Charlie Palmer

I wanted to note that I wrote to Charlie Palmer HQ customer relation dept and got no replies. CP definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I’m glad this scumbag ridden place closed down. The chef and the gm, we’re punks. Biggest jerks on the planet and the worst people I’ve ever worked for in my life. Cokeheads! And that arrogant pretentious little skank behind the bar was a piece of work.

Can I just start with service? It’s the key to any exceptional experience in my opinion and this place really knows what it means to give a dinning experience. Top notch! And the food was amazing. The chef sent out a complimentary amuse-​bouche that was unique, playful and delish! Fried lobster corn dog with mustard crème fresche. The filet was cooked perfectly and the brussell sprouts were some of the best I’ve had. And don’t pass on the dessert. The chocolate peanut butter bar is creamy smooth and decadent… And if that wasn’t enough, they gave me three little soft finger snap cookies to go. I ate them this morning…

So I must say~!!! I’m totally in love with this place! And here’s the main reason why! We get here for a birthday party and the staff was totally nice! But as expected because we are at «Charlie Palmer» But here’s why I loved it! I wanted a Hamburger. YEP… thats what I was feeling like. So I simply asked can I have a hamburger, and the head cooks made specially for me!!! Not only that, it was big and juice and freaking so good! Medium cooked of course and they prepared fresh cut fries just for ME!!! Then not only that, the cooks and staff came out to ensure that I loved my burger! I was to happy!
They did a wonderful job of setting up the cake for the b-​day girl and an amazing display of our dessert wine shots that came in these beautiful flute classes.
And I loved the fact that they let us get a LITTLE loud and didn’t ask us to tone down. SO i MUST say I will return to this place. My friends ordered a lot of different things and they all looked to die for!!! So again, big UP’s for making for giving me a 5 STAR experience!

If I could give this place 10 stars for service alone, I would! My husband and I are big foodies with dreams of being judges on Top Chef ;). Perfection would be the best way to describe our 2 experiences at Charlie Palmer.
The first night, we tried the smoked blue cheese wedge salad, filet, red fish, peanut butter bar, and chocolate bread pudding. Everything was pretty amazing and left us wishing we had a storage stomach to finish it all! The waiter made everything even more 5 star by giving me a glass of complimentary wine which was more like a port wine-​probably the best one I have ever tried. Apparently it is exclusive to the restaurant, so I felt that he really made things special and took such pride in his job and the CP brand.
Now here is the climax of our second experience… I arranged my husband’s birthday weekend at Joule and I conspired with the concierge to create a series of special surprise events and stuff for him. the amazing chefs at Charlie Palmer got involved and were gracious enough to create a custom, off-​the-​menu 10-​course meal for us! I would highly suggest everyone to try it out this way-​literally the best food we have ever tried in the world! It was perfectly prepared and the plating was photo worthy! Frankly, we were so excited to eat each course that we forgot to take pics of them all :). The best part of it all was that the chefs were excited to do this as a way to showcase their talents! Believe me, they are among the best of the best! We will definitely eat here every time we visit Dallas.
Fyi-​The breakfast room service at Joule is from Charlie Palmer. It. Is. Amazing. Try it!

I have been here twice once for dinner then the executive lunch, everything was delicious specially the corn soup with cilantro. The only reason I give 4 stars its because I believe lunch was really expensive. $ 80 lunch for 2 without any alcoholic drinks.

This is a very late review.
So it was my birthday on a Monday. It wasn’t even all that busy. Therefore, I had no clue why the manager waited on us instead of the waiter himself. Service? I give it a 3 stars.
My date ordered the ribeye. This thing is huge. However, after ordering it MR, you would think a 4 ½ star restaurant knows how to cook the steak right. Nope, it was more MW if anything. so I let him eat my steak instead.
The mussels were okay. I had one of the martinis on the list that wasn’t all that great either.
No happy birthdays. nothing to make you feel special but hands out wrapped up cookies at the end of the meal for the ladies.
I would never come back.

Unparalleled service. Enam, the maitre d’, is the consummate professional and has made every visit not only a pleasure but an experience. The chefs are highly trained and their skill is blatantly apparent. I have experienced their tasting menu twice and both times I was blown away. Going so far as to say the best meals I have ever been served. The bar tenders appear to be trained mixologists and have pleasantly surprised me each visit.

My $ 46 medium rare filet mignon was tasty but way overcooked and hard to cut. Creamed spinach topped with egg was delicious. The place was beautiful, but didn’t have a good ambiance. The waiters weren’t personable at all. We did like the free ride back to our hotel though.

I love Charlie Palmer!
Sometimes I get their breakfast and dinner, but I often got their lunch. So delicious!!!
They have amazing quinoa, brussels sprouts, and mushrooms! I always get their veggie plate with the items listed above because they’re just hands down DELICIOUS!
Thank for the awesome dish. Thinking about it just makes me miss it more.

I cannot say enough about this restaurant. The service and food was spectacular, but the service brought it over the top.
My hubby and I took the red eye to Dallas and needed to kill some time while our room was being prepared and we decided to have breakfast here. We were tired… disheveled…tore down and just plain greasy looking when we went in here and sat at the bar to eat breakfast but we were treated like some high brow power couple. Our server made excellent recomendations — the hubs had the CP breakfast and I had the eggs benadict, which, I can honestly say, was THE best rendition of the classic that I have ever had. Even the coffee was delish and the prices were completely reasonable for the quality of product and service.
When my husband got a stomach bug and was confined to the room, I sulked off to Charlie’s for a nice aniversary dinner and was not disappointed. The cocktails were magic — they even knew what a moscow mule and a dark and stormy was! Sweet and Spicy Quail Leg Appetizer, Halibut Entrée and Duo of Crème Brulee were spectacular, but the topper, again, was the service. I sat alone… sulking at a pub table at the bar, but the matre d was extremely attentive. When I told him my sad sack story, he even had the chef write «Happy Aniversary» on my plate before it was served.
I can honestly say that I would probably stay at the hotel Charlie’s is associated with the next time I was in Dallas… if the hotel is as phenom as the restaurant, it would be worth every penny.

Marvelous restaurant for business or an upscale social lunch. The atmosphere is elegant and classy. Not stuffy, though I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a casual restaurant. Service was excellent. The server was a just a smidge unpolished but I chalk it up to experience level. The effort was there and certainly her heart was in the right place. They do know how to train their waitstaff.
I had the pre fixe menu with corn soup and salmon and both were delicious, as was the desert. I liked that the portions weren’t huge and didn’t weigh me down, something to think about for people who have to head back to the office. It’s a great deal at $ 25, considering it would be $ 37 if ordered separately.
I was wearing a dark suit and when I sat down they asked if I wanted a dark napkin instead of the white one they had there, but I passed. I wish I had said yes because when I got up there was white lint all over my suit. Oh well, live and learn.

We came here for Restaurant Week and had high expectations for this place. I’ve been to the hotel before and it’s beautiful, so I was expecting the same for the restaurant. Although it was elegant, clean, and classy, it did feel like a hotel restaurant and I was hoping that it would have more of true restaurant feel. Our waiter was attentive and our food came out relatively on time, but here and there the service was a bit spotty. Let’s review the food now.
Since I came here with a party of 5, we all tried to order different things so we could try each other’s dishes. I really liked the Arugula salad because of the melon and the dressing, but I wasn’t too fond of the ham. The sweet corn soup was definitely a treat with the crispy bacon, but I wish it was more hot. mine was lukewarm. The heirloom tomato salad was probably the best. Very fresh and light, but full of flavor! We orderd the optional 4^th course, shrimp and grits and it was surprisingly delicious! I’ve had grits before and it wasn’t very good, but this dish was amazin — I’d definitely order it again.
Onto the 2^nd/​main course: the steak was good and I liked the braised onions, but there was too much sauce on the steak. The salmon was nice and light, but I would have preferred that it was cooked a bit more. The highlight of the meal was my dish, the house made spinach cavatelli. It was THE BEST pasta I’ve ever had hands down. I normally love to put a whole bunch of sauce on my pasta, but this pasta had almost no sauce. They used the parmesan cheese and squirts of lemon as the sauce and it was light, flavorful, and it made me really appreciate the cavatelli in itself. I’ve never really appreciated the pasta noodle until this dish. The crispy artichokes were a great addition to the dish and I really didn’t need anything else.
The dessert we had was the key lime tart and the whipped milk chocolate. The key lime tart was a bit too tart for me, but surprisingly refreshing. The whipped milk chocolate was delicious — not too sweet and not too chocolately. I didn’t care for the candied cherries though, but I can understand how it compliments the chocolate.
A couple of us decided to do the wine pairing and I have to say that was an awesome experience. The Sommelier did an excellent job in explaining why he choose each wine for each dish. Although he was very busy that night with having to go to each table that ordered wine, he made a great effort to put on a happy face and make sure everyone had a chance to understand their wine. Overall, the food was average with a few dishes being better than average. Service was pretty good and the Sommelier was the best.

I ended up at Charlie Palmer out of desperation because we didn’t make reservations for Christmas dinner far enough in advance. The Unilocal reviews were middling, but hey — we knew wed have a good time regardless of the food quality, the polish of the service, or the relatively «safe» culinary choices.
Charlie Palmer is an upscale restaurant in the Joule hotel located downtown on what is perhaps the only happening street in the area. CP is based on the original CP in Manhattan. They’ve spun off into 15+ establishments from coast to coast.
Our party of three was seated quickly with advance reservations. The hostess was rather cool in temperament but efficiently lead us to our seats. Our waiter took over and took our bar order — he seemed confused that I didn’t have a preference of bourbon in my manhattan. My two dining buddies ordered specialty cocktails from the menu. Their drinks were decent but my manhattan was very diluted with melted ice from the shaker. It filled an entire martini glass in spite of being a 3oz drink. But I didn’t protest.
When it came time to order, our waiter let us know he was already aware of my brother’s gluten allergy thanks to a flag on our reservation. Great! The waiter rattled off which items were gluten free and which weren’t. Christmas Day service offered only a prix fixe menu so choices were a but limited. Amongst the first course, he explained, only the salads were gluten-​free. «Sorry,» he told us. He didn’t make any attempt to see if the dishes could be easily modified or if substitutions could be made.
Our amuse bouche arrived and the chef had produced something special and gluten free for my brother. How nice & completely unexpected.
The first and second courses were mostly unremarkable. Salads, duck meatball soup. Then scallops, monkfish, and pork tenderloin. The pork loin waste obvious winner amongst our choices but none were offensively bad.
Dessert was included in the menu & the waiter had let my brother know that he’d be receiving whatever the chef could manage to create that would fit his dietary restrictions — likely a pear poached in port wine — one component from the menu dessert of a port-​poached pear over chèvre ice cream and phyllo. Much to his surprise and the chef’s credit, out came pear over a sorbet and an almond-​honey crust. It was a delicious and creative gluten-​free take on the menu item. Again, the chef deserves all the praise and the waiter fell short.
Overall, we had a great time, but it was entirely in spite of the front of the house staff and thanks to the back of the house staff.
We left and requested our car from the hotel valet. We had just consumed a $ 300+ meal, but valet still costs $ 8. I suppose if you have $ 300, you likely can afford the cost of valet but surely the place operates on wide enough a margin that charging for valet is unnecessary. it just seemed tacky.
I doubt we’ll return to Charlie Palmer, which is a damn shame. There is potential there, but the attitude from the staff needs to go.

The dinning experience must be bad for us to only leave a 15% tip, frankly this is the worst «fine dining» experience I ever had during my many years of dining around the world’s top restaurants.
We went there for Thanksgiving dinner. We didn’t set high expectations, knowing when a kitchen was catering for large amount of people with a set menu, normally the quality will not be the best.
Food: DH’s Sirloin looked and tasted fine, my bass arrived lukewarm on a cold plate, worst of all, the middle of the fish was UNCOOKED! the green beans were overcooked. Anyway, I got another bass arrived hot and on a hot plate; we both had chicken liver pâté as starter, bland is the only word I can describe it.
Service: Food wasn’t even the worst part of this dining experience, the service was BAD. I thought our server was a cab driver moonlighting, given his attitude and limited English. We waited 10 minutes for a drink list, anther 10 minutes for him to take our drink order. I asked for a Gray Goose and Cranberry juicy, I asked him if they have Diet cranberry juicy, his frowned, and said «I wouldn’t know, I would have to find out». 10 minutes later he put my Gray Goose and Cranberry juicy in front me and just walked way without explaining if it is Diet or not. The whole evening, he didn’t even ask if we would like to have another drink when our glasses were obviously empty.
I really couldn’t stand it anymore, politely asked manager if the server is new or he’s too tired. The manager tried to correct the situation by looking after us himself, this is why I gave this restaurant one star, otherwise it would have gotten a big ZERO.
I thought Charlie Palmer is regarded as a fine dining restaurant in Dallas, not a lobby «Atrium Café» you find at a Sheraton lobby.

Dinner one night was great b/​c of the company and the laid back attitude of the server.
Scallops were PERFECT!!!
The rest of the meal didn’t do much other than make me crave more water. Really, the squid was over-​cooked and so salty neither one of us could eat it.
Such a bummer… the martini’s were weak but strong on the pocket book.
The only great take-​away from breakfast was the amazing coffee.
Overpriced for sure, especially for what you are getting.
Bummer.
The location is interesting. You get a lot of traffic if you sit outside to what the passer-by’s.

Had dinner and breakfast here.
Scallops were outstanding.
Pasta and octopus was so oversalted we could barely eat it.
Pear and spinach salad was pretty good.
Martinis cost more than the meal.
Onto breakfast…
Omelette was not inspiring.
Yogurt and granola was decent.
Coffee was delicious.
Overall not overwhelmed, and when it’s $ 50+ a person, I don’t want to feel anything but that.

I was searching for a Christmas lunch at a nice place in Dallas, and found Charlie Palmers $ 45 brunch menu. It seemed well worth not having to grocery shop for, prepare, and clean up a big meal.
Our waitress had a down to earth elegance of say, Belinda Carlisle. The place was clean and the service made you feel special. The menu seemed ultra safe and not particularly creative, but everything was, perhaps, perfectly prepared. I had the duck meat ball consommé, the scallops with duck prosciutto and the chocolate mint tart for dessert.
We also ordered the wine flight, and the sommelier introduced himself and picked out a wine for each of our courses.
Pro: Good, clean special occasion restaurant.
Con: You perhaps won’t be wowed by innovation. Read: It’s not particularly hip.

I have been waiting to patron this establishment since I realized what it was and thought, hey a friends in town… let me take her there. So we meet at the a-​loft where she’s staying and have a drink. I call ahead and get us a table.
We arrive early (who knew I could walk that fast in those heels!) and noticed patio tables were open. So we asked to sit outside (because I didn’t know you could smoke out there)…
Our server was attentive until the meal arrived. I ordered the duck and it wasn’t cooked enough for my taste… but no one came back to ask «how is your food» within an appropriate amount of time. I was finished all of the other items on the plate and did not want another bite by the time he returned. I explained the issue and he was very beside himself with apologies. This item was removed from our bill in its entirety.
As a second, I’m sorry, he brought key lime pie and a chocolate pie with the sorbet ice cream I ordered.
The three beat salad was wonderful, my friend had the beef app and loved it. The deserts are recommended and our Argentinean wine (Sauvignon blanc) was great. The duck was a little undercooked and tough to cut. I felt terrible after telling my friend how great duck was and gave her a tiny piece. She didn’t like it, then I tasted it and thought, uh that is nasty… perhaps I should have tasted it first? Now she will never try duck again!
The service was good because he knew how to apologize and fix the issue… but I would have loved some fabulous duck to start with.
I will probably go one more time to see if it has redemption and update my review. Maybe I can get Nikki to go with me, we can say were having dinner and only have the apps and wine ;)

It’s Saturday night of Restaurant Week 2010 and time for my 5^th restaurant this week. I’m seriously going to need to hit the gym hard on Monday. Ah, the sacrifices I make as part of my dining «research»…
Charlie Palmer’s offered a nice variety of things to choose from on their menu. There were a few things that required some followup questions to our waitress, but she was more than happy to provide us with answers.
For my starter, I had the Ricotta Agnolotti. This is best described as a small plate of ravioli’s filled with ricotta with a shiitake purée on the side. This was absolutely the best thing about our dining experience. If everything would have been on the same level as this dish, I would have easily give the food 5 stars. I could have eaten an entire entrée of this dish.
For the Central Market 4^th course, they offered a side dish to accompany your main dish. I selected the Olive Oiled Mashed Potatoes. They were OK. They had a strong olive oil flavor (which I like), but just be aware in case that is not what you’re looking for. My wife had the Creamed Spinach. I’ve had better. I would have loved another order of the Ricotta Agnolotti as my 4^th course. Oh well.
For my entrée, I had the Pappardelle Puttanesca. Duck Meatballs, arugula and shaved reggiano mixed with a nice serving of pasta. I like this entrée a lot. It had a nice kick to it with the spices that were used. There were probably about 9 meatballs in the dish, so it was enough to satisfy my hunger. The downside is that the dish didn’t wow me like our first course did. It also didn’t wow me the way I was hoping from a restaurant such as this. Overall, a great dish but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t probably get at a mid-​tier Italian restaurant.
For dessert, I had the Texas Peach and Blackberry Crisp topped with Brown Butter Ice Cream. Nice dessert that best matches the taste and consistency of a peach cobbler, but again I was missing the wow factor from Charlie Palmer’s. My wife had the Milk Chocolate Brulee Cotta. It was good, but I wouldn’t say it was any better than mine.
The atmosphere was nice at Charlie Palmer’s. The giant propeller’s on the ceiling looked cool. As expected, it was crowded for Restaurant Week but there was no delay in being seated at our reservation time.
I mentioned that our main waitress was helpful. The only thing that tarnished my service experience was when our food was delivered to our table. One of the other waitresses that was assisting to bring our food put the wrong side in front of me. I said «oh, this is their side» (referring to my friends). The waitress replies «well maybe we can pass it and share». The problem is she said it in a rude and condescending way. I was a bit shocked and I think she realized how she replied and proceeded to rearrange the dishes. I think everyone at my table was a bit surprised. Thank goodness she was not our waitress.