Charles Southern Style Kitchen

The place is open! Perfect soul food and lots of it. Friendly and deeply satisfying.

Apparently it has RE-​opened under a slightly changed name… Yeah! (Hopefully they didn’t change the décor in the process. I loved the place just the way it was!)
And for the person who commented that ‘this neighborhood may not be the safest”, I’d be curious to know what he bases that comment on? Are muggings and murders of passerby so commonplace here that people should be afraid to venture to this place?! Or rather is he making this statement simply because of how the people in the neighborhood look, and the fact that there are housing projects across the street?!

They’re CLOSED!!! NOOOO!!! The one place where the fried chicken is almost better than my dad’s…I can’t see why this place vanished. The food was amazing. Where else can you find soul food buffet north of the bible belt?
Answer me!!!

sob sob sob sob sob

R.I.P. Charles Southern Style Kitchen
When I first came to NY, this was one of the only businesses to consistently show up under «Southern» and «BBQ» online and it remained a constant among the elite in most food publications (Zagat, Eater, etc.). I had never really envisioned an actual «buffet» in Manhattan, but as I was still relatively new to the city, this came the closest. In the end, it was all about their delicious crispy fried chicken and all of the most sinful southern sides.
Service was always friendly and despite many folks waiting outside on many cold Sundays, we were never rushed to leave. This, combined with the outstanding food, and the reasonable prices made this place worth trekking from the farthest depths of all 5 boroughs.
All good things must come to an end. Unfortunately, Charles Gabriel’s vision of a fabulous neighborhood restaurant ended a little too abruptly and the new location on Lenox Avenue has also remained closed for quite some time. I was under the impression that this place would open, but now since the phone has also disconnected, it’s probably safe to say the recession has claimed yet another victim.
I’ll miss this place.

It’s alright. Not the best chicken in the city… not even close… and I’m sure it was better when they were frying it to order instead of pulling it out of a heated glass case. The breast pieces are tiny, but well spiced. I like a little more crunch to the skin. The sides looked like they had been sitting all day, and from what I can tell, the prices on plates are way higher then individual items. I mean, it’s a hole in the wall, and basically a take out stand. If I was in the area, I’d go back, but it’s not worth the trip up there for. Amy Ruth’s is far superior.

This is the best food in my neighborhood hands down. I prefer the takeout because I will eat myself to death otherwise. Some of the best soul food in the city.

I’m deeply embarrassed to have lived 2 blocks from here for years, and only going last night.
Perhaps, when pitted against the elite fried chicken of the world, it may be average, but if you’re just looking for neighborhood fried chicken, you will be ecstatic. It is sooooo good. I almost wrote a book about fried chicken and lived in the South for 3 years, so that’s your reference point. Delicious.
The wait time was roughly 3 minutes. The chicken looked a little sad, but upon closer inspection, it was delightfully crisp and ungreasy. They also have excellent hot sauce there.
Mac n cheese was ok. It neither raised or completely missed the bar on mac.
FYI:
Takeout is at the Charles’ Seafood next door. We got 2 breasts, 2 thighs, double mac, and 2 cornbread, and it was around $ 13.50. There’s an ATM machine. They also had peach cobbler.

Coming home after dinner, I realize that I still smelled like bbq ribs.
«If you were Charles’ BBQ ribs, and you were starving, would you eat yourself?» I think the answer is yes.
$ 12, all you can eat buffet, full of delicious greasy southern staples including some disgustingly sinful mac n cheese, melt off the bone ribs, fried chicken. No cornbread when we went — menu seems to vary from day to day.

Although eating in at Charles is doable, I prefer to pass on sitting on top of complete strangers the way one does family at a packed Thanksgiving dinner, and opt instead for takeout. As far as takeout Southern/​Soul Food goes, you can hardly get better or more for $ 8 — $ 9. The fried chicken is hot and crisp and stays hot your entire ride home. The smothered pork chops and ribs are to die for and the only cornbread and candied yams I’ve had that are better are made by grandmothers and great aunts. But you will grow old waiting for your order. And if you’re purchasing for a large group, otherwise known as catering (something I’d advise for only those with God-​like patience) set aside at least an extra 30 — 45 minutes of time AFTER you say you’ll be there to pick up your order. The staff, including Charles, is pleasant and accommodating despite the speed of service.
The reason I’m giving them 5 stars in spite of the service is that the basic equation for soul food is «fast service = mediocre food.» And here they take their time although everyone behind the counter moves about in a frenzy. Complaining is pointless. When you get home starving, the food is well worth the wait. Located in a neighborhood loaded with hard-​working honest people doing their best to get by, Charles is welcoming and satisfying to all — locals, foodies and tourists combined.

There are probably a lot of people who could get really good value out of a $ 13 buffet. I’m, apparently, not one of them. After two platefuls I had made myself sickly full and I think if I eat at Charles again I will definitely opt for the take out so I can have leftovers.
All that said, really nice food in an unpretentious setting. I tried some of everything: ribs, fried chicken, collard greens, mac and cheese and yams. I think the collard greens were my favorite although I suspect they were not vegetarian even though the server said they were. It wasn’t mind blowing by any means but if you can put down a lot of food it’s certainly delicious enough for that.
Don’t expect dessert even though they advertise it. Canned fruit doesn’t count as dessert in my book.
In summary: I would revisit but I suspect there’s better soul food to be found in a city as big as New York.

Okay, this is just good food. Some of the best greens and macaroni and cheese I’ve had since I’ve been here. The chicken is pretty good too, albeit kinda greasy. It’s all you can eat for $ 13, and that comes with unlimited refills of lemonade.
Definitely a neighborhood joint, and very no frills. Don’t expect artful plate settings and romance. Enjoy the food, and eat till you have to unbuckle your pants. Oh yeah, you probably want to wear loose fitting clothing with some elastic.

I ate at Charles when I visited New York in April 2007. The mac and cheese was SERIOUSLY the best I’ve ever had. Since I’ve returned to the West Coast, I’ve ordered mac and cheese at every restaurant that has it on its menu and have found NOTHING comparable. I have also tried making it, using various recipes and hoping to replicate what I had, but had no such luck. Imma be chasing the same mac and cheese all my life. I almost don’t want to return to Charles for fear that the food won’t be as good as I remembered. I wouldn’t want to burst that bubble…

Wow, I hate to be the wet blanket but I really don’t care for the food at Charles’ (ducking flying food thrown by other posters). I keep reading on all of the food sites how good the food is so I keep giving them another chance to impress me but they leave me flat each time. In all fairness I have not tried their buffet. I only order from the take out side. The breakfast I ordered was cold and tasteless. I’ve also tried their sides and have been let down by them as well. The last time I tried to give it a fair shot and ordered the famous fried chicken. Again, I was sadly disappointed. The chicken was average (not my mama’s fried chicken), the mac and cheese was deplorable; It was a bright orange color (not the color of homemade mac and cheese) and their greens were nothing special. I like my greens to be tangy, spicy and tender. Their greens were none of the above. I’ve actually had a better meal at Manna’s buffet. I think Charles’ is good for people who don’t really know soul food but I come from a Southern family where generous seasoning is not an option. You either eat it spicy or you just don’t eat.

The chicken was pretty good when I first tried it, but I also knew from reading reviews that the time to have cast-​iron-​fried chicken here is right when a fresh batch comes out from the kitchen. And the difference was extraordinary – the fresh batch was bursting with juicy flavor, and the skin was neither too crisp nor too soft. New batches do come out fairly often, since the kitchen only cooks up a little at a time, so if your timing isn’t perfect, try some of the rich oxtails first. I also spooned some of the gravy from the oxtails onto the chicken, which turned out to be a good move; it gets especially good when the flavors from the gravy, the collards, and the yams start to meld in the center of the plate. Somehow, the sweetness of the yams was now perfect, and even though I was pretty stuffed by the time this happened, my last bite felt as satisfying and pleasant as my first. In fact, the whole mess of flavors probably amounted to one of my best food experiences so far this year.

SATISFY your hankerin’ for some REAL Soul food for as little as $ 0.93!!! Yep, make sure you try the collards.

The neighborhood might not be the safest, but I wasn’t about to let that deter me from getting my soul food.
Reputed by some to be the best fried chicken in the city, I thought it was good, but not amazing. Maybe it’s because I grew up knowing of fried chicken only as KFC that for some reason, whenever I go to a place that is supposed to have good fried chicken, I’m always a little disappointed. The chicken was tasty, and the sides were solid, but I’m not sure that this place is worth it as a destination given how out of the way it is.

Great to get a buffet lunch there with unlimited refills of lemonade or ice tea. Tasty food, best eaten when just cooked. The fried chicken was really good, but I found myself going back for just mac and cheese more than anything else. I must’ve gone up three times for the mac, and must’ve had 5 glasses of sweet lemonade. Definitely good food for a good price. The setting however is very southern I suppose. Checkered picnic cloth covered with plastic, and Family Feud on TV. Very Friendly service, so leave a good tip =)