Charlie's Chop House - Southgate

I had an awful experience at this restaurant. Chef John was yelling at the servers and swearing about the customers, which made the atmosphere very uncomfortable. Our dinner took 30 minutes to arrive, and when it finally did, it was poorly prepared. The chef even remarked, "If they want it raw, I can do raw too!" while serving us overcooked fish that’s listed on the menu. This was unacceptable, and there was no resolution to the issues we faced. I've been a loyal customer for many years, but after this experience, I will not be returning.

We visited this restaurant on a Saturday night at 5 PM, and I can only imagine how busy it must get later in the evening. Unfortunately, the food was served cold, and the seasonings were quite unusual and not mentioned on the menu; otherwise, we would have made different choices. The steaks were tough, and the side dishes were either cold or undercooked. Our server repeatedly apologized for the kitchen's equipment issues. We specifically went for the prime rib, only to discover it's only offered on Thursdays. As for the chophouse experience, the steaks were cold, tough, and of poor quality—definitely not worth the high prices. The dessert menu was either unavailable or of low quality as well. Thankfully, we had a half-off coupon, but we still ended up spending nearly $100 with very little satisfaction.

The service was friendly and quick. However, the salad bar had very little lettuce, and the soup was nearly empty, so I wasn't able to try it. The salad bar could have used a thorough cleaning. I was quite disappointed, especially given that the restaurant wasn't very busy at the time. We had three adults dining, and we ordered the whitefish, ribs, and steak. While the meat was generally good, the steak was overcooked. It was well done on the outside but unfortunately undercooked inside. The rice served with the meal was cold, and each entrée came with a generous serving of frozen peas. Frozen peas? This restaurant has great potential, but it seems the kitchen could really use some better management.