My companions chicken kiev was similarly bland and they would have done better with a frozen version from woolies or coles. Service was unfriendly but adequate, overall hugely overpriced for a 1970's steakhouse meal, doubt I would consider this place again.

Nov 22, 2011 

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  7      Value  7     

I had an extremely pleasant experience at Charcoal, however, for the prices they charge for the food, the service is not great. It appears as though they employ university students who are just doing the job to make ends meet and their attitude was a bit too friendly! I love a happy waiter, which is almost an oxymoron in Canberra, however, when they start to seat themselves at the table, talk about their weekends and get a bit lax I draw the line.

The entree was fantastic, I had deep fried camembert and it was an extremely generous serve. Tasty, fresh and oh so cheesy! (As one would expect). The steaks were fantastic, the sides were great and the wine selection was nice. The decor takes a bit to get used to, but the atmosphere is ambient and you don't feel as though you're on London Circuit once you're tucked away inside the restaurant.

It's smaller size makes for a more intimate dining experience and I feel if they polished their friendly waiters up a bit, Charcoal could fast become a favourite.
The prices on the menu are confusing, they need to advertise just the one price (including GST). It's been a good ten years, I don't think GST is going anywhere, display the one price guys, really.

Brooklyn Says "Yes", but have a spare $300+ lying around for this one.

Dec 13, 2010 

5.5 Average

Food  6      Ambience  7      Service  5      Value  4     

I've been here a number of times before and generally enjoyed a decent meal, with fair to middling service. A regular dining friend and I went back last week, as he has always enjoyed the place whenever he's in town.

Ambience and decor, I quite like the olde worlde charm of this place, it's cozy, comfortable, and usually reasonably quiet.

Service, very average, why do they continually employ 20 something girls who know nothing about food, wine, or how to eat? Every interaction was signed off with "No worries".

Food, for a steak house, I think they've forgotten how to cook steak. My medium rare was quite overdone, with crunchy charcoal on the outside. The meat itself was tasteless, dry, and really seemed like it was from the specials freezer at Woolies. Definitely not the 'Prime Cut' it was sold as.

Dessert really clinched the deal that I will never be back. The crepes were not made fresh, and I doubt they were even made in the kitchen. They were more like pancakes and tasted and felt like they had come from a frozen packet. The kitchen staff had all packed up by the time the dessert was ready, beers in hand ready to scarper out the door as it was "Shazza Night" (Thursday).

All up a very uninspiring experience.

Oct 28, 2010 

1 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

If you want to be insulted and embarrassed this is the place to go! My partner and I thought we would try out this restaurant big mistake! After being seated, our order taken and we sat waiting for our meal this is what happened.

One of the waiters approached our table and said "I’m sorry but you have not ordered enough from the menu. You will need to order at least $35 each, otherwise I will have to ask you to leave".

We had both ordered a main meal and a drink (it’s not like we order just entrees) but even if we did it shouldn’t have mattered. When I asked the waiter what more they wanted us to order, he pointed out a rather expensive bottle of wine. When we refused to order anything more we were asked to leave. We left hungry, embarrassed and speechless.

Sep 12, 2010 

7 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

The SNVGCC visited the Chargrill in an attempt to find Canberra's best steakhouse. There was a big gathering of members and we were amazed at how small this place was but we liked it. We were hustled into the front corner and provided friendly service with a smile and a menu that offered great selections of bovine and red wines! Perfect.

We all enjoyed a classic grilled steak served with generous portions of sides (although too expensive) and good sauces. The men of the SNVGCC enjoyed the Charcoal Grill but the decore which reminded us of an old school cinema (i.e. dark red carpets, soft leather cushions on the seats) as well as the out of place thatched hawaiian roof. Price was not too bad and we left with very full stomachs!

Feb 12, 2010 

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  7     

Went here at the beginning of November 2009 and the food and service was great. Small intimate venue and a good level of service. Was not expecting the glitz and glamour of others in the Melbourne Building, and it felt a little like travelling back in time to the 60's-70's. Excellent wine list, if a bit on the expensive side, but that is the trade off. The steaks came out perfect, accompanied by steamed vegies, a baked potato and choice of condiments. The chocolate mousse for dessert rounded off an enjoyable meal. We'll definitely go back there again.

Nov 25, 2009 

5 Average

Food  6      Ambience  4      Service  6      Value  4     

What a disappointment. I booked this restaurant on the recommendation of others. The Steak Diane was recommended to me, and whilst the steak itself was beautifully cooked it was presented on the plate like a tiny island floating in a sea of sauce. The diane sauce was way too sharp and needed some cream to tone it down. Most disappointing as I always believed cream to be a staple ingredient in diane sauce. However perhaps this establishment found themselves out of cream on the night, as a dining companion made the same complaint of the mushroom sauce. Too sharp. Needed some cream. No such complaint from our other dining companion. She got the chicken Maryland which came without any sauce at all.

So much for the food. The restaurant itself is rather small and cramped, with a decorating style reminiscent of the 70's. Some may consider this "charming". But I am not one of them. It's rather off putting and awkward to have the waiters bum in your face when he is serving the adjacent table.

However, the fatal flaw for me was the pricing regime on the menu. The meals each had two prices. One price was without GST and the other was GST inclusive. WHAT IS THAT ABOUT? Is there any other restaurant in Australia that represents itself like that? WHY WOULD YOU? But the piece de resistence was the wine menu that just gave a single price for the wines. Possibly there was fine print somewhere that indicated that price was WITHOUT GST, however I must have missed it and later got a rude shock when the bill came, to discover that the wine (as nice as it was) was actually much more expensive than originally anticipated.

WHY would a restaurant make this so deliberately complicated? The only reason I could fathom was to mislead the customers. I asked the waiter about this and his response was that the pricing arrangement has nothing to do with him. No, I suppose not - but a small apology wouldn't have been out of line given that he represents whoever has implemented such a deceptive pricing system.

I have no interest whatsoever in returning to this restaurant and could not in good conscience recommend it to anyone.

Nov 06, 2008