very popular location in downtown freehold so allow time for parking. municipal lot has hourly parking or Char-Kol does have valet at a cost. We had reservations for a large party made like a month in advance and they sat us on time right on the dot. Server was very friendly and attentive. they have you put apps and entres in all at once but they do a good job spacing out the service so you don't feel rushed. for apps we had margheritta pizza, tempura shrimp, house made riccotta, grilled ceasar salad and their special truffle gnocchi. it was all amazing! BYOB and an overall trendy vibe! if you are a meat lover, you will love it here read more

Char-Kol - shortrib gnocchi - Steakhouses Near Me - Freehold, New Jersey

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Homemade Ricotta was incredible. Tasted like caramel. Wedge Salad could use bleu cheese crumbles, but was passable. Porterhouse was excellent as were the fries, Mac and cheese and brussel sprouts. Server Kelly was amazing, attentive, helpful. read more

Char-Kol - Aged Porterhouse for 2 - Steakhouses Near Me - Freehold, New Jersey

Wow wow wow!! An absolute impressive restaurant as soon as you enter. The hostess greeted us with a big smile and sat us right on our reservation time. When you enter the dining area the incredible open kitchen just slaps you in the face, the chefs are working hard right in front of you. This is the new standard of what restaurants should be. Now for the food. Prepare yourself for the artisan bread it's off the chart, I had the dry aged NY Strip perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious. The cheesecake brownie and the bread pudding were also amazing. From start to finish it was perfection. read more

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Ambiance is 5/5 Service 4/5 Food 4.2/5 Price 4/5 Overall for a brand new restaurant they are doing a lot right. Started with the pasta flight and charcuterie board. Both were good. Pasta flight consisted of short rib, lamb, and shrimp in some form of ravioli. Not much flavor and pasta was a little underdone. Got the porterhouse for 2 ($130) and while the meat was perfectly cooked and high quality the crust was burnt not seared and the sauces lacked flavor 4.4/5. I'll be back again in a few weeks and bet it will be a 5/5 review after they get their footing. BYOB for those wondering. read more

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Great ambiance. Enjoyed date night with the Mrs. Service was good but it was quite crowded resulting in a bit of delay. read more

This place has a really great atmosphere and is so roomy inside. The appetizers were great but my steak was very underdone. I ordered it medium and it came out rare. When I asked to send it back the waiter was very defensive and rude. The truffle butter was also $10 extra and when they took the steak back to cook it correctly, they forgot to give back the butter and didn't take it off the bill. Once the filet was the correct temperature it was just okay. A little disappointed because I wanted to like this place. read more

Char-Kol - Whipped ricotta and fried truffle gnocchi - Steakhouses Near Me - Freehold, New Jersey

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Loved the Tomahawk steak seasoning was so delicious. Medium rare along with their creamed spinach. The waiter was the sweetest and very thorough explaining their menu. Appetizer was Homemade Ricotta with the crostinis scrumptious as well. Will go back! read more

Char-Kol - Tomahawk steak for 2. - Steakhouses Near Me - Freehold, New Jersey

Thoroughly enjoyed the upscale decor and service at Char-Kol. The only complaint is the acoustics! Because the restaurant is cavernous, if loud music is played it is difficult to hear anyone at your table speaking. They were considerate and lowered the music when asked. Of course their best is the cuts of meat! It's difficult to get anything of the same quality in town. I also enjoy their pizza. Dinner offerings are fabulous, but I've found some of the lunch items too salty, but that's a personal taste. A great local place to celebrate a special occasion or enjoy a tasty steak! read more

First time I've been there and the food was fantastic. Everything was cooked exactly how we wanted it, app and sides were delicious as well. Christine was our server and she was great. Loved the atmosphere. Will def be back! read more

This place did not excite my tastebuds. When the price point is this high your expectations match. I really wanted to love this place because it has a cool vibe. Jack our server was so upbeat but I can't in good conscious give this anything more than a two. The asparagus was perfectly charred but it didn't taste like charbroiled it tasted like some type of gaseous fluid- was not appetizing. It's BYOB so I brought along a bottle from the very short supply at the corner liquor store. The porterhouse steak for two was mediocre at best and I was swatting fruit flies all night from my wine glass. Couldn't enjoy the wine because as you see from the video one fruit fly flew in and despite changing glasses- another... ugh... they need to get that under control and the food should definitely be hotter. The app's were good but that couldn't make up for the experience and price point. Will not be back until they scale up. read more

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Beautiful space with excellent service. however the food was disappointing, especially for the price of the meat. Overcooked & bland. Need I say more? read more

Food was very good but the service was atrocious. The waiter was a complete ass and the food took an hour to come out and the waiter couldn't care less. Unfortunately will not be back because of him and the service. read more

Nice ambiance, the staff was knowledgeable, but the food is overpriced. Menu is a la carte. read more

We have been waiting eagerly for this place to open as we live in downtown Freehold and have been watching the renovations with anticipation. We finally had the opportunity to go tonight and we are blown away at the quality of the food and the ambiance of the restaurant. We had the wedge salad, half chicken and ribeye steak. My husband and I always share our main dishes and we couldn't decide which meal we liked more! The steak was melt in your mouth amazing and the chicken was like like nothing we had ever had. It had a yogurt sauce that was exquisite. Restaurant is BYO which we actually really liked because we just grabbed a bottle of our favorite wine from the liquor store on the corner. read more

Char-Kol - Outside patio dining - Steakhouses Near Me - Freehold, New Jersey

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the restaurant is extremely loud. We didn't like the mac & cheese. It was like soup, also my chimichurri sauce which they charged an $8. The waiter took off the mac & cheese, but not the sauce off the bill. We were paying with a Charkol gift certificate and cash. The bill had a price one for cash and one for CC. We were informed we would have to pay the high price because we were using a gift card. When questioning him he walked away from our conversation. I called the restaurant and left I message requesting one of the owners to call me, which they never did. A few days later I got a manager and she said they would give me the difference from my previous bill plus an addtional $30. Went again for dinner and asked for the mananger Emily. She never came to our table and they took 1 $27 entre off our bill. I will never go back to to restaurant. The lack of service was terrible. read more

Wife and I went there last Friday for our 10th Wedding Anniversary. Arrived and within minutes we were seated. Unfortunately I asked to change seats because we were put outside and there's no ambiance and was like sitting in the parking lot. Absolutely boring outside. This being our first time there and it being our anniversary, I wanted a better sense of the restaurant and belonging, not feeling like an outcast or second class guest. We were sat upstairs and had a nice view of the restaurant. We ordered our drinks, appetizers and meal all at one. Drinks came out relatively quick but apps took a little time. We got 2 apps, the ricotta and the bacon. Ricotta was a little bland but put a piece of the bacon on the bread crisp and top with the ricotta mixture and it was a hit. For dinner I had the short rib gnocchi and my wife the double pork chop. Both were moist, juicy and delicious. Only problem was we waited over 45 minutes from when we finished our apps (took about 25 mins to finish) till we received our meals. During this time we had little to no interaction with our waiter or staff unless we asked someone passing by for water. We ordered the charred brussel sprouts with the sweet chili sauce. Sauce was sparse and the sprouts were overcooked and very dry, not enjoyable. For dessert, we had the ice cream cookies. They were 3 large ice cream cookie sandwiches stuffed with vanilla ice cream. One was sugar, one was chocolate chip and the other chocolate brownie cookies. So much we couldn't finish the cookies but it's a sin to throw away ice cream so I forced that down. There was supposed to be chocolate sauce and cherries. Chocolate sauce was there but no cherries. If it was mixed in the sauce there wasn't enough and got lost in the chocolate. Overall it was a rather enjoyable evening. Once again, the wait between courses is was too long. Also, waiter was awol quite a bit rarely checking on us if we needed anything. On a side note, our anniversary was acknowledged by staff when we checked in and by our waiter when seated but noting afterwards. The couple at the table next to us was celebrating something and their dessert came with a sparkler or something similar. Felt a little forgotten at the end. read more

Great food, atmosphere, service! Great find in freehold nj Music & you get to see chefs cooking. BYOB but there's a brewery next door read more

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If you want to listen to house music blaring in your ears while eating overpriced food and sitting elbow to elbow with strangers then come here read more

Food was amazing. We got the tomahawk steak. Our friends got the porterhouse. The vegetables were great. The ricotta was fabulous. The wedge salad was perfect. The service was incredible and the ambience is beautiful. read more

Find a true upscale steakhouse instead. This place is a poor attempt. So loud that the server couldn't even hear our orders. Table runners had no clue how to serve plates. Overpriced menu for slightly above average steaks. read more

We had an excellent lunch yesterday which is definitely worth reviewing. There were four of us and we started with the truffle bites and the homemade ricotta which we all thoroughly enjoyed. Our lunch order consisted of 2 orders of the cacio de pepe, the burger, and the filet mignon sandwich. All were excellent. A special thank you to our server, Jack, who was very attentive. He helped us with suggestions and constantly checked back to see if we needed anything. Wish it was a bit closer to home for us because we would definitely be steady customers. read more

First and last time going to this place. Tasteless $180 tomahawk for 2 was the worst steak I've ever had. You would think a steak in that price range you would be able to pick a side but NO they tell you all you get is French fries and cannot be substituted. Huh?? The presentation on every plate was horrible, the gnocchi appetizer wasn't freshly made, more like it sat under a heat lamp and microwaved over and over. The service sucks, our reservation was for 8:15 which we were seated thereafter and didn't see a single piece of food for over an hour and a half. Don't waste your money or time at this place ! read more

This is my favorite steakhouse NO QUESTIONS ASKED! The service is impeccable, so helpful and well informed on the menu. The menu is extensive with something for everyone. Even the most traditional dishes, have a unique twist to them. For appetizers, we got the charcuterie board, oysters, ceasar salad, and tempura shrimp. The oysters were PERFECTLY shucked and cleaned, my mouth waters thinking about them. For entree, we split the filet, 12oz of buttery tenderness. The best cooked or prepared steak I've ever had! Run do not walk. Highly recommend reservations, even though its a BYOB, it is veryy popular. read more

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Nice location, Great food, service and ambience. ++++ BYOB!! Two levels and outside seating. Will be back again! read more

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I'll start by saying this: I do NOT like writing negative reviews, complaining about my food, sending it back or any of the above. The first thing I do when I see a negative review is go to the person's page and see if they're writing negative reviews only or often (and in most cases, that's the case...miserable ppl), I saw several negative reviews for this place and ea person who wrote them, did not write bad reviews often AT ALL. I ignored the red flags and brought my wife here anyway bc she wanted to check it out and tbh, this was the worst experience at a "steakhouse" I've ever had. The remarks about their lack of proper ventilation is 100% true, the remarks about it being unnecessarily loud is 100% true as well...we were seated in an outdoor area and i was actually happy about not being inside. The overhead heater is cranked up way too high...the waiter (think his name was Leif?) started out w this speech about it being the best steakhouse yadda yadda yadda. We ordered some truffle gnocchi special~zero taste, I got the dry aged ribeye w bone marrow~zero taste, she got scallops~not that bad, sides were garlic mashed~gummy from being over whipped and the cream spinach was horrendous. There was honestly not a thing good about this meal at all and the waiter was not at all atttentive. I asked him for the check, he saw that I barely touched my food and asked if I wanted it to go, I said no, he asked why, I said "everything about this meal was horrendous, the food had absolutely no seasoning whatsoever", he said okay and brought me the check. Didn't ask if I wanted anything off of the bill, didn't ask if I'd like anything else, nothing. The bill came and was just shy of $200 (which would be a phenomenal price for a meal like that IF it was remotely decent), I put 2 $100 bills in the fold (I have tipped poorly exactly 2x in my entire life (46yrs old), but this entire thing was insulting. He came back and said he'd take the steak off of the bill after taking the money and asking if I wanted change, I said whatever you want to do. I'm not looking for charity, I don't want free meals, I want to enjoy (or at least not hate) a meal that I pay for. This place is hot garbage, don't ignore the red flags like I did, how this place stays in business is beyond me...but hey, Olive Garden looks packed every time we time I drive by it, so there's no shortage of ppl who have no clue what good food is. I honestly would've felt better about dropping $200 unwittingly somewhere w the hope that someone who needed it, found it. Apparently you have to leave at least one star, that's why there's one star left, bc this place is monumentally bad. read more

Went here for an anniversary date. Vibes were very dark and industrial chic. The food was pretty good, nothing crazy. The service was decent. read more

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This is a new addition to the downtown freehold area. Ambiance is nice. Inside is very pretty. Service is very good. Food is average. For the price I would recommend other steakhouses. Wanted to try but probably won't return. read more

While Char-kol is an absolutely beautiful place inside, the rest seems to be lacking. First of all, the waiters who were assigned to us told us we had to order everything in one swoop because it was a scratch kitchen so our appetizer of clams came out too close to our actual meals. The clams were good. I ordered a rib-eye that was $72. It came out with little to no seasoning and all I could taste on the steak was the literal char which had no flavor. I had the Brussels sprouts on the side which were good but nothing to write home about. For dessert I ordered a peanut butter caramel chocolate bomb. When I asked if it was gluten-free, they didn't know because their desserts come from outside the restaurant! I thought this was pretty weird for a place that is trying to be high end and trendy. The noise level was normal. A girl next to us ordered the grossest smelling fish in the world and I love seafood so I have no idea what was going on there. Also the waiters were super aggressive and kept interrupting our convos to ask if we needed anything. All in all, I'd save my money and go elsewhere. read more

My previous dinner here was just ok - they don't know how to cook a short rib and my wife felt her fish was just ok. They had just recently advertised they serve lunch 7 days a week. So, I figure I can give them another shot at lunch prices. So, they have pizzas and sandwiches which are priced a few dollars less than dinner time. Last time I ate dinner there, a friend had a Filet Mignon sandwich that came with amazing fresh cut fries. I thought I would try a burger and fries for lunch. The price is $14 vs $18 for dinner. The burger came with frozen french fries vs the fresh cut fries. They were just horrible - I ate a couple and didn't touch the rest. I asked why I didn't get the fresh cut fries - they only serve them a dinner. However, the burger itself was very good. My wife's pizza was also very good and also $14 vs 18. Meanwhile when we got the bill - they charged us the dinner prices of $18 each. I had to point this out and then the waitress/hostess couldn't figure out how to charge us correctly. Eventually she charged us for 2 burgers at the lunch price. Meanwhile - the fry fiasco make me less likely to give this place another shot. This was already their second shot. Downtown freehold is a mess - plus now they charge for parking. I can go to B2Bistro in red bank - get an excellent burger with great fries for the same price. I also know everything else there will always be great and consistent. read more

Something is off in this place but has the potential to be better. Staff was very nice & attentive. It's BYOB & since we had to wait a little, the hostess popped our bottles early for us. The decor is modern but a lil miss matchy. Food was pretty decent. This is one of those places you have to try it for yourself. Enjoy! read more

Char-Kol - Octopus - Steakhouses Near Me - Freehold, New Jersey

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Party of 6 on a Saturday night. We all agree that the meal was phenomenal. Highlights were filet, Brussels Sprouts, creamed mushrooms, fig pizza, and garlic mashed potatoes. Everything was delicious!! The problem was the service. Meal took 3 1/2 hours from arriving to finishing dessert. Water was not filled and we were not kept informed on the status of the main course and why it was taking so long to get our food. 5 star meal but 2 star service. read more

We had the misfortune of dinning here last night. First off they put us up against the temporary canvas on the patio, we were freezing even with the heaters. Then they took our order, app comes out first which was fine and for 2nd we were splitting pasta with a 3rd course of Tomahawk steak. 30 minutes after our starter the second and third course come out together instead of seperate. Pasta looked like it spent some time under a warming lamp and the steak was cooked but served room temp. This was a $300+ dinner for 2. Unless they know you seems like staff could care less, the expect a reasonable tip. One and done for us. read more

The food at Char-kol is excellent as is the service. It is pricey though. Dinner for two ran us over $200, and they don't serve wine or alcoholic beverages. We enjoyed a dry aged tomahawk steak for two, which was delicious and perfectly cooked. It was great, but I don't think I am willing to regularly fork out $150 for a steak, or $75 person. The dry aged meat is amazing and I guess that is the price for it. To me, though, it is expensive. They need to look at the small things. For example, one of our water glasses was cracked. Then, several pieces our our silverware were dirty. Also, the cream served with my coffee curdled. Another annoyance is the loud, base sound of the music. They were playing some kind of music, but all I could hear was annoyingly loud base noise. My point to whomever is this. If I am spending $200 for dinner, everything should be right- no dirty silverware, pleasant sound, and coffee cream that is fresh. read more

I had high hopes for this restaurant. To start they charged us to park in their parking lot which was weird to me. Then when you enter you see this beautifully decorated restaurant and a hostess wearing a lazy pajama outfit. Huge turn off. We ordered pizza, roasted clams and the truffle gnocchi for appetizers. The pizza was just ok, the clams were amazing and the gnocchi was tasteless. The waiter "Leaf?" was so obnoxious. I asked to sub a vegetable for their fish special of the night but his curt no substitutions answer followed by no alternative options (this is where he could've offered me the chance to purchase a side dish) left me to choose the CHEAPER fish dish on the menu. He could've made their restaurant some more money but he chose to be cocky and abrupt. Now it's time for dessert he offered coffee- he heard only one person order a coffee, left to make it and didn't take anyone else's coffee order. He ended the night name dropping some other restaurants that he worked at. This place has potential but not with hostesses in pajamas and cocky waiters. read more

All show and no go! Nice decor entrance was weird no hostess there or anywhere. Began with Chop salad had some weird dressing on it lots of lettuce which was fresh looked much better than it was, corn chowder not sure what was happening with that one as it tasted like straight sugar and cream with corn didn't eat that -shrimp cocktail was good tasted fresh hubby said it tasted weird I did get a whiff of fish when he set it down never good but overall was tasty cocktail sauce was not smooth more like chopped horseradish with a splash of something not used to having diced cocktail sauce - shrimp tacos extremely underwhelming was told shrimp was grilled and placed on top such was not the case rather it was mixed right in with the slaw and it was cold - didn't finish that hubby got the 72.00 rib eye which upon my first bite of the cap was that while tender and tasty it had a weird taste of being old or perhaps frozen and thawed more than once couldn't put my finger on it and while he ate it and said it was tender he said it tasted old or frozen and thawed a few times not sure what the real deal is although I did see Pat LaFreida making a delivery as I was putting money in the meter of the what was once free parking lot but is no more lot behind the place I was hopeful as he's got some of the best meat around but hopes were dashed with the steak we got. At these prices we won't be back read more

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If you're making a drive longer than 30 minutes this is not worth it. The only saving grace was our server but other than that the food was extremely underwhelming and the dry aged strips we got came out overcooked. The roasted vegetables and the cream mushrooms sides were truly inedible. The bone marrow was a joke in size. read more

Ambiance was beautiful, very pretty inside, it was def a bit loud but not sure anywhere else would be quieter... food was really fantastic. It's steak place! But we did get salmon which was the biggest portion I've ever seen. Octopus was really good as well. The s'mores dessert was actually the best thing I've ever had and may just go back for that! It was my birthday so they stuck a firecracker in it which is always fun. read more

Char-Kol - Fish w endive - Steakhouses Near Me - Freehold, New Jersey

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Very disappointing meal. For dinner I ordered the special. A 45 day dry aged Porterhouse steak for 2. It was overcooked and temperature was luke warm. At 175 was the most expensive steak I ever ordered. I have been to many steakhouses throughout the US and this by far was a below par steak. The only bright spot was the ambiance and lighting which is nice. read more

So disappointed! Drove here over 40 minutes only to feel ignored and slighted. Checked in and everyone else got seated immediately. Husband and I had to wait ten minutes. Okay, we were a few minutes early but plenty of tables were opened. Waiter appeared to be attentive but took 20 minutes to refill our water but had no issues joking with and attending to adjacent table. I understand it's BYOB but these places don't offer to pour it for you or give you ice?!! A tip is expected but good service didn't? Butter was salty & broccoli rabe bland. Disappointed big time! read more

nice place but.. the music was too loud to have a nice dinner conversation. The only item that was not too salty was the water. .we had the pork belly and grilled octopus apps. no crisp to the pork belly skin if there was any to be had and the sauce was not complementary. honestly, it tasted premade and reheated. the overly greasy fried thing that came on the octopus app was useless and greasy. The grilled peppers with it were cold. we both had the filet mignon., temps came out right at least. The fries were done fine but way over salted. The wood fired Brussel spouts were so hot and mushy they too must have been reheated in microwave needless to say we skipped dessert. read more