Presto Bar & Grill

Very poor service. Unremarkable at best.

This place seems to be going a tad downhill. Super disappointed that the drink specials went up. The waiter was super nice, but the service was slow. If you do go, then sit downstairs… it seems that they had better service. Well drinks on Fridays are $ 5.00 and not worth it. Pizza was decent and the spinach artichoke dip was pretty awesome.

I’ve seen some iffy reviews, but the sunset patio view makes a visit worthwhile. So, I caught up with girly-​friend & lo, behold…½ price wine & $ 3 cocktails! (rah!) (Wednesday)
Based on the reviews I knew I would only eat a salad or the pizza. Maybe an app, but staying away from meat.
We decided on a nice bottle of New Zealand, Maunta Valley Pinot Noir. Screw the cap! It’s tasty! It went down nicely with our Spinach Pizza. This crust is one of the best in town.
We were super pleased with our server and the 2^nd story patio gave a great view of the storm coming in from the SE and the sunset in the West.
They have canvas curtains they roll down for bad weather or run inside, because it’s very spacious with bars on the first and second story.
We had very good service. A super nice manager greeted us warmly & checked on us twice. We felt welcomed and well-​treated.
I appreciate the Unilocal Community’s honesty in their reviews. I didn’t have high (or low) expectations. Admit it… Charlotte’s got a pretty high standard. I was satisfied with my experience and would go again.
p. s. they are also on Foodie Call

I went to this place on a weekend visit to Charlotte. Don’t know why we chose this place out of all the other visually appealing places around. (/​from the outside, it doesn’t look very nice)
I ordered the quesadilla appetizer as my meal and it was plenty. It came with salsa and sour cream on the side. The quesadilla itself was pretty tasty; the tortilla was nice and crunchy and the meat was well seasoned. I found a big piece of plastic in my sour cream. I probably should have said something, but I didn’t because I’m in the industry and I’m weird about complaining. Especially since our server was very nice.
The place could use some updating. Some colleagues of mine had the tilapia lunch special and it was HUGE with an abundant amount of fries too.

I’m simply not a fan of this place and don’t plan on going back so let me explain why…
Last fall, before a panthers game I came here and had a pretty decent lunch-​I had a tasty buffalo chicken wrap with fries and two Bloody Mary’s (yes it was one of those Sundays) and all was good. I left for the game with a decent memory of Presto.
Fast forward to the new owners and disappointed is the best word that comes to mind. First, I met a co-​worker for a quick lunch, which meant I wasn’t hungover or imbibing, so it was a much more objective assessment. I paged through a menu that has a serious identity crisis from mediterranean to American to italian pasta dishes to typical bar food and settled on a chicken gyro sandwich… when in doubt, I always go the specialty cuisine. When it arrived it had tzatziki on the side (good) and some weird, greasy dressing drizzled inside (not good). To make things worse, after my first taste, I almost sent it back to say I ordered chicken, thinking they gave me fish… but them realized the consistency was chicken with a really bad taste.
Nonetheless, I ate the pita bread and wilted greens I got for a side salad and split… with a stomach ache to follow.
I really try to give places more than one try before writing a bad review but you couldn’t pay me to go back for another try

Restaurant dot com you’ve let me down once again. I’ve got to ask myself why do I keep doing this. I guess the good restaurants don’t have to use coupons. To be fair we ordered the three steak options on the menu, all a huge disappointment. First we must of got the «sell by this date» steaks because its easy to tell what a previously frozen steak tastes like. Second the New York strip was cut by the first day of culinary school student, coincidence Johnson & Wales is so close, hmm? No offense to Johnson and Wales but every school/​university has drop outs. One side was about ¾ inch, other side an inch, and was cooked to a shoe leather consistency. No excuse for an overcooked steak ever, and all ordered medium rare.
Avoid this place even if free.
Oh yeah should of walk out when saw it was also a «Hookah» lounge, seriously?

It has been a while since I have visited Presto. I recall their mussels appetizer — absolutely scrumptious! Unfortunately, these are no longer on the menu. In any case, the fried calamari appetizer hit my hungry spot like a bomb! I really enjoyed all that I ate (and it was a lot). My entrée, Primavera with shrimp was very well prepared and tasty. The amount of shrimp and broccoli included was sufficient. Of course I couldn’t eat it all because of all the calamari I had eaten. I look forward to enjoying it for lunch. The fairly new staff member that served our party was attentive and cooperative. He deserves 5 thumbs up for the great service. All of the dishes were appealing to my eyes and I heard no complaints from the table. We had a private, quiet dinner held upstairs. The waiter didn’t even sway us to leave as the restaurant had already closed. He suddenly appeared carrying his jacket and we got the message! :) I am giving Presto 5 stars for this Tuesday night affair. Weekends are another matter…
The corking fee is $ 10. Not bad when you BYOB.
The $ 20 for $ 40 Unilocal special came in handy. It pays to check in!

Eh.
I had the chicken alfredo; the noodles were hard, the sauce was thin. Boyfriend had steak au poivre, which turned out to be brown gravy dumped over the steak. Interestingly, the steak was actually really good. and the gravy was good too but brown gravy over steak does not make it steak au poivre.
Not their fault, but their credit card machines were down for like an hour… they did comp us drinks while we waited though. So, let’s make that a 2.5 stars.

My husband and I went to Presto on a Tuesday night around 6:30. It was very, very bad. Very bad. So very bad that I’m writing my first Unilocal review.
Summary: Some of the food was decent, but everything else is so so very very bad that it’s not worth it. I will tell people not to go there and I will never go back.
[The BAD.]
There was one guy playing hostess/​waiter/​bartender/​bus boy, hitherto referred to as HWBBB.
We went there specifically to sit on the patio because the weather was awesome, but were told we couldn’t because the HWBBB was the only one on staff.
The temperature in the restaurant was HOT. Stifling. Not normal. 70 outside, 85 inside.
The menu was schizophrenic. I had no idea what to order. Sushi, pitas, pizzas, steak. Plus a «build a 3-​course meal» option. I felt like I was reading the menu at Cheesecake Factory.
They played dance music? Which is just weird in a restaurant setting.
They were out of several things. I asked the HWBBB, «What beers do you have on draft?» He said, «We only have 2. We usually have 4 but we ran out of 2 today.» So I’m already disappointed and I don’t even know what they have yet. My husband ordered a glass of Malbec and the HWBBB came back and said they didn’t have it.
My order was wrong. I ordered a side salad in lieu of fries. I received an entrée salad in addition to my meal, which still came with fries. I ordered a chicken kebob sandwich and received a beef kebob sandwich. We decided things were so bad at this point that I didn’t tell the HWBBB of his error. I sucked it up and ate the stupid beef.
The beef was very pink in the middle and was of extremely poor quality. Maybe stew meat. I chewed each piece the point I’d realize it wasn’t going to break down any further and then spit out what remained. I’m usually not such a disgusting dining companion but this place brought out the best in me. I kept wishing for a normal chewable digestible piece but ended up eventually spitting out every single piece of beef.
We had a groupon and when the HWBBB brought the bill we got lectured on all the items the groupon did not apply towards. Like alcohol (fine) and the $ 20 3 course meal my husband ordered, «because that’s already a deal, but I’ll make an exception, just this once.»
We settled the bill before the dessert from my husband’s meal came. Our HWBBB was puzzled that we were still sitting there and eventually asked what else he could do for us. We asked if he could bring the dessert we ordered.
The apple crisp was like flour and sugar mixed with 3 apple chunks, stuck in the microwave on high for 10 minutes, topped with ice cream.
[The not so bad.]
The beef tasted good, even if I couldn’t chew it.
My husband’s shawarma was good.
The tzatziki sauce was very good.
The pita bread was good.
The salads were ok.
The curly fries that came with our meals were reminiscent of Jack ‘n’ the box, one of many other places I dislike but would rather have eaten at.

I came here for lunch during work. The food was decent but 2 issues, 1 major one. First — the water at this establishment is disgusting. My friend got water with ice and it was awful and so I got water without ice and it was just as awful. And I don’t mean a slight aftertaste… it was very apparent to both of us that something was wrong with it. It tasted like metal or plastic. Which makes me worry that the water they use in cooking and other drinks like ice tea or lemonade is contaminated with something. Second issue, not as huge, but we both ordered a sandwich, and the waitress didn’t bother to ask what side we wanted — We didn’t realize it came with a side until the food showed up with fries.

This place somehow gets a lot of people coming for the food. Personally though I have never eaten here this review goes over the hookah here which is awesome!
You can’t smoke hookah outside so you’ll usually be seated outside on the small patio, or upstairs on the 2^nd floor. There’s tons of flavors to choose from ranging from $ 10 – 15 which is a terrific value considering how long it lasts! The scenery around here isn’t exactly the greatest even though it is downtown. Last time I was seated on the front patio and watching the cars go past and wondering how some people’s eardrums weren’t blown out by their bass we got pestered by the local homeless guy for some change. I think his name was Teddy, and he gave us a dance until the manager came outside and chased him off.
I’d probably suggest eating somewhere else and just coming here for the hookah. The menu looks positively bland, but the hookah is top notch, and the waiters are super friendly and even give me water and refill it regularly. I like that, also you should get the honeydew hookah. It’s fabulous!

I want so much to give Presto 3.5 stars as a result of the great service… but will stay with 3 stars! My KB After Dark Crew had it’s quarterly get together at Presto last night and everything was good. The service was oustanding. So… why not a higher rating… well… when you have a large group and want to have a table full of appetizers… and cannot get chicken quesadilla… or mussels, it is disappointing! Those are two items we have come to enjoy at Presto! Perhaps mussels are out of season? Well… are flour tortillas to make the quesadillas also out of season :-(. Our crew will return… the drink specials were great… one person in the party did not like the rubbery steak wrap… but for the most part… they are worthy of another visit! And I loved the Hot Mama… ohhhh that is pizza served with pesto and other wonderful fresh ingredients. so very good! And… one of these days… all restaurants will waive the fees to open a bottle of wine… and there will be no corking fee!!! I love my wine… I don’t like corking fees!!!

Definitely A-​OK. It has been several years since we had been here, but the gorgeous weather and the great view from their 2^nd floor patio gave us a reason to come back. Even though one side of the patio faces a gravel parking lot and a Greyhound bus station, the other side offers a very nice view of uptown — especially at night.
Our service was prompt and good which was nice since we were heading to a play. Presto may seem like it’s a far walk from Trade and Tryon, but it’s only 5 minutes, or you can catch the free Gold Rush when it’s running.
The number one thing on the menu here is the hummus and tzatziki appetizer. The hummus is made fresh and is the best I’ve had in Charlotte. I ordered crab cakes for my entrée, but they were a bit mushy and sloppy. There were three medium sized ones served above a lot of plain white rice (too much) and some broccolini on the side. Just an «ok» meal — nothing great. The other half got a grilled salmon sandwich which was ok too. They have a large wine list, but puny beer selection. Their special on Friday was $ 2.50 imports, but they only had four to choose from. Still, an Amstel light for $ 2.50 is a pretty darn good deal.
I may not going running back to Presto or highly recommend it to anyone, but I will go back — mainly for their nice patio. It’s a bit small and can get crowded, but it’s worth the wait. Seeing a supermoon rise above the skyscrapers from there was a great view. It’s also a good option when the restaurants closer to the heart of uptown are crowded.

Oh, Presto, my experience here was just — not — good. First, my rating of ²⁄₅ stars is based primarily on the food, not the service.
I dined with a friend on a week night. The restaurant was pretty empty, no wait for a table. Our server was friendly and adequate, not magnificent.
I decided to give Presto a try since they had a groupon coupon a while back. So I had some money to spend, and Iwas able to taste quite a few dishes. We started off with two appetizers: calamari and crab dip. Calamari was very good; however, the sauce was, well, gross. It was overly sweet and had an odd flavor. We just ignored this and ate the calamari, as is. The crab dip was another disappointment. We were given plenty of chips, way more than we had dip for, which is never a great sign. The cheese had a Velveeta consistency which I absolutely despise! The cheese was loaded on the top with almost no crab flavor. Toward the bottom there were whole chunks of crab… and you guessed it… now without any cheese!
I ordered the lasagna which came with a salad. I ordered the Caesar salad. Wow, this was just embarrassing (for them). It was literally chopped Romaine with bottled dressing (I’d bet all my money — Ken’s Steakhouse non-​creamy kind). I had about 4 bites and just put it aside.
The lasagna. Well, remember that sauce with the calamari? That’s what is in the lasagna! I actually had to send the dish back. I was so disturbed by this sauce that I HAD to ask what was in it. Well, tell me what you think — tomato sauce with cinnamon, and brown sugar.
I traded it in for a sandwich. I just didn’t know what to do. I got a veggie sandwich with fries. As a PS — bread was over saturated with oil but veggies tasted good. Fries were under seasoned.
Not going back, but I think this place may be better as a lunch destination.

Went here while visiting my sister in Charlotte… and it was decent enough. Staff was friendly, fairly busy for lunch time crowd but not swamped. I got the fired tilapia which came with fries and cole slaw. It was good. Cooked right and the fries were just crispy and salty enough for my taste.

My husband and I had the most awesome experience at Prestos our waiter Alex and Alaina were the best they suggested the shrimp & grits and the chicken martini and both were great! We will definently be back thanks for a great dining experience.

Oh Presto… how I’ve driven by you for 3 years and never popped in. Well thanks to a
gift certificate we checked it out recently. First impression… where are the people? Granted it was a Monday night, so I let it be. We sat upstairs. Service was good, but my food was just ok.
Ordered the Chicken Martini, which was described as chicken w/​mashed potatoes and spinach. I guess I expected something different (thinking healthy for a moment), as the meal came out bathed in gravy all over everything and the chicken was breaded. My comment, was «ooo, bummer». The chicken was cooked nice after I scraped the gravy off. This in essence describes the majority of the menu… smothered food/​cream sauces.
The calamari appetizer was good, though more than enough. Be careful not to get full on it prior to the entrée. If so, think sandwich or salad for the second course.

Hmmm… Presto if we were dating I may just pull a «it’s not you, it’s me.» I want to like your quirky interior, semi-​convenient location and extensive menu but it just isn’t going to work out long term. I need more substance in my life, and I just don’t think that you can provide that for me.
In all seriousness, I really wanted to give Presto a good college try. Here’s the lowdown…
The Good: Extensive menu — lots of options, especially for the picky eaters out there. HUGE portions… honestly…gargantuan and therefore affordable. Free parking across the street if needed during the weekdays.
The Meh: The food was just ok. The calamari was pretty tasty and, as mentioned before, could have easily served as an appetizer for four hungry folks. I wish it was a little crispier and had more flavor. I had the coconut shrimp which weren’t bad, just a little greasy. Note, however, this meal came with eight shrimp for $ 12 — that’s a deal. Presto reminds me a bit of a non-​chain version of TGI Friday’s or Applebees with their large menu, huge portions and overly sauced/​fried items.
Overall: It’s not bad by any means, I just don’t have a huge desire to go running back here any time soon. Maybe if I stop by another time I’ll try a salad?!

Ok. Maybe I went here at the wrong time or something but I have to put in my two cents. This is not a really cool hang out. The bar is really small and the staff was really unfriendly. I went around 5pm on a Tuesday, but I don’t think that was the problem. The place just seemed small and shabby to me. Im sorry to bash it because there are a lot of really good reviews here. So just take my review with a grain of salt. I will update my review when I give it a second chance and make it through my beer and order some food. Sorry guys. I would say make your way deeper into the city and try someplace else.
I gave it one star at first. That was too harsh.
–Ian M.

I’m really trying to branch out more into Uptown… ye though I walk through the valley of death… oops, I digress.
The Hubbs and I had a guest in town and he suggested we eat here. I happened to take a chance on this place, without consulting Unilocal,and I have to say I’m glad I *again* (see Golden Taipei) went out on blind faith!!!
I got the Ravioli Pecca-​something-​Italian-​sounding and it was tasty! Had those cute, broccoli and sun-​dried tomatoes… mmm mmm! My husband got some sort of roast beef sammie and the meat was cooked au jus. Needless to say, he was full and happy and our guest joyfully guzzled down some chicken wings (because apparently, where he lives in West bumble-​**** Virginia no one makes chicken wings?! But, that’s another blasphemy for another day).
What makes me a fan is the fully-​loaded bar and drink selection. Our waitress made a wonderful recommendation based off of how I was feeling (Libra Love: Crown Royal, Malibu Rum, Pineapple juice, and raspberry something-or-other…can you tell it worked?) and I appreciated how she kept the rounds coming (our guest enjoyed Jack & Coke). The atmosphere was pretty chill and they can cater to larger parties, so I’m already thinking about some type of girls night outing including Presto!
This would also be a great date night spot (reserved for pay day weekends)