O’Charley’s Restaurant & Bar

After waiting for almost an hour for our food we still had none so we got up and left. To make it worse the table next to us walked in way after us and got their food. We waited 20 mins for our drink order. The waitress told us that someone dropped cups in the back, we don’t know what that has to do with our food. We are pretty sure that they dropped our food instead. If you are wanting to wait a long time for service this is the place to go. We didn’t even see our waitress to tell her we were leaving and the cook was walking around up front (not cooking our food) and some lady with gloves was seating people and wandering around. We will not be back.

My family and I grew up going to O’Charleys. I always loved the food here. Tonight was my mom’s surprise 60^th bday party. I called a month in advance and spoke w/​the GM to make a reservation for 25. I even followed up multiple times. I was told I could come in early to bring the cake and set up. I showed up 1 hour before the party and was told they’d just sat another large party likely pushing back my start time. No one seemed apologetic. I asked that they try not to because the guests were arriving at 6:30 and the birthday girl at 6:45. We did not get into the space until after 7pm after having our guests just waiting in the lobby. I was then told by management that they had served to another group in the restaurant the cake that I brought with me from a bakery in Atlanta! I was extremely upset but in shock and didn’t know what to say. They did not apologize and just said they’d try to slice up what was left and serve it. My sister asked for a replacement cake and they said they didn’t have any. During dinner I was told that they decided to go buy a cake and comp the apps we ordered.
Only 1 server was handling our large group making dinner service extremely slow.
Overall a complete disappointment and embarassment.

POOR MANAGEMENT
Last night, after the Alabama Football Game, we went to get our meal here. We were told by the Hostess there was a 45 minute wait but in looking around the restaurant there were many empty tables. When I asked why she said the Manager had not put but a few servers in place that night because of the previous slow Saturday nights. I immediately asked if this was protocol after a home football game and she just shrudged her shoulders. We sat down to wait with the other 20+ people. Finally people began getting up in frustration and leaving. The Hostess came over to us and asked what we would like to drink so we ordered a cocktail thinking we were getting a complimentary drink. When she came back empty handed she said Hostesses couldn’t serve drinks… lol. We got seated and our waitress was frustrated because of her work load. We were served a scotch in a broken glass. When we brought this to her attention she simply poured the drink in another glass. We explained she couldn’t do that because there may be broken glass in. She got us another but had added a lime TO SCOTCH «to make it pretty». Another waitress we asked to turn turn the AC down stated «only the CEO of the company can turn that down». Food was ok but the experience was totally weird!

Ate here last night and am glad we did. We don’t have an O’Charleys in our area, so we like to make the occasional stop. The décor is nice, the restaurant looks clean and well kept, and it’s a great place for children. On top of all that, the food is more than decent.
Shout out to our great waitress last night, Caroline. She was quick and wonderful with our daughters. It was Caroline’s service that made our evening great!

Great rolls. Awesome service with a smile. Huge portions. Delicious drinks. I can’t wait to go back.

Order (experience) the prime rib and you will be a believer as well.
Good restaurants are more than food, they are good experiences. My previous experiences with this restaurant were mundane at best. Unsurprisingly bland. In fact, I would have scoffed at someone who suggest going to this place. I have always found their chicken and beef offerings very tasty but not large enough portions and unremarkable. Also, I had always overlooked this place because O’Charleys doesn’t seem to have a signature dish like most chains. It almost didn’t appear to have every come into its own as a chain. It seemed to only offer the garden variety Americana (burgers, chicken, and small steaks) but had not fully evolved…
Today was a new day and a new experience. Approaching the newly remodled establishment, I was pleased by the low overtones of light 90s alternative music. As I entered, I was abundantly pleased to see how clean, uniform, and well ran the overall operation was. Opening the menu, I discovered that they offered it in a pound and half pound portion. This shattered my preconceived notion that they had small portions. I still was not impressed but was totally surprised by this bold offer. The picture looked good enough so I ordered it, hesitantly.
The food arrived approximately five minutes later. This is a time frame that would rival the most veteran of Mexican restaurant kitchens.
The prime rib was marvelous. No. It was flawless. Its marbling was an exquisite balance and the dark crimson color refracted onto my pleased and eager eyes as another great, although non-​descript, 90s song played.
This was an overall incredible lunch (experience). Order the prime rib and have this experience for your self.
Post Scipt: Forgive me, you will notice a large chunk missing from the steak in this picture. I was so pleased by its very sight that I immediately tore into it before snapping this picture. Enjoy.

I hate chain restaurants. HATE THEM. I fought, and I fought, and I tried my hardest, but I lost out… and was forced to go to O’Charley’s. I was staying at the Best Western with my mother (we were in town for my cousin’s graduation from UA), and were about to head to the airport. My vote was nullified by popular opinion, and so O’Charley’s it was. I can say with a great degree of certainty that Kristina is a fantastic waitress. She was fun to talk to made sure we had everything we needed, and made our experience as good as could be.
My steak was simply delicious, and my mouth is watering right now at the thought of the grits I had. If I ever find myself back in T-​town, I won’t argue against going to O’Charley’s.

Here’s the thing: It’s O’Charley’s. You know what to expect when you eat here, right? It’s a chain restaurant that serves microwaved food.
That being said, it’s pretty decent microwaved food. I’ve never had a bad meal here. Their strawberry lemonade is on point and kind of addicting. I don’t make it a point to go here simply because I can get more, better food for the money elsewhere, but with a group of friends it can be a nice outing. Service has always just been ok, never great.