Review: Charles and Limey's

I was hoping that I could write a nice review of a new downtown restaurant this week. After all, John and I are always looking to promote new and interesting places in Springfield. Joining me and Amy at Charles and Limey’s was John, Aubrey, Reginald and his wife Lady Matilda. We were all looking forward to a lovely evening of appetizing food and engaging conversation. Charles and Limey’s is located at 620 South First Street in the Vinegar Hill area where Remy’s Steakhouse and Capitol City Steakhouse used to be. The location is nice and the menu includes many options with steak and seafood being the main attraction. The interior provides a comfortable setting for good dining and there is a bar for those who choose to have a drink before sitting down to dinner.

The evening started out nicely as we were politely seated and given our choices of drink. I started with some Graham’s Vintage Port (maybe ’03) while Amy had a delicious chocolate martini. I know, I know, you don’t start meals off like that but that’s how we roll. All the others at the table had various drinks and it seemed all was going well. After a few minutes with drinks, we ordered. Two of the entrees served turned out to be really good.

Amy ordered the Chicken Marsala and it was very good.

John ordered the Ostrich Steak and it was great. John allowed me and Reginald to sample. We all agreed that it was the best. It was a really tender and lean steak. Ostrich should be on more menus.

Lady Matilda ordered a crusted rice and shrimp dish. It got mixed reviews. It was not what she had expected and I get the impression that even though it wasn’t too bad, she would not order it again.

Reginald ordered one of the many steaks on the menu. I didn’t hear of any complaints. It seemed like just an average steak.

Aubrey ordered one of the steaks but it was not cooked to order like is advertised in the menu. Her steak was well-done while she ordered medium-rare. This is important because a big part of the menu describes each level of preparedness for the steak and what it should look like.

I ordered the flat iron steak at medium-well. I got between medium-rare and rare. I always feel bad doing it but I had to send it back to get a re-cooked. It did not come back as a better steak. And if you’re wondering, Aubrey and I had different cuts and sides so the two plates weren’t mixed up.

Forgive me for not remembering the names of the dishes. The menu is not available online which is one of several things they should really work on. Our waitress was nice, but maybe overwhelmed. One of my biggest complaints with “nice” restaurants is that they make their waiters and waitresses memorize what you order. When you have a party of four or more, 75% of the time you will have problems. I really don’t care that a place thinks it looks tacky to have someone writing down orders. That’s an area where the roadside diners still do it right. So please write down the orders.

The desserts were adequate. No complaints there. I believe it was Banana’s Foster and a Strawberry Custard dish. Again, names would help but I can’t remember.

Maybe the biggest problem was at the end of the night when we got the bill. The bills were all mixed up. We asked to split up the bills which appeared to be a problem but she complied with that request. However, in complying with that request, she mixed up couples. That’s not unique with the “memorization method” because I ended up being married to Aubrey and John to Amy at Sebastian’s the week before. This week I was married to Lady Matilda. It’s an all too common problem but a big problem nonetheless. The realization of the price for the meal and service hit after 15 minutes of trying to settle up. Our bills ranged from $90-$130. There were a couple drinks on each bill which always raises the price but we had never paid that much for a meal in Springfield. 20% gratuity was included.

All in all, it wasn’t good. We understand that perfection doesn’t come without trials. Ross Isaac had troubles with their service in the beginning but the food was good enough to come back. R.I. is a great place to eat. It’s not cheap either, but it’s good for a nice meal out. I sincerely hope Charles and Limey’s is a place that gets much better within the next couple months. It's wants to be a premier steak and seafood place and does have a unique menu but there are many other steak and seafood places to choose from in the area and even downtown. Our party agreed that we want them to succeed but there is much work to do including the creation of an internet site. Unfortunately, at that price, I can’t afford to keep taking part in the trials.