Review Charcoal Steak House - Kitchener

Came here for brunch on a Sunday morning, around 10:30am. Was a very nice and clean place, was seated immediately once we arrived! Waiter was awesome with recommending drinks, and food. Got the Biscuits, Breakfast Skillet, and Avocado toast, all were incredible but the biscuits stood out to me the most! I still think about those biscuits to this day, really incredible! Will definitely be back when I'm in waterloo.

Food 3.5 We are really amazed by their appetizers. Pig tail is perfectly cooked and the seasoning/sauce is just at the right level, not overly sweet or strong. Petite Wellington is something we have never tried before. It’s easy to eat with nice texture. The sauce also tastes good. However the main fish is just average. The lemon in seafood risotto is overlong strong and dominating the taste of whole dish. Was expecting seafood or salty delicious taste but now it’s too sour. The steak I ordered has too much oil/butter/spice on it, makes it overly oily and salty. Can’t taste the original beef flavor. Service and atmosphere is pretty good. Worth the fine dining title and special occasion.

Great experience! Amazing for getting all dressed up for an anniversary or so. Had a really delicious meal and the service was also fantastic. Definitely a restaurant that’s worth it. Prices were good for the servings of food, had the Mushrooms Fettuccine and a burger and both were so much food we couldn’t even finish it all. Also thanks to our server Victoria, she was super nice and took care of us throughout our time there. A must go!

Such a nice experience tonight celebrating my birthday and Thanksgiving. Dan our server was very sweet and great service. Dinner was amazing. Can't say enough how delicious the sweet potatoe soup was. We had the Thanksgiving special and was such a great deal.

Beautiful interior and nice patio. The waitresses provided friendly service and made it easy for families with young children. Food was delicious. We had the calamari, seafood risotto (mussels, shrimp and scallops) and chicken fingers kids meal with drink / ice cream. The white ice cream with rainbow sprinkles had a funny texture between gelato and hummus…no

Chantelle provided a wonderful service. It was a cool day but we were still able to have lunch in the heated patio, which was very comfortable and peaceful. I ordered the Shanghai Beef Bowl which was okay but not as good as I expected. The beef was hard and the sauce was too liquid, which remained at the bottom of the bowl. I would suggest making it a bit thicker. I recommend this place just not the plate. Hope next time I make a better choice :)

Went for my birthday dinner and I was very impressed! We started with some cocktails, I would highly suggest the rosé sangria and mojito. For an appetizer we really enjoyed the petite beef Wellington. Very tender and moist meat with a beautiful flaky pastry crust. Very delicious. For our main we shared the flinestone tomahawk steak. It was MASSIVE! But so, so delicious. Perfectly done with a nice, beautiful crust. Comes with 2 Caesar salads, 2 sides of veggies and 2 other sides of your choice. We decided on mashed potato and the loaded baked potato. The steak pairs nicely with a cold corona. Everything was fantastic. Our server was very attentive, sweet and friendly. She was just wonderful. The environment was nice, perfect for a date night or family dinner. Definately a bit more pricey than some restaurants but it was very worth it. Complimentary dessert for my birthday was really appreciated. I tried the coconut crème brûlée and it was really tasty! The perfect end for the night. Can’t wait to come back.

As one of the more well known, non chain, upscale restaurants I was pleasantly surprised by the accessibility of this restaurant. As this is a steak house, ordering steak will be expensive. But with that said the quality of steak and portion sizes makes it well worthwhile. Asides from steak, the rest of the menu was well priced. Something for everyone, whether you like a rice bowl or a burger type dish. The steak salad is a great way to get a sneaky taste of the steak without spending over $40. Drinks were refreshing and the service was fantastic. We came on a Monday and our server was fantastic. Checked up on us sufficiently and knew her stuff. Asked some questions about the food and she was able to answer us without fail.

Yes, it's pricier that other places but it's so nice. The food was outstanding. Servers were outstanding too. Will definitely go again for another special occasion.

I’ve never edited a review before but when the manager personally called me to discuss the review I felt it necessary to up my review stars to 4 because of the customer service that the manager provided and feedback he welcomed. Nice date night steak house, the chairs are comfy, the food was good and the ambiance was excellent. The parmesan crusted Brussel sprouts were alittle under cooked and the stuffed mushrooms were ok but wouldn’t order again. The steak was delicious and cooked to perfection and the Caesar salad was good. Definitely worth a try if your in the area.

Exquisite! From the ambiance to the service to the meal, by far the best restaurant my boyfriend and I have been to. To start we got the petite beef Wellington, which was juicy, buttery, and full of flavour. An absolute must for next time. As mains we got the 14oz ribeye and the seafood risotto. The lobster based risotto tasted exactly like a mouthwatering lobster with scallops, shrimp and halibut, all cooked to perfection. The succulent ribeye was cooked a perfect Medium rare, seared and crusted to perfection served with a creamy garlic purée. We finished off our dinner with the most spectacular crème brûlée. A specia shout out to Robin, our waitress who performed exceptional service.

Every time we are near Kitchener, We will stop and eat at the Charcoal Steak House. We have been eating her for the last 6 years. The food is delicious. We ordered baked brie and mushroom caps for appetizers. I ordered the salmon, which was cooked with a Japanese flair, and my daughter had fettuccine with chicken. The salmon was cooked to perfection.Everything was delicious. We treated ourselves to drinks. I had the Black Forest Cake, which was very interesting and delicious, and my daughter had a spritzer. The staff was very friendly and attentive. There is a good-sized parking lot. The atmosphere is nice. My daughter and I had the opportunity to talk and socialize.

I have been a regular customer of this place since 2021. It is been one of the best experiences of having a fine time with either myself or my friends and family. Visited this place with my friend for birthday celebration. Ordered appetisers, steaks some drinks and wrapped the night with a dessert. Overall it was a nice experience from hosting us to serving us.

Best meal we have had in many years. Came to celebrate an anniversary. Shared a rib eye meal. Rice wasn't to our liking so we were comped some amazing truffle fries. And have us a dessert of our choice on the house for our anniversary ... cheesecake ... which was fabulous. Sat out on the deck by the fire. Such a wonderful experience and the staff were fabulous. 6 stars!

Absolutely loved it. Had a beef bowl, it was delicious. The service was great. The atmosphere was very romantic too. Highly recommend. We will be back.

This is one of my favorite restaurants in the city for special occasions. Prices are on the high side, but the food and service have always been fantastic. The only thing I'm not a big fan of are their desserts. I've tried various ones and they've always been too dry and with an artificial taste. Plus, the crème brûlée was not what I expected; it looked and tasted more like a pot of weird cream with no burnt sugar on top. Aside from the desserts, I highly recommend Charcoal Steak House because the food is worth it.

Busy spot with reservations needed. Typical upscale steakhouse which also serves an extensive menus with plenty of options other than beef steaks to please every appetite. The service was friendly and welcoming but somewhat slow due to the busyness. It’s pricey so be prepared for about $100 per person all in. The take away desert was delicious and generous portions.

We went for a double birthday celebration on Sat. Jan 5th, we had such an exceptional experience, it had to be followed up with a review. The staff were friendly and genuinely caring about our experience, not just our waitress, but what seemed to be a manager also came around a couple times to ensure we were taken care of! Good customer service seems hard to come by these days, but we left very happy with our experience that evening. We’ll b back, thank you.

Celebrated our Anniversary there recently. We've been a few times over the years but keep going back. Thank you to Robin for being so graceful and patient with us. You're a great photographer with a fun personality to match. Of course the food was good as well but a good, sit down experience is more than just food and we will certainly be back.

Service was friendly and prompt considering the size of our group. I had the dry aged ribeye, and it was truly one of the tenderest steaks I've ever had. A little more seasoning would have been welcome though. Only reason I didn't give it five stars is that I've been to some of the best steak houses in the US and it didn't quite compare, but considering the prices here compared to those other steak houses, this place is definitely worth a visit.

Erin is the server ....this girl is going places....the prime rib was the best...in the region.....saganaki......ooopa also incredibly good ...the great service really made are meal awesome..... Last time our server ruined our great meal.. ....

It was good, but they sat us in the worst room......I felt like they judge you and sit you according to how they feel about you. Bit pricy for that room since the room was so loud with a big party behind us. No bread service either. It’s been years since we have been there so we are not regulars at all but $50 for a steak and not even a roll. It will be a while before we go back

10 out of 10! I’ve eaten in a lot of high end steak houses. This one ranks with the very best. From first cocktail to dessert...outstanding!

I'm an unrepentant "meat and potatoes" girl, but after having steak frites here, I'll never order them anywhere else. The fries were seasoned so perfectly and the meat couldn't possibly have been better. But, since this was a luncheon meeting, I was also most impressed with the atmosphere - no superfluous noise! Having a conversation did not strain either the vocal cords or the auditory nerves. I'd recommend this restaurant for both food and ambiance for any occasion.

god food...waitress super nice & friendly...outdoor patio nice place to relax and enjoy good drinks and spend fun night with friends

Went to charcoal on Saturday night. What a great relaxing atmosphere in that restaurant. The waitress was so professional and so polite to our kids. The food was amazing. Definitely recommend the Black Angus ribeye. Loved it.

Incredible service. I don't think I've ever been granted such great service in any other restaurant. It is obvious that the general manager has a genuine passion for satisfying his customers.

Awesome steak...I took my wife there on her prebirthday dinner. The french onion soup was the best we ever had. We also ordered grilled mushroom and ice wine. The staffs were extremely friendly, and you will notice a personal touch by the away they serve you. <br/>Charcoal steak house is the best fine dining place in Kitchener Waterloo region!

Went last night. I had the Ceasar salad (excellent), what they pompously call cabbage rolls and the strawberry pie. The main dish, cabbage rolls was anything but... It was good tasting, though not outstanding by any means. But it did not look, smell or taste at all like cabbage rolls. The strawberries appeared to be fresh, though not ripe. They had no taste whatsoever, white on the inside and the crust appeared to be store bought. My wife had the trout which she did like. We had the "Two can dine for $60" special. Highly overpriced indeed. My brother-in-law had the curry bowl and was also very disappointed with it due to the quality and taste, or lack of same. Furthermore, our experience was somewhat cooled by the dirty chairs. All needed a good cleaning. I'm not a steak fan, so I can't comment on those. I can only give them the benefit of the doubt since they call themselves a "steakhouse". Cannot recommend this establishment especially since I know several better eating venues in the K-W Cambridge area where then prices are lower and the food quality much higher.

Fantastic steak lunch with great wine and pumpkin cheesecake was also really good. Excellent atmosphere for our christmas lunch. Would recommend to anyone.

We had high hopes for the Charcoal Steak House, but unfortunately it fell short; both on service and food. Our server was very nice and kind.... When we saw him. We went on a Sunday evening for my Birthday Dinner, only to be overshadowed by a birthday dinner for a 12 year old. It took over 30 minutes before our drinks came out, the bread without butter 15 minutes later, and finally after being there for over an hour we received our meals. I had the blackened NY striploin and my partner the double blue cheese steak. She liked hers a lot, and the twice baked potato was delicious. Mine on the other hand, was not as impressive. My first bite, I almost choked on the blackening spice, having to scrape all of it off. Shortly after that, I noticed there was no shrimp with my steak. When the waiter finally came over, he had to check and see if it was part of the dish. When he came back out, he brought out a whole skillet of shrimp; I guess hoping to make up for the fact it was missed in the first place. The vegetables were basic and the fries were over salted; or my pallet may have been saturated with all of the salt in the blackening spice. The only thing that was good, was after we had payed the bill and my<br/>Partner brought up my birthday, he went to the back and grabbed a small piece of cake; which was just okay. All in all, my review on the Charcoal Steak House is.... Just go to The Keg, please.

House red was solid, and paired well with the sirloin I got. Liked the industrial decor they had going on, must have shopped at Restoration Hardware. Attentive service. Worth a visit.

Wonderful elegant restaurant. Tasty and house made dishes with local AAA beef cooked perfectly. It's a bit pricy but not out of range for a standard steakhouse. Perfect to impress for a business lunch.

Not so happy birthday. Went to Charcoal for my 25th birthday with a friend... We were coming on this day because I let myself have a treat with meat once a year, on my birthday! What a better way to treat myself than to get a steak from a so-called renowned steakhouse. Now, right off the bat- I'm not a huge steak eater, nor do I know all that is to know about the intricacies of steak dining. That said, I've definitely had EXCEPTIONAL steaks in my life. I was hoping for the same, but my dining experience at Charcoal came up a bit short.<br/><br/>First, the positives: great staff, great service and hospitality. The servers are very helpful in choosing meals and drinks etc. The restaurant itself is beautiful, great ambience and an amazing place to go for a date. <br/><br/>The negatives: the steak was very lacklustre. For a place that calls themselves a steakhouse, this was definitely not expected. The steak itself was bland, no good spicing or saucing happening. I ordered medium rare, which I'm pretty sure means somewhat cooked on the outside, but red on the inside. The steak that I received was bright red with blood spilling out, which is closer to rare than I had liked. When I asked the waitress about this, she notified me that I was wrong and that medium-rare is more bloody than I had hoped... which I'm pretty sure is not the case but I digress. So she nicely re-fired my steak.<br/><br/>My friend's meal wasn't any better. He ordered a chicken meal (Chicken "supreme"), which touts as having a great piece of thigh and drumstick of chicken, some mashed potatoes and vegetables. What he received, was very poorly cut chicken with barely any meat on it, and a whole plate covered in mashed potatoes with a few vegetables. I really wish we took a picture of the proportions because it looked more like we ordered a plate of mashed potatoes, with a side of chicken and a dash of carrots. <br/><br/>Needless to say, I left unsatisfied and he left hungry because theres no way you could eat a whole plate of mashed potatoes, and the meat portion was so small. All in all a terrible birthday meal and a waste of a treat-night.

Disappointed on New Year's Eve. Having had many enjoyable experiences a Charcoal Steakhouse in the past, my date and I chose to go there for their set menu on New Year's Eve 2014. We were both looking forward to the steaks for which Charcoal has become famous.<br/><br/>Unfortunately, we were very disappointed in our meals. One of the New York strip sirloins came well-done, when it had been ordered as medium rare. Both steaks were covered in an excessive amount of some kind of rub, which we did not order, and which detracted from the natural flavour of the meat. We simply could not eat the meat as prepared.<br/><br/>The balance of the food was unremarkable. The French onion soup was good. The chocolate cake was dry. The crème brûlée was acceptable, but in an excessive amount.<br/><br/>Overall the service was mediocre although the staff did suggest that they could provide another steak. By that time we had lost our appetites.<br/><br/>It will take some time before I am confident enough that Charcoal has improved its service and food offerings to tempt me to return and try this restaurant again. It was an expensive and disappointing experience.

Bland and very boring. Food was not great, extremely over priced for the amount of food you receive, $15 for 4 scallops which had no flavour-ridiculous. Also the food had absolutely no favor. Not impressed and I would not recommend it.

Doesn't live up to the hype!. Where do I start? Lets begin with the seating arrangements. Our party of 3 were seated at the half round booths. These booths are not conducive to conversation as we're facing towards the party of 8 seating in front of us. Difficult to hear each other and I felt as I was shouting. <br/>Food...the bruschetta looked like mini pizza. Portion was huge and visually not appealing. Not your traditional looking dish (which could always use a twist of some sort...but this was way off!). The huge dollop of sour cream on my coconut rice curry bowl was awful! Besides the fact that the dish had an imbalance of curry to coconut ratio. Baseball steak and the prime rib both cooked perfectly but lacked flavourful seasoning. We passed on dessert due to the lack of a small bite sample option. We'll pass on coming back or recommending.

Great food. Went there for my gf birthday and ordered 8 oz prime rib and baseball steak. Food was great and so was service. Price is comparable to the keg but I found I liked the atmosphere here better and they had more of a selection. will definitely go back.

Wonderful place to eat. Prime rib was fantastic. Cheesecake was even better.

Comfortable Seating and Great Food. Went solo on a March snowy Monday night. The place was half full at 7pm. I was being seated at the back dinning room by the window. Couldn`t be more perfect. The chair was very comfortable. Lighting was dim enough to relax but bright enough to read a book. These are all very important to me because when I went solo to a restaurant, I want to relax and forget the rest of the world for a while.<br/><br/>The virgin ceaser (or virgin Bloody Mary as our American friends would call it) has a fresh grounded peppered and salted rim instead of just the salt. A nice touch. The two pieces of cucumbers I asked for on the rim were very thick and large. I like to the cucumber to soak the salt off the rim when I drink the ceaser and eat the salted cucumber. Overall I think the bartender has done a very good job on my easy to make drink. Hey, may be they are premixed, don`t know.<br/><br/>They offer a choice of three different fresh braked bread and I picked the pumpin seed. The other two were multi-grain plus one more which I dont remember. The bread warm but not cold either. It was ok. The butter is good but nothing special. A small Charcoal salad to begin the meal. The salad was very good and I was glad that I ordered a small version. It was much bigger than a side salad. The large would have been too big for me to finish the main course and have dessert.<br/><br/>They had an 8oz bison on special so I ordered it. I asked not to kill the bison and they didn`t. Center of the meat was blue and red. Only a tiny bit warm and very tender. My only comment is they have put seasoning on the meal. It spoiled the tinkering taste of a almost raw meat that I like. Next time I will ask not to put seasoning on the meat. Mash potato and brussels sprouts with (I think) bacon mixed in came with the bison. The mash potato was plain but great. It was really great. I need to repeat this because it was a very plain mash potato but they have done it to perfection. Brussels sprout has the taste of the brussels sprout but not the bitterness. People who usually doesn`t like brussels sprout may able to accept it. To me, this Bison dish is very excellent. At $36, I would have ask to double the bison. I only know how much it cost when they show me the bill.<br/><br/>Wrap up with a double espresso and flourless chocolate cake. Since I had one of the best espresso at The Capital Grille in Rosemont, Illionis only less than 9 days ago, I am sad to say the espresso here isn`t up to par. It smell weak and has the bitterness of a so-so espresso. However, pair with the chocolate cake with fresh strawberry and strawberry sherbet has balance the bitterness. It actually made it a perfect blend.<br/><br/>Last, I finished the glass of water. Since they claim all coffee and tea were served with micro fiber filtered water, I assume their water is also micro fiber filtered. It does taste pretty good. I took my time to finish my glass of water and finish another chapter of my book. Nobody has rush me during my stay. I enjoyed my entire stay of 2 hours plus.<br/><br/>Additional comments, ok, it is my rant of the day. A 13 years old kid right across the table was spending more time talking to his friends on his smart phone than eating the meal. The kid has ate the steak and potato but never touch his vegetable. Come on, learn some table manner especially at a nicer place like Charcoal Steakhouse. Perhaps it will be useful in the future to learn the art of conversation. It wouldn`t hurt to stop talking on a smart phone for an hour or so. The world will still turn at the same rate without you being in contact. (Feel free to cut this out Urbanspoon is this is not a place to rant.)

Good prime rib. This place is pretty good! I would much rather come here than the Keg. Since our family is bigger on real home cooked food than the 'chain style' usually frozen food. Their prime rib is excellent, and they usually have enough throughout the night! I have only ever had a bad experience here, and it mostly had to do with timing. Our reservations were pushed back and hour resulting in a rushed meal to be in time to pick up our baby from the sitter. It wasn't very appealing eating a full on meal at 1030 at night. (just not my cup of tea - as I am usually in bed at this time-kids lol) Other than that we normally really love it here. The food is delicious enough that we had our wedding dinner here!

My "special occasion restaurant". I adore this place. This is the one restaurant that I have absolutely no complaints about. They always make sure your steak is literally perfect and they will let you keep sending it back until it is. We come here when we are celebrating a milestone because it's guaranteed to be a memorable and delicious evening.

Best cuts of beef in town. Cooked just right everytime.

Great. I love steak and this is a great place for that steak craving. The scenery is good and the atmosphere is terrific.

Very Nice. If you like steak you will love this place. They make the best steak in town. They don't have just steak though. You can get almost anything here. With the (3) restaurants in the same building (Martini's & Del Dente) you really have a great selection. Try all (3) restaurants and I'm sure you will like them.

Very elegant dining and a wonderful atmospere! The mains are delicious and tender, although side dishes could use some fix ups.

We are huge fans of the Charcoal Group and visit their restaurants quite often both for celebrations or everyday dining. So it wasn't too surprising that my brother and sister-in-law choose one of their restaurants to hold my nephews' First Communion luncheon. When we arrived, we were shown to a private room set up for the 16 guests invited to celebrate my nephews' special day. The room was cozy and perfectly decorated. The service was exceptional. There were 3 servers assigned to our table. They made sure that drink orders were taken care of and water glasses constantly filled. The menu consisted of three appetizer choices - daily soup, Caesar salad or spinach salad.  I picked the daily soup which was a carrot ginger soup. This soup was thick...not baby food consistency thic

This is the Classic New York Striploin at one of Kitchener's best steakhouses. It's quite good, but what makes the meal even better is the sweet potato frites. They are the best.