Ted’s Charcoal Steakhouse

A good friend invited and treated us to this locally owned restaurant and we thoroughly enjoyed our meals and service. The staff was very friendly, expiedant. The steak and baby back rib dinners were outstanding. We highly recommend this restaurant.
When we return to Clinton, we will eat there again.
Ted’s, thank you for a very good dining experience.

Found this quant little place thanks to Unilocal.Quiet. Relaxing. It was out of the way at the end of a pretty much closed down strip mall. Small menu. But I feel if you are going to a steakhouse that should pretty much sum up the menu. They do offer burgers, seafood and a child’s menu. Excellent wait staff. The salad bar is small but fresh. But what??? NO BREAD. I can’t remember the last time I went to a restaurant and they didn’t not offer bread. But wait… Main course came and there was our bread… One lonely piece of buttered toasted Texas toast. I never understood the purpose of Texas toast so while it was bread I was disappointed. I want my rolls and butter. The meals which we both ordered NY strip were delicious!!! Made perfect to our request. I had the broccoli while my husband had the potatoes. I loved the broccoli, hubby said the gravy was canned. All in all if we are traveling through again we will most definately stop again. Let’s hope they have rolls then.

Enjoyed Ted’s today for lunch. We had the big boy burger with cheese and a hamburger steak. Definitely chargrilled and flavorful. The seasoning on the meat was a bit salty but it was a good meal. We rarely order dessert but gave the pineapple cake a whirl. It was super! Great service from our waitress who was extremely pleasant and focused on our good experience.

Awesome food and service. This was my first time eating here and it was great. The chicken was juicy, baked potato was perfect, and the waitress was a sweetheart. Not to mention the homemade Hershey cake-​to die for. I could tell it was made from scratch. I’ll def be back!

My family two teens and and a five year old my wife and myself went to Teds on her birthday waitress was fantastic friendly and patient steaks where delicious enjoyed meal even the tab but hell it was her birthday

My colleague and I came here for lunch one day while working in Clinton. We wanted some good salad options and didn’t have many choices so we ended up at Ted’s. Its located in an old strip mall and has old décor.
The host was super friendly and we were sat immediately. The menu is pretty basic for any small town steak house, kind of dated. We both ordered the grilled shrimp salad. The waitress brought out a pint sized portion for each of us of bleu cheese– disgusting. People in small towns smother their food with the most unhealthy portions of nasty-​ness!
The salads came with bleu cheese crumbles, french onion straws, and bacon. It was delish! Could’ve had more lettuce, but what can you expect when trying to eat healthy in a small town. I’d come again for the salad.

I am a local and very picky about my food and the service. Myself and a large group of friends ate here at Ted’s tonight to hold a meeting. The place was packed… and for very good reason. We were fortunate enough to be seated within five minutes in the room we had reserved in the back. Our waitress, Caelyn was a doll and was great about handling our crowd. Mr. Ted, the owner, came in to check on us a couple times to make sure everything was okay even before our food arrived. .this is with the restaurant being packed.
Once the food arrived, I was very pleased. My chicken was cooked perfectly. I’d asked for it to be cooked really brown and they delivered that perfectly without the chicken being dry. I had a side of a sweet potato as well as an extra side of broccoli. The sides were also delish. Something about their sweet potatoes are always so good. I have a sweet tooth so I have to always ask for extra cinnamon sugar though.
Overall, great atmosphere and service. Everyone had a great time and plan on bringing the crew back again!

We stopped in here by chance. Ted’s is trying hard to be fancy with the soft lighting, wall décor, and classical music playing, but the vinyl table clothes and paper napkins almost nullify that instantly.
Service was great. The food, not so much. When I order a charcoal burger from a steakhouse, I expect it to be thick and juicy on a hot bun. Cold Texas toast and a thin, preformed rectangular burger is a big turn off. I could have gotten a better burger at Wendy’s…and I don’t like Wendy’s. The mashed potatoes obviously came from a box. The gluey consistency gives that away. I could tell that the grilled marinated pork chop that my wife was eating came frozen and prepackaged. Fresh grilled pork chops aren’t tough and don’t puff up in the middle. I worked food service for 20 years before changing occupations, so when I come to a place like this that looks like its going to be really good and get substandard food, it’s a big disappointment.
The kids meals were also lackluster. Frozen chicken strips and fries. Hardee’s sells better chicken strips and fries for less. I don’t expect a whole lot from a kids meal, but at least use fresh chicken breast.
Lastly, this place is in a terrible location. There is a reason that Advanced Auto and Family Dollar moved onto the main strip. Better food and a better location could make this a much better place to eat. The service, again, was excellent, but if you’re going to call yourself a steakhouse and look like a steak house every bit of food should be of high standard.
UPDATE: Unilocal user ‘Ted H.’ sent me the message below concerning my review. Please note that I don’t get any pleasure on giving any restaurant a bad review. I wish I could give every restaurant I visit a good review, but unfortunately when I am served food that falls far below my expectations and standards, I feel that people have the right to know. With that said, if everything ‘Ted H’ said is true, with the exception of me not knowing a whole lot about food, and their food is consistent with what I was served that day, then they are doing something wrong. Perhaps I visited on an off day, I don’t know. I do know that I won’t be going back to find out. Here is the message from Ted H, whom I can only conclude is the owner.
«I understand that you have been in the food business for 20 years, but Ted has been in the food business for 35 years with 2 management employees for 20 years so we know a little something about a restaurant. Our mashed potatoes do not come in a box. Our porkchops do not come prepackaged. Our hamburger does not come in frozen or pre-​pattied. Our porkchops are Ted’s own recipe. They are cut and marinated in store. Our hamburger is 100% Angus Beef, never frozen, pattied daily by hand in a form made for Ted’s. We appreciate your input, but you don’t know a whole lot about food.»

We had a large group of business associates eating at the restaurant for a casual get together. The restaurant was well designed and maintained. Everyone in our group seemed to be very pleased with the salad bar and the items they ordered from the grill. We were half and half on those who ordered chicken and steak. The only negative thing I have to say about the restaurant or dining experience is their appeared to be an employee in the kitchen area and/​or waitress could be heard coughing uncontrollably from the kitchen area by our group. Several of us commented that they hoped he or she was not preparing our food. It would have been better for the business to work a little short handed instead of allowing the employee to continue to work sick in an area where the food was being prepared.

This restaurant has just celebrated its 1^st anniversary and I hope they have many more to come. Inside it’s tastefully decorated with soft lighting that makes it feel warm and inviting. We were greeted like old friends the minute we walked in even though we’d never been there. The salad bar was small, but plenty big enough for dinner salads. It was very fresh, clean and appetizing. The Romaine lettuce a nice surprise, you never see anything other than Iceberg at the other salad bars in town. The only drawback was the lack of a vinaigrette based dressing. My husband ordered hamburger steak smothered in mushrooms with a baked potato and I, the New York Strip-​rare with sweet potato. You could cut the hamburger steak with a fork and my steak was absolutely, perfectly rare.
William, our server was the best. Personable and informative, he knew all the menu items without hesitation and recommended a killer pineapple cake for dessert. We finally have a great place to take visitors to and will definitely be back.
This is hands down the best place to eat in Clinton!

Ted’s is a little gem in a very small town. Tucked away in the back of a half-​empty strip mall, it’s difficult to find but is worth a look. The food here won’t change your life but it’s a tasty way to fill up a hungry belly.
This adorable little restaurant has a homey, country feel. The service was top notch and super friendly. The cute homemade wine bottle décor was a nice touch.
The best thing about Ted’s is their salad bar. It’s very small and limited but the choices they have make a great salad. I’m not a picky salad eater but when a salad bar has lettuce, cheese and bacon, that’s all it takes to make me happy. You can add a trip to the salad bar for around $ 4 but it comes with some meals.
While I loved the service and hospitality, the food was just so /​so. I was taken aback by the prices — they are really high for what you get. The menu has steakhouse prices but the quality is more along the lines of Denny’s than a fine steakhouse. A reality check on the menu is needed.
I opted for the smothered hamburger steak (basically an open faced cheeseburger sans bun for you Yankees who don’t speak Southern) and it was just «meh.» The charcoal flavor was fantastic, but the meat quality was sorely lacking. The rectangle (!!!) beef patty reminded me of something out of a cafeteria. The fake Kraft singles cheese on top didn’t help, nor did the paltry smattering of onions and the canned gravy. Is it too much to ask that, for an $ 11 price tag, I could get a fresh, handmade patty with real cheese on top? I opted for green beans as my side and this is where things really got strange — I was served these thawed green beans that had been grilled on a grill. No discernable seasoning or anything, just some well placed grill marks. Not bad, just weird. The big slab of over-​buttered Texas toast was the best part of the meal (aside from the salad bar).
The weirdest thing happened when I asked for some mustard. They don’t have mustard, only honey mustard. Yes, a steakhouse serving burgers doesn’t have regular mustard!
I don’t want to come off as sounding super harsh about this place, it was fine especially for the area. It’s not horrible food — it’s edible and everything has a very nice charcoal flavor to it. It’s just that the quality is waaaay out of line with the prices.