Stefan M.
Yelp
VERY DISAPPOINTING!
Today I was in Woodbridge and decided to have a steak lunch. Looking online I found the charbroil Grill website and they seemed to have good reviews; so I stopped in for lunch, not knowing what kind of steakhouse it is until I was greeted and told it is abuffet style, all you can eat restaurant very much the same style as Fogo de Chao in the DC area.
The ambience was pleasant, the staff was very ATTENTIVE and polite and friendly. Their salad buffet is good. I'm not going to say it's excellent because it was not as sumptuous as the one at Fogo de Chão, but it was good. I sat down and the young lady who took care of me explained everything to me that they have a regular menu at $41 and an expanded menu at $55 that includes prime meats, such as filet mignon and others; so I opted for the expanded menu, again because I've never been to this restaurant before and so I thought I'll give it a try. The first item I received was a spicy sausage, which was absolutely exquisite! Very delicious very well prepared so much so that I even asked for a second one! But my disappointment began when I started receiving the meat items. I had told the server that I would prefer my meats prepared medium-well, but the first piece of meat I received was almost overcooked and tough, so I explained to her and asked her to change my orders to medium, which she promptly agreed.
I liked the sirloins, the turkey and the shrimp. I did not really care for the lamb or prime beef because both of them tasted a little bit too fatty and not enjoyable, at least for my palate. But my biggest disappointment was the so-called "filet mignon" , it was prepared medium, which I liked, but it was tough. It was gristly and cooked with the blue skin on it. I did not eat even half a bite of it and then put it away. I explained that to the waitress and her justification was that it's a buffet style restaurant and so will not be prime quality meat! I paid my total bill which was came to $65 including one lemonade that I had and I rounded it up to $75 including tip; but I must say I don't think this lunch or this meal was worth more than $35 or $40 in my estimation.
another issue that I would like to bring thing to the attention of this restaurant is that if you are calling yourself a steak restaurant, then at least provide a steak knife for the meats rather than a regular serrated-edge dinner knife that shreds the meat rather than cutting it, making it less enjoyable. Also, if you claim to serve filet mignon, then please make sure that your filet mignon is free of any gristle and the blue skin that was cooked together with the steak.