05/31/09

Ridiculously good place to eat and drink

by allemec

Unique to Charlotte because every detail is attended to. Ambience, service and food are all top-notch. I've dined here many times and the experience has always lived up to or exceeded expectations. The staff treats their regulars very well, but we felt special the first few times we were in as well. Don't miss the scene on Saturday night.

• Pros: Insanely good food, great waitstaff
• Cons: pricey

01/09/09

Worst Experience at Blue in Charlotte

by sehausle

The food was WAY overpriced. It tasted ok, but that didn't make up for the fact that we waited well over an hour to get our car out of valet ( yes we timed it)! We complained twice and both times the valet service gave us shotty excuses...and kept asking what our car looked like and what our keys looked like. We asked to speak to a manager who did not even give us the time of day and went to yell at the valet guy rather then apologize or offer us complimentary desert or drinks. I wrote a letter of complaint because I was so dissapointed but still no response. They can't waste their time to answer a letter of complaint so then I decided I would waste my time and write a review. Go to Zinc or Capital Grill or just about anywhere else, they know how to treat people and the food is worth the price!

• Pros: Trendy place in town
• Cons: Horrible Valet Service- so-so food

12/07/08

Great Menu Choices, Great Expansive Wine List, Poor Service,

by msufan413

Dined there 12/7/08. 8pm est. Six people. Four drinkers, two non. Ages 41-46 y/o. 3 men/3 women.

Larry waited on us, top notch. Knew his menu cold. Very tentative and experienced. Didnt know anything about wine, but they employ a wine steward. The problem I had, service wise, was Larry had no support personnel. He was a one man show who had us and two four tops to serve. We saw very little of other folks assisting with water, removal of plates and bread replishenment. Very poor for a $40 per entree type of place.

Food was very good. I had the duo of boar. Excellent. Tender and succulent. Served with a pumpkin risotto and fried spinich. Quantity was plentiful. I also had the fois gras. Great. little shy on the quanitity side for $14.95, but flavorful and tender. Most of the party had the tenderloin ala blue. I tasted it and for $30, you can do it home for $10 per plate. Basically tenderloin + gorgonzola. Big deal. My wife had the grouper. Awesome dish, huge portion and perfectly cooked to a flakiness, rather than mush.

All in all, 3 stars. I spent $140 (inc 20% tip) and we didnt drink. Seemed a bit steep. Your choice.

• Pros: Great wine list, great varied menu items that were fantastic
• Cons: Poor service, kind of tight in the dining room, smoking in the bar leaked over

12/05/08

A great Uptown pick

by JayWeisberger

Great food, especially the signature steak. No other place like it in Charlotte and not one of the gourmet chains that have flooded Uptown - so extra good if you want a top meal you cannot get exactly the same in other Southeast cities. Service is generally good and with the restaurant owner often in the place mingling, I imagine it will stay that way.

• Pros: Unique to Charlotte, great food
• Cons: Valet parking a mess on event nights

08/11/08

Great place to have a special meal with friends - so long as you secure your reservation early with a deposit!

by nuttystamper

I read about Blue Restaurant and Bar in another Charlotte-based publication and decided to plan my best friend's bachelorette dinner here. I called and arranged a time to come in and scope out the restaurant as well as try out some of the items on the menu. I was very impressed by the appetizers - which range from delicious scallops to equally yummy flavors of the Mediterranean. My husband and I also tried a few martinis and desserts on three different occasions. We were pleased with the selection and decided to book a reservation for our upcoming dinner party. Roughly a month prior to the event, I discussed the party details with two different staff members and was assured we would be allowed to sit in the Solarium room (their patio area).

About two weeks before the event I called to confirm our reservation and was then told that another group (larger party) had also booked the same room that night, and that we (smaller party) would need to move to another area within the restaurant. I argued we had booked first, and was told it boiled down to a "deposit." I also agreed to sign a contract immediately (not a problem but would have liked this info sooner) to secure the room. Needless to say, the event went on as planned and it was phenomenal! Blue customized a menu, and even a martini, for our event! The food was delicious and the staff was both friendly and professional. The group was very impressed and not one had any complaints! I'm rating the restaurant four stars only because of the near heart failure that I experienced when I was told someone had booked the same room (after I had been told my reservation was secure). Other than that little insignificant detail, everything was perfect! I recommend this restaurant to anyone wanting to have a tailored dinner party for a special occasion. My only suggestion is to get it in writing and put down a deposit as soon as the reservation is made to avoid any discrepancies that may arise. Highly recommended!

• Pros: Great service for large parties and events - especially if you want a tailored menu with all the personalization!
• Cons: Must get it in writing and secure specific room of choice with a deposit!

05/07/08

Best Dining Experience I have ever had!

by pauldolphin

The ambiance as I entered was upscale yet inviting. The martini list was excellent as were the drinks themselves. The manager talked to us in the bar area and at our table- Brett- very professional and friendly. The server was informative, knowledgable and gave us great recommendations. The food and wine complimented each other and the dessert and Port wine were the perfect finish to a perfect meal. I have returned on 3 different occassions and enjoyed the same spectacular dining experiences. By the way, I recommend that you go on a night when they have the jazz featured.

11/30/07

WHY PAY?!

by candes

First, the late night scene is not that great. Second, the staff is absolutely the worst I've experienced. For the attitude you get, I wouldn't waste your time or money. The bartender, Kim I believe it was, needed to and luckily was dealt with by a manager; and, instantly he knew it had to deal with the poor staff.. Her attitude was catty, fake, and snotty and directed in such a way you would think my boyfriend and I were dressed in trash bags. Little did she know that we in fact knew the manager and had corporate contacts with them. Well, you blew it. Granted, immediately she switched attitude from on to off like a switch, but for the $, I would have rather gone ANYWHERE else. If it wasn't for the manager, we would have immediately canceled the drinks and orders and left. All the ambiance, romatic scene, and loyalty goes out the window when dealt with like that. Not to mention she frequently ignored us to lock lips with her boyfriend? friend? good tiper? on the side bar. Professionalism, nope. Tact, nope. Great food, not really. Terrible, take my word for it... For the $ go to Ruth Chris, or anywhere for that matter, and leave happy.

• Pros: it's uptown
• Cons: everything else

07/01/07

WORST Restaurant experience in charlotte!!!

by andi3655

For an 'upscale' restaurant, this was an extremely disappointing experience. I've been here a few times, and i have never been too impressed but this past time was the worst. We sat in the bar area so that we could hear the live jazz music. We made sure that it was okay to eat a full corse in this area, and we were assured by the host that the area was full service. After we sat at the table for about 15minutes (what felt like 30) we were still not greeted. so my beau went to the front to ask if we had a server, luckily another server was up there and generously decided to take care of us. He got our drinks and took our food order. after all this, i'm guessing at least 30 min after we were seated our server finally stops by.... but then never comes back to check on us, so we sit with no drinks .... we then ask to see a manager. He stops by and makes excuses NEVER even apologizing.

I've worked in restaurants, i understand that things happen... But to not even apologize, plus i would think when you already know something is wrong you would make sure to keep checking on that customer, and try to make their experience a great one.

I only came here for their dessert, but now i will NEVER go back.

• Pros: Live Jazz, Romantic Ambience
• Cons: Bad Service, Food was not worth the price

02/14/07

Every review on this page is exactly on the mark, good and bad!

by spgreer

I'm looking at all of these reviews and they are all correct. The first time my girlfriend and I went to Blue, the food was fabulous. The faux grois and the duck were both amazing! The next time we went the service was terribly slow, they had taken the duck off the menu, and the dishes that the waiter recommended were bland and dull. The few times I've had dessert, I have not been impressed. We've gone several times since then and the food has been OK, but nothing spectactular. I don't know what happened to the great service we received the first time we went. Maybe that's what you're supposed to do, when they ask if you've been there before, just say no. Maybe then you'll get good service. The atmosphere is great, and we keep coming back to see if we can ever get that same great food and service that we received the first time. For the money, you would think that everyone would get great service and you wouldn't ever be looking for your waiter. I hope they get it together because my girlfriend and I really enjoy Blue.

• Pros: ambiance, faux grois
• Cons: service is a crapshoot

02/02/07

Overrated, Overpriced

by ncmaylo

We were excited to eat here, but were very dissapointed. The food was odd-- it was basically all heavily-meated entrees from strange animals (wild boar?) Two of us tried the boar and thought it was inedible.

Another had a pasta dish (not a meat-eater) and it was overly lemony. We couldn't even find anything appetizing for dessert, so we passed. The prices were exhorbitant. I won't even go to Table after eating here. We told the maitree di about our experience and he just said, "Oh." We were not impressed.

• Pros: Convenient location
• Cons: EXPENSIVE, food