Betsie R.
Yelp
this was not a good experience at all. my friend and i were in the clawson area and we were looking up good brunch places to eat at. downtown charlie's had very good reviews on google with 4.5 stars and over 300 ratings. we decided to try this place out, which turned into a big mistake.
my friend and i had limited time since we had to catch a flight so we called ahead to ask if there was a wait, which they told us there was no wait. it was around 2pm when we had arrived and there were only 3 other tables occupied so it was not busy. we had looked at the menu items online prior so we would be ready to order right when we sat down. we had seen a lot of photos online about the master chef dish and apple fritter french toast, which people said were both delicious. when looking over the menu after we sat down, we were surprised to not see those items listed. the waitress greeted us and we had asked about the apple fritter french toast and master chef dishes. she replied "oh we don't have those anymore. the menu has changed. we have a new chef. all of the old staff either left or were fired and i'm the only one who stayed through it all." i quickly began to notice that a lot of the menu had changed and most items listed were very basic breakfast items.
we first decided to order drinks. we ordered two caramel lattes, one iced and one hot. the waitress returned with two iced lattes. we didn't mention the mix up as it was a minor mistake, however the lattes were below average.
next, we ordered our food. i told the waitress that i wanted the hash bash. she replied, "we're out of that." this was frustrating because it would've been nice to know what was unavailable prior to ordering. we chose to order the western omelette with hash browns and sourdough toast instead. we also ordered the french toast. on the menu it read that the french toast is paired with seasonal fruit. we had asked what the seasonal fruit was and she replied "berries." our order was placed.
about 30 minutes had gone by and we started to wonder where the food was, given that it was not that busy and we didn't order complicated dishes. at this point, one table had finished their meal and left and a new couple had sat down. another 15 minutes go by and we still had not gotten our food and the other new couple had only received water, but no one was taking care of them. they were frustrated so they got up and left. my friend finally went inside to ask where the food was and why it was taking forever. we had a flight to catch so we told them to just give us the check and put everything in a box to go. to be honest, i think that's when they had just begun to make the actual food. ANOTHER 15 minutes go by and the waitress finally brings us the to go bag. we ask "do we need to check that everything in the bag is accurate?" she responded, "no, you should be good." this was unreal that we had to wait a full hour for our food.
we get into the car to go to the airport. i open up the to go bag and see that they forgot the sourdough toast with the omelette. i open up the other box and see that the french toast is topped with strawberries, banana, and pineapple. i was very disappointed as she said we would be getting berries. if i knew it came with pineapple, i would have requested to not have that included. plus, pineapple is not a common fruit pairing with french toast as it can make the bread too soggy. lastly, the french toast was made on marble rye bread. it was a complete joke and looked very poor quality. we tried both dishes and it was not anything special.
there are major issues with this place, including lack of customer service, lack of staff training, and lack of sense of time. it seems as though this place used to be good, but with the new management it is not running properly. i could see this place shutting down soon if it's not fixed. unfortunately, we will never come back to this restaurant and i do not recommend eating here.
