I was excited to go to this new place in Rockford and excited that it's only 15 minutres from where we live! I tried this place out with my girlfriend from Naperville and couldn't have been happier! The service was exceptional. From Stephanie granting our request to see the rooms upstairs to the bar tenders, greeters and servers, they could not have been more accomodating! I got the cauliflower dish and my girlfriend got the broccolini and french onion soup! All were yummy! Thankful to have this as a dining option!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Katy Scheffler
My first visit earned a 5 star review. The 'steak and fries' was top notch. I went with a friend that had a special dietary request and the Manager stopped by to make sure the need was clearly understood and could be granted. It was great! Love the ambience. Great service too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Carter Goss
Anna was absolutely amazing! We will be back because of her, the food & the atmosphere! Stephanie was amazing as well at the front desk!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mark Radius
We went to enjoy dinner and drinks during Happy Hour and found the prices to be very reasonable. The food was great and so were the cocktails. Regular dinner prices can be expensive, but not out of line when compared to similar restaurants in the Greater Grand Rapids area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Vicki Davidson
We stopped in on Saturday at 5pm for a family dinner! Keith, our server, was fantastic-as was the filet and the adult beverages! Highly recommend the Vermu Espresso Martini with table-side, self toasted marshmallow! Great place to meet family & friends & to enjoy downtown Rockford! Can’t wait to come back & try more of the menu!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Maria Wiersma
If you want to charge big city prices, you better blow me out of the water. Our group of 8 diners who have eaten at restaurants throughout the world was completely underwhelmed at how much we paid for dishes that tasted “interesting.” We were dinning to celebrate multiple family birthdays last night. You don’t pay $1,000 for interesting. The donut appetizer was overdone. I felt nauseous through my meal. I ordered the Salmon. It was underdone. My brother couldn’t finish his steak. He knew something was “off” about it. My sister ordered scallops the kitchen missed and had to wait while we started our meal. The bone marrow seemed quite raw to me as well. Our waitress cracked the cork on our bottle of wine and then proceeded to rest the bottle on the glass when pouring. She used to be a manager at Uchellos so I guess I understand where that came from. Sending servers to the table with wrong menu items is unacceptable for your price point. The burnt cheesecake was the driest I have ever tasted. It was inedible. The dessert menu had 3 items and no variety. Your menu isn’t versatile. If I order a Caesar salad I cannot add chicken. How limiting. Overall this was a limiting experience. How unfortunate when we paid for extraordinary. I also woke up sick the next morning. I think that had to do with the tap water served and how it had a slight fishy smell along with the glass. So honestly, beware and speak up if anything looks underdone.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 1
Hank McNeil
I had the half fried chicken, the the small amount of dark meat was overcooked and dry. I'm a southerner, and i'm not sure what the thing they call grits was.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
Kati A
My husband I stayed at Hotel Rose over on a Saturday so we decided to have drinks and dessert at Char + Barrel. The restaurant looked lovely, but for the prices on the menu I expected high end or at least clean glasses and flatware. Our waitress was so preoccupied someone brought our cheesecake before she brought water or my bourbon flight. The cheesecake was bad I didn’t eat it, but the apple butter sauce on the side was tasty. $87 dollars later for gross dessert, a bourbon flight, water in a dirty glass, and bad service we will stick with The Old Mill when we want dessert and drinks. **the hotel was nice
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
Clay Lipski
We sampled many things, everything was excellent! The staff was remarkable and extremely knowledgeable about every aspect of the menu. Truly a high end restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Andy R
My wife and I came here for our anniversary and it was absolutely amazing! We love Chef Dave and the absolute magic he does with food. Here I am, the apps, the mains, the pasta, and the desserts are all imaginative and crafted exquisitely. The cocktails were awesome and the wine list is well curated. Our service was impeccable, warm and helpful and just enough without ever being overbearing. Does this place have some things to iron out, sure, but seeing as they've only been open for 2 weeks, the quality of everything is pretty spectacular! It's only going to get better! Moreover, it's awesome that Rockford has a truly upscale, yet approachable, restaurant that hits the notes that you would expect from downtown Grand Rapids and East Town.
The early review is a nice addition to downtown Rockford. Keith was an excellent server. Small but nice ambience. We had to ask for a low table vs the high table. They quickly moved us which was nice and more comfortable. Food was good. A great place for a special occasion. We went for my birthday but no special dessert for the occasion. We would like to see more dessert options (chocolate/ peanut butter or cookie skillet) or some nice warm bread w dinner would be a nice touch.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bethany Couture
Wonderful birthday dinner for my husband! Top-notch service in downtown Rockford. Both the server and GM were very friendly and helpful. I ordered the Filet Mignon, it was one of the best dishes I’ve ever had. The dish was sooo flavorful! The potatoes and mushrooms paired wonderfully with the steak. I was a little bummed the french onion soup was sold out, but I hope to try it next time. Highly recommend going here for any special occasion or date night. Such a beautiful restaurant. I will be back soon!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Steven Merriott
Went to char and barrel last night for dinner and drinks with friends and the cocktails were great. I’d confidently say that they are among the best in Rockford, although they are on the pricey side. The $4 up charge to smoke an $18 old fashioned was laughable, butchers union has an excellent smoked old fashioned for just $13. For dinner my wife ordered the ribeye, which was cooked perfectly, although I think the sauce over powered the natural flavor of the cut. I decided to go with the butcher cut steak which was served with French fries, which sadly was the best part of that entree. The entrees all arrived at once but I was disappointed that my steak arrived lukewarm. If I were to order again I’d avoid the butchers cut since it was a flank steak. I’d prefer that quality of cut in a stir fry or fajitas not as a main dish at a steakhouse. Overall we enjoyed the drinks and would absolutely come back and have drinks at the bar but for dining I’d prefer a reservation at butchers union next time we go out. To be fair the restaurant is very new but currently the quality of the food doesn't match the price. On a more positive note, our server was excellent, he was attentive, friendly and professional.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 5
Nicholas Hartog
Good not great. Really overpriced for what it is and location.
French onion soup is just not the same without cheese
$4 extra for smoke for old fashioned really was over the top. Somehow they made an old fashioned (made with sazarac rye, a $25 bottle) into a $22 drink
Vic Hansen
Ok, but quite over priced based on what we received.
I was excited to go to this new place in Rockford and excited that it's only 15 minutres from where we live! I tried this place out with my girlfriend from Naperville and couldn't have been happier! The service was exceptional. From Stephanie granting our request to see the rooms upstairs to the bar tenders, greeters and servers, they could not have been more accomodating! I got the cauliflower dish and my girlfriend got the broccolini and french onion soup! All were yummy! Thankful to have this as a dining option!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My first visit earned a 5 star review. The 'steak and fries' was top notch. I went with a friend that had a special dietary request and the Manager stopped by to make sure the need was clearly understood and could be granted. It was great! Love the ambience. Great service too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Anna was absolutely amazing! We will be back because of her, the food & the atmosphere! Stephanie was amazing as well at the front desk!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We went to enjoy dinner and drinks during Happy Hour and found the prices to be very reasonable. The food was great and so were the cocktails. Regular dinner prices can be expensive, but not out of line when compared to similar restaurants in the Greater Grand Rapids area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We stopped in on Saturday at 5pm for a family dinner! Keith, our server, was fantastic-as was the filet and the adult beverages! Highly recommend the Vermu Espresso Martini with table-side, self toasted marshmallow! Great place to meet family & friends & to enjoy downtown Rockford! Can’t wait to come back & try more of the menu!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
If you want to charge big city prices, you better blow me out of the water. Our group of 8 diners who have eaten at restaurants throughout the world was completely underwhelmed at how much we paid for dishes that tasted “interesting.” We were dinning to celebrate multiple family birthdays last night. You don’t pay $1,000 for interesting. The donut appetizer was overdone. I felt nauseous through my meal. I ordered the Salmon. It was underdone. My brother couldn’t finish his steak. He knew something was “off” about it. My sister ordered scallops the kitchen missed and had to wait while we started our meal. The bone marrow seemed quite raw to me as well. Our waitress cracked the cork on our bottle of wine and then proceeded to rest the bottle on the glass when pouring. She used to be a manager at Uchellos so I guess I understand where that came from. Sending servers to the table with wrong menu items is unacceptable for your price point. The burnt cheesecake was the driest I have ever tasted. It was inedible. The dessert menu had 3 items and no variety. Your menu isn’t versatile. If I order a Caesar salad I cannot add chicken. How limiting. Overall this was a limiting experience. How unfortunate when we paid for extraordinary.
I also woke up sick the next morning. I think that had to do with the tap water served and how it had a slight fishy smell along with the glass. So honestly, beware and speak up if anything looks underdone.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 1
I had the half fried chicken, the the small amount of dark meat was overcooked and dry. I'm a southerner, and i'm not sure what the thing they call grits was.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
My husband I stayed at Hotel Rose over on a Saturday so we decided to have drinks and dessert at Char + Barrel. The restaurant looked lovely, but for the prices on the menu I expected high end or at least clean glasses and flatware. Our waitress was so preoccupied someone brought our cheesecake before she brought water or my bourbon flight. The cheesecake was bad I didn’t eat it, but the apple butter sauce on the side was tasty. $87 dollars later for gross dessert, a bourbon flight, water in a dirty glass, and bad service we will stick with The Old Mill when we want dessert and drinks.
**the hotel was nice
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
We sampled many things, everything was excellent! The staff was remarkable and extremely knowledgeable about every aspect of the menu. Truly a high end restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My wife and I came here for our anniversary and it was absolutely amazing! We love Chef Dave and the absolute magic he does with food. Here I am, the apps, the mains, the pasta, and the desserts are all imaginative and crafted exquisitely. The cocktails were awesome and the wine list is well curated. Our service was impeccable, warm and helpful and just enough without ever being overbearing. Does this place have some things to iron out, sure, but seeing as they've only been open for 2 weeks, the quality of everything is pretty spectacular! It's only going to get better! Moreover, it's awesome that Rockford has a truly upscale, yet approachable, restaurant that hits the notes that you would expect from downtown Grand Rapids and East Town.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
The early review is a nice addition to downtown Rockford. Keith was an excellent server. Small but nice ambience. We had to ask for a low table vs the high table. They quickly moved us which was nice and more comfortable. Food was good. A great place for a special occasion. We went for my birthday but no special dessert for the occasion. We would like to see more dessert options (chocolate/ peanut butter or cookie skillet) or some nice warm bread w dinner would be a nice touch.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wonderful birthday dinner for my husband! Top-notch service in downtown Rockford. Both the server and GM were very friendly and helpful. I ordered the Filet Mignon, it was one of the best dishes I’ve ever had. The dish was sooo flavorful! The potatoes and mushrooms paired wonderfully with the steak. I was a little bummed the french onion soup was sold out, but I hope to try it next time. Highly recommend going here for any special occasion or date night. Such a beautiful restaurant. I will be back soon!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Went to char and barrel last night for dinner and drinks with friends and the cocktails were great. I’d confidently say that they are among the best in Rockford, although they are on the pricey side. The $4 up charge to smoke an $18 old fashioned was laughable, butchers union has an excellent smoked old fashioned for just $13. For dinner my wife ordered the ribeye, which was cooked perfectly, although I think the sauce over powered the natural flavor of the cut. I decided to go with the butcher cut steak which was served with French fries, which sadly was the best part of that entree. The entrees all arrived at once but I was disappointed that my steak arrived lukewarm. If I were to order again I’d avoid the butchers cut since it was a flank steak. I’d prefer that quality of cut in a stir fry or fajitas not as a main dish at a steakhouse. Overall we enjoyed the drinks and would absolutely come back and have drinks at the bar but for dining I’d prefer a reservation at butchers union next time we go out. To be fair the restaurant is very new but currently the quality of the food doesn't match the price. On a more positive note, our server was excellent, he was attentive, friendly and professional.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 5
Good not great. Really overpriced for what it is and location.
French onion soup is just not the same without cheese
$4 extra for smoke for old fashioned really was over the top. Somehow they made an old fashioned (made with sazarac rye, a $25 bottle) into a $22 drink
Ok, but quite over priced based on what we received.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Loading...