char bar

tasty but very expensive. my first visit today for lunch. triple crown sandwich was very good ($10.00). mini pit beans were tasty but the portion is very small ($3.00). the french fries were not at all spectacular but were very expensive ($4.00). ice tea was normal ($3.00).servicewas good. 3 stars because $22 (before tip) for a sandwich, fries and a drink is way too much. maybe that is why the lunch crowd was so small. in spite of a good sandwich, i won't be back.

the food at char bar was pretty good overall. the atmosphere was really fun/trendy and the beer selection was better than average. it’s a shame theservicehere is so, so bad.

i came in with a small party to celebrate my birthday a couple of weeks ago and the first staff member we encountered ignored us to the point of awkwardness. we stood in the entrance alone for a couple of minutes wondering how the seating worked (it was our first time here). there was noone at the welcome counter, but there was a young guy walking around near where we were standing. a member of my party walked up and asked if the restaurant was open seating. he was visibly put off that we asked the question and curtly responded that no, it’s not. a second char bar employee came to the welcome desk and happily asked us how many were in our party. we told her and she asked us to follow her outside where we were seated. as we walked away i realized that the first employee’s job was to be a host. horrible first impression.

our waitress was very good. she was attentive and our order came out perfect. she had great timing on asking us if we wanted more to drink. props to her.

after eating, my party decided to play bocce ball ($5/hr i think) and have a couple more drinks. we wanted to sit by the court, but the tables in that location were covered in bottles and glasses. one glass was broken. it took us about 5 minutes to find and flag down an employee to ask that the tables be bussed. when we found one, we received a similar “why are you bothering me with this” attitude from a blond-ish guy in a black button up. someone, not the person we asked, came over and gave us more attitude while they cleared the empties that we did not leave and had been sitting there for at least 30 minutes without being bussed like we were somehow putting them out.

this holier than thou attitude continued at the outdoor bar when i tried to order a drink. i tried to ask the bartender (they had a ponytail, goatee and long, manicured nails) about a sour on tap that i hadn’t seen before. they didn’t turn around to respond and mumbled toward the taps. when i asked them to repeat what they said, they started pouring a different sour that i did not want. when i tried to stop them and point out that i was asking about a different beer, they rolled their eyes and began pouring the second beer without answering me.

probably not going back unless someone drags me here. it’s a cool concept, but the staff needs some training on how to conceal pretension and provide quality, attentive customer service.

had sunday brunch here a few days back.  i had the burnt ends benedict.  yes.  i said burnt ends benedict.  it was just amazing.  one of the best single items i have had in a while.  the burnt ends were very very good and the sauce was a great compliment.  it was our first visit here andservicewas very attentive and accommodating and truly friendly and helpful with menu questions.  we had several different items at our table of 5 and everyone seemed to enjoy their meals.  the sunday  chicken was on point and my wife's chicken and waffles were also very tasty.  (yeah, i sampled...)  great dining rooms and bar area plus the outside patio was just a really cool space.  they had baggo, croquet, bocce ball, and lots of other stuff for adults to do out there as well as a separate bar and lots of patio tables.  i can see this being a frequent stop.

one of the best brunches i've had in kc. skip the beet & the hoecakes were fabulous but theservicewas subpar. chicken & waffles were excellent as well. would have given a 5 if theservicewas what i'd expect for the price range.

this is a decent place but needs to focus on their take out menu and customer service.
pros: the bbq ribs and burnt ends are reeeeeaaaaalllly good!

the sides are pretty good. some are better then others. they have good mac n cheese especially if you get a small side of pig tail mac n cheese and stir it in. amazingly good, smoky and cheesy.
they have delicious fried pickles and fried green tomatoes. i have had an amazing pimento grilled cheese sandwich on sour dough w/ avocado for the vegans out there. delicious. i have enjoyed the jalapeño corn bread muffins and the chive butter and tobasco jelly were perfectly matched. i even used the tobasco sauce to dip my burnt ends in because it's that good.

the cons: all the wonderful and delicious things i just mentioned are hit and miss!!!!'
this place suffers from inconsistent execution of food quality. i will give them one reprieve in this critique and say that the burnt ends have been exquisite every time. but you are rolling the dice on there sides, the sandwich and especially the corn muffins. i had to return the corn muffins twice in one take out order because they were coming out cold, hard and dry. i get take out a lot because i can't always come in to eat and i have had one manager explain how much better the food is if you just come in and sit down. i think that is a ridiculous response to an insatisfied customer when they even charge you .50 cents extra per item to get it to go.
not an ignaramous and yes food is usually presented better when dining in but did my fried pickles have to come in a rows paper bag where all the breading fell off and they balled up so the grease ran out the bottom and leaked through the main bag that it was in. and remember they charged me extra for that awesome service!!!! :-/
my mac n cheese may have bread crumbs and cheddar on top of it in the to go container and sometimes it doesn't. the corn bread muffins were so moist and flaky the first time that i went on yelp and raved about them and the next time after two tries they kept over cooking them. and....um.....excuse me mr. manager. but do i have stupid written on my forehead? don't tell me these are made to order ween i sat there and waited for them and they came out cold, hard and dry again. i have been insatisfied with their food lately but that's probably my fault for going to often and expecting to much based on what they served the day before.

the food has the potential to be amazing but they are severely inconsistent in what they serve day after day.

on an ending note: i was irritated after dealing with a male manager that seemed butt hurt that i didn't like his hard corn muffins so my wife and i were going to go to jack stacks bbq in the plaza where theserviceis phenomenal and the sides are always consistently delicious every time. however, we haven't had their actual bbq yet. so filled with a mission to show the char bar that hey suck and i'm going to spend my money over here at js instead i ordered the burnt ends.

i have been humbled!

the jack stack burnt ends can't hold a candle to the char bar. yes, the char barsserviceis mediocre in comparison to js. yes, they can't seem to give you the same quality of meal, especially with their take out, like js. but, they have the best damn ribs and burnt ends i have tasted and js can't even compete with the quality and flavor. it hurts me to say it but it is true. the char bar has better bbq and it is worth spending a little more money because they are also a little higher priced but it's worth it.

this rating is all the flavor of their bbq and the lost points are due to the inconsistency with their take out food and the lack luster service.