charcoal

food was delicious and creative, service was fantastic. i had fried sweetbreads and a ribeye. we had a nice view of the river, and i watched baby ducks swimming around during our meal.

wonderful food. my husband and i just love this place! the fried chicken alone is enough of a reason to return again and again! souvide preparation makes it moist and delicious, with a thin crispy breading that is light and healthy. they use griggstown chickens, free range, organic and simply the best quality around (and local!) ...this place is very health conscious and the food amazingly tasty. we keep coming back. great lunch spot too. so glad i live close by. big winner in yardley borough!

shameless arrogance. four of just left charcoal tonight hungry. after trying to rationalize the irrationally arrogant menu, one is quickly in the corner of just needing to pick something off this silly list.
the portions were so small, one had to laugh. one dinner boasted a 7.5oz steak with a creamed spinach side. what came were four slices of tenderloin. the 'spinach' was exactly 1 teaspoon of green liquid garnish. two of us ordered pastas. the pasta serving sizes were each equal to a hospital bedside oatmeal cup. at least in the hospital one also gets eggs and toast as well! my pasta's menu description read to be a "pepperoni bolognese", whereas this oatmeal serving contained not a single visible speck of anything resembling a protein. this is not a small plate, this is a dinner. red sauce with some mozzarella under a broiler. pitiful. insulting. arrogant. if these pastas sat next to a real steak, which charcoal is also unable to produce, they would remain barely noticeable.

the small plates redefine 'small'. so we order some to share and kick things off. on average, two bites (yes bites!) per plate at $14 each. four people, $170, for a dinner that would still not respectably feed two.

we were there saturday night prime time to see a poor showing of people. it seems we are not alone in being tired of taking insults from these pompies.

my advice. skip a small plate at $14 of overstated whatever. you won't miss it anyway. save one of your byo wines for the large pizza you'll need to order somewhere else after your being insulted at charcoal.

if you are hungry and want to be fed good food and be satisfied don't go here. if you are a foodie and are into expensive but small creations go ahead. this used to be a local yocal place around 10 years ago where i would take my kids after pre-school. unfortunately, nothing stays the
same.

fabulous food. yardley-ites have to get over the fact that their favorite diner has become a foodie fascinator! the food stands alone in quality and flavor. classics with a bit a a twist to make them smart and delicious. go! but be warned....it's no longer the diner on the delaware. it's much much much better.

disappointed. no longer the type of establishment i remem
ber and what it should be. menu has a total of 14 items on it - no longer has a good breakfast either. trying to be too upscale. should have stuck with steaks, burgers, etc instead of duck, scallop appetizer featuring only 2 scallops. charge extra for potatoes with the chicken dinner?/ looks like a diner and it should still be that but trying to be a gourmet , upscale, expensive place. do not look at old menus online - must have changed hands.do not bring kids - nothing to eat on menus and too expensive.

simply amazing. i was lucky enough to experience charcoal on my trip to the area in january. i tried the escargot (a first in my life, and now i think i'm ruined--nothing will ever taste that good ever again)! i was impressed with the menu, the attentiveness of the servers, and their general good attitude and helpfulness in explaining menu items. the ricotta ice cream and beet cake were unbelievably good.

what happed to the charcoal steaks?. went here on a thursday night. didn't realize that was now a find dining french restaurant. we were very dissappointed with the food, very small portions and very high prices. i was really looking forward to have a steak cooked on the grill. it was january and i wanted a taste of summer, but all that was on the menu was a hangar steak not charcoal grilled. in fact why do they call it charcoal. nothing is charcoaled grilled.are they trying to compete with the yardley inn? oh well i won't be back....by the way it is not kid friendly..

went here on a saturday night around 6. although there were countless open tables they would only seat us at the "bar area". this was a little disappointing because there are a lot of nice tables along the windows that look out over the delaware river. we didn't have reservations so we didn't put up a fight. the "bar" is hardly a bar (it's byob) it is more of a counter similar to a diner that looks over the service area and into the kitchen. once we got over this and started to look at the menu we got excited. the menu looked very enticing with a lot of nice options. the food was very good. we had a pork loin and the fried chicken entrees and both were done nicely. it was fun to peek into the kitchen. the cooks were very at tentative to what was happening out on the floor and seemed to be timing things well for folks. overall a nice spot. not a fancy atmosphere although it is pleasant inside. plus, you can't beat the byob prices. worth a look.

too bad : (. really liked going to charcoals when we were first introduced to the place but.....they change the menu so often you dont know what you are going to get and the staff gets really snappy if you dont like something.
wont be going back any time soon.

has potential.. i found this restaurant on urban spoon. sounded like an interesting place to try especially being a byob!! tried to make reservations but was told they only take reservations for a party of 8 or more... but max wait is usually only 10 min. our party of 4 arrived at 6:30pm and we waited 25 min. things seemed disorganized right from the start. a party of 5 had a "reservation" but they walked in just as their table was given away since they were 10 min. late!
menu choices were amazing and i wanted to try everything! so, for my main course i chose the roasted butternut squash soup, almond cinnamon puff for $6.00 and for my main course i chose the 13 hr. pork belly, bourbon pear apple sauce, honey corn bread and peanut butter powder for $17. my husband had the hamburger with a fried egg and pickled onions $11. our friends chose the grilled romaine as their first course for $7. and one had the ny strip (petite size) for $19 and the other had the filet medallion $22.
the good news is everyone enjoyed their food. the bad news is we waited for 45 min. for our first course and then about another 35 for the second course. we luckily filled up on their stale bread and got tipsy on our own wine! being a "french american bistro" the portions were very, very small. my soup was served in a great big bowl but i think i squeezed out 4 spoonfuls. my pork was very tasty but very fatty...the peanutbutter powder added a great dimension to the dish but the pear sauce was almost invisable. i almost got the lobster cake ($16) for my main course but i saw one on the next table and even tho it was served on a large plate it was very tiny! (so glad i did not get that!)
we were offered a desert menu but after waiting sooo long for our table, meals and the small portions, we knew that would be a bad idea.
when we were seated we enjoyed the view of the river but once it got dark the view went away so did the ambience. (maybe flood lights could change that.)
i will not rush back to this restaurant. we were told they were a man short in the kitchen, maybe that would help, but if i did go back i would eat before going there or i would order the delicious burger my husband had!

absolutely fantastic!!!!. we visited this restaurant over the weekend with our child, friends and their 2 children. i was a little nervous about whether they were 'really' kid-friendly since we both have pretty active and outspoken 2 and 3 years olds, along with a 9 month old.

we were pleasantly surprised by the location, staff and the food was amazing! everyone enjoyed every single bite of their meals and we definitely went to town by ordering multiple appetizers, soups, entrees and desserts.

the view was gorgeous (and we had the pleasure of being able to enjoy it before and after sundown) and everyone we met on the staff were more than friendly and accommodating.

this restaurant is definitely on our list to visit again during our next trip to pa!


-----09 aug, 2010-----

fabulous!!!

the hubby and i went in for the first time this weekend. the duck quesadillas were amazing!! we loved it.

directly across from the delaware river in yardley is charcoal steaks n’things, a bright steakhouse that is truly family style in a way chain steakhouses only claim to be.

two thumbs up. go for breakfast and get the crab omelett. yummy!