Came here to check it out and guess what fucking closed no signs no updates don't waste your dam time....

We were disappointed, we went with the recommendation from our hotel front desk person next door to this restaurant. When we entered through a side door because of the construction we were greeted by the bartender. We asked is the dinning room open? She replied everything is open sit where ever you want. We should have left then but we didnt. Service was average, food was ok. Sad this restaurant has potential. read more

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Although I was starving, I could not eat because the "eating mood" was nonexistent. I was here for my friend's 21st birthday at 8:30pm on a Friday night. Charcoal House was swarming with predators both male and female. The inability to eat resulted in my inability to drink because of the empty stomach which inhibited the potential threshold for properly celebrating my friend's 21st festivities. In comparison to the cougars, I felt weak, vulnerable, and outnumbered. This group I saw within the Charcoal House seriously intimated me. The walls inside are painted red, creating an illusion of splattered blood IMO. Grenades (this noun is useful in this 'situation', ha! omgosh, i need to stop) were everywhere wearing SUPER tight skirts and shirts revealing way too much flap-overflow. If a fold of your skin folds over your tank top, then it doesn't fit. Just cause it zips, it doesn't mean it fits. This vision was accompanied by the smell of cheap perfume fused with alcohol-sweat odor caused by people dancing to music that was so loud that I had to scream at my table in order to be heard. Unfortunately, my appetite was completely lost after hearing a woman vocalize a mating call to the tempo of an 80's hit. Inside, this particular class of women created unbearable tension as they took over the pool table while incorrectly lip-synching to almost every song that was sung. Our table was located next to the inferno's playground. The cougars would position themselves as freely as they wanted, even if their pool sticks were jabbing us in the back of our heads. These women were ruthless. I wanted to seek out a tranquilizer gun, aim, fire, then find the nearest exit and gtfo. The food served at this point is not worth the time or money to enjoy while a club-like environment ensues around you. This place is definitely NOT kid-friendly at this time because The Charcoal House is not a restaurant on Friday nights - it's a den. I'm lucky that I made it out alive. read more

I finally checked the Charcoal House out with some friends the other night and was pleasantly surprised. The good old Wrinkle Room was rocking out with the most diverse group I have ever seen in an establishment like this in SD. The cougar ratio was certainly high, and one of my buddies got his junk pawed at, which was hilarious given our state of mind. The drinks were reasonably priced also. I like the cheesy retro decor and the karaoke was one of the better ones I've seen. The dance floor was pretty packed and fun. As diverse a group as it was, everyone was in a great mood and friendly, ie: no punks throwing hard looks or bitches with attitude. Certainly not the place to go dancing, but when that shitty, when in Rome... Some excellent people watching available in this place. The strangest thing about my evening at Charcoal House is that I honest to God drank a spiked drink! I have to admit that I can put down a LARGE amount of alcohol in an evening. This night I really didn't drink much, but was amazed at how inebriated I felt. Then my head was seriously swimming a few times and it actually crossed my mind... Did some crazy ass cougar slip me something?!?! Got home, passed out and the next day woke up with the absolute gnarliest hangover of my life. I work nights, so I slept most of that day, woke up still hurting, then worked 10 hours with a horrible pain in my temples and behind my eyes. The next day I STILL felt a little crappy. I have never experienced anything like this in my life and I've been on a few benders in my day, so I think I was a victim! I need to have a good cry and hold my knees while rocking back and forth in the shower for a few hours... Oh well, it won't stop me from going back to this place with the right group, but I think I'll keep a better eye on my drink next time out. read more

DO NOT GO TO THIS RESTAURANT!!! If you want slow service, the wrong drinks, a waitress that does not understand an order, cold food...if you get what you order and prefer to eat in a loud!!! untidy atmosphere... eat here!!! Poor service Poor management Loud atmosphere read more

Six of us went to dinner last night (Thursday night) for their grand re-opening. We went specifically for the $9.99 prime rib because their prime rib is advertised as the best prime rib in town. We put our name in at 6:45 and they said it would be about an hour wait (we expected that because of the price and the grand re-opening - the place was packed!) It was exactly an hour - no problem as we had drinks at on the grassy patio area. Most of us had our liquor on the rocks or wine, so we had no problem with our drinks. One of the girls had a whiskey sour and said it was the worst she ever had so they exchanged it for Belevedere on the rocks. The drink prices were very reasonable compared to other restaurants. When we were seated, menus were thrown at us and we did not see a waitress again for 25 minutes. No water, 2 out of 6 of us had utensils and no drink orders. We flagged our waitress down 2 times and were told "I'll be there in just a minute". She told us she had 4 tables but they were making her cut up stuff in the kitchen. We felt sorry for the poor girl! We finally got our awful bread and drinks about 40 minutes later, then our salads about 20 minutes later. We asked to see a manager. When the manager came over all she did was make excuses! Its the grand -reopening, we are really busy, we borrowed staff from our other restaurant, etc.... When people ask to see the manager, they are generally very unhappy. It's the manager's job to make them happy - NOT make excuses. Instead of saying "what can I do to make this right"? or "I'll go check on your dinners myself right now", we get a litany of excuses??? Maybe, comp us a dessert? I am sorry, she was a poor excuse for a manager! We all finally got our prime rib dinners about 1 1/4 hours after sitting at the table. The best I can say is that is was okay. It was the thinnest cut of prime rib we had ever been served, the garlic mashed were good and the veggies left alot to be desired. Sitting at our vantage point in the dining room, it was very easy to spot the problem! Also on the menu was $2.99 for cheeseburger and fries and a salad. There were tables of 6-8-10 people all having the $2.99 special. This is what was bogging the kitchen down! You have a table of 10 eating for $30.00 plus when you could have had that table spending $100 for the prime rib. Cut the $2.99 special off at 4:00. Very bad planning! Overall, 5 out of 6 of us will never go back again because of the lack of organization and bad management! read more

I got talked into coming to the "Wrinkle Room" for a girls night out. Okay, it was really a night for the Cougars to run free if you must know. One of the ladies heard, from a younger man, that the younger men come here when they go out hunting for cougar so away we went. Even though I'm married, I don't get out much and I'm pretty game for anything anyway. We knew they had karaoke and we knew there would be costumes. What could be better? Well I'll tell you.....The only thing better than coming here to watch the 40 and over crowd sing Karaoke is to come here around Halloween for costume party night. I have never seen an old lady wear a french maid costume but I have now. There was one guy dressed like a "cereal killer" with various cereal boxes affixed to his zip-up jumpsuit, who declared that if it weren't for these darn boxes, he could hold me close while we danced and really "feel me." I'll bet that's not all I'd feel, if you know what I mean. I do have to admit, however, I had fun. It couldn't have been all the alcohol to numb where I was and what I was doing. NAH! The music was good and yes, the Karaoke was fun to watch. I might have even belted out a tune myself. Hey, when in Rome! The people watching was definitely the best part. If you live out east, you haven't lived until you've spent an evening at the Wrinkle Room. P.S. The appetizers were good. Don't know about the real food but we had the prime rib bits, among other things, and they were great. read more

What is this? Middle Eastern restaurant? Misleading. Walked in, walked out, nothing to say. read more

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT! I can't imagine how bad the old management must have been for this to be an improvement. Seriously. This was our first visit here, and had no experience at all with what Charcoal House used to be, and we weren't exactly sure what to expect. From the Yelp reviews, we expected karaoke and old folks and charcoal grilled meat. Beyond that, we had two very open minds pulling into the parking lot. The first thing we noticed was that the front door had no indication that it was the entrance. No "Entrance" or "Welcome" or "Dining Room" signage whatsoever. My wife commented that she wondered if there was supposed to be a little sliding window that would open to a pair of eyes demanding to hear the passwoid. Through the door, we walked into the sports bar and lounge, complete with very loud music from the juke box. Not a good sign. My wife's first comment wasn't even about the edibles, but the potables. After a single sip, she noted that the water had a very chlorinated taste. We also both had decaf coffees, and it had a bitter flavor, like it was made from instant grounds and not fresh brewed. Now to the food. The caesar salads were... meh. appropriately sized for dinner and side proportions. But not a whole lot of flavor to them. Not even a hint of anchovy in the dressing. But the biggest WTF moment came when they brought out the bread. For a moment, we thought the basket was empty. After opening it, we found what appeared to be a single piece of bread that had been cut into four, 2-bite pieces. My wife had a dinner-sized Caesar salad with chicken strips on it, and the chicken had been cut so thin before cooking that, when it finally made it to the salad, it was pretty dried out. I went with the steak bites, which is a ribeye steak cut into cubes and served with au jus and horseradish. This very much lived up to the expectation of char-grilled flavor, but unfortunately, they went waaaaaaaaay overboard with the au jus. They served it in a small dipping cup, but also poured it over the steak cubes. And kept on pouring, until it left every single piece of meat at least half submerged in sauce. There was so much that it had sloshed out of the plate and onto the charger upon which it was served. It took what could have been a very good dish and turned it into something I won't recommend. Even the horseradish seemed to be straight from a can, not fresh. There were certainly plenty of AARP-eligble patrons, but that didn't really affect me one way or the other. In the end, my wife and I probably won't be back to Charcoal House again unless we hear about some major changes in their quality, organization, and overall management. read more

It is sad to say, the family who bought this place ruined what the Charcoal was all about. Cheap drinks, lots of East County Ratchets and a place for people of all kind to meet up and enjoy. I call it the "Chaldean Cigar Lounge" as they seem to of taken over. What happened to all the curvy, attractive bartenders? Or hell, what about Pete and John? Those guys could handle a bar that was 8 deep and get drinks to you within 20 seconds. Prices are much higher now, the crowd is much smaller and the atmosphere is boring. I went a few times and left without going for a 3rd round each time. It is truly sad as this was my favorite place to go without a doubt. I will give em this, the food is good and it is nice to use to restroom without a toilet full of a mix of bodily fluids running all over the place. RIP Brian -- we all miss you brother!!! The first bar owner/manager that made me feel at home whenever I would walk in. read more

Whenever we go there no one welcoming us at the door. I went there the other day and i was told to sit wherever i want and i did ask if i can eat my food that I brought from out side in there i was told that would be okay, my friend and my fiancé did order from there, after 15 minuets one guy showed up saying that i can not eat my food there when i was already told it is fine.. we asked to talk to the manager and he literally said take your food and go eat in your car wow how rude then what about the food that we ordered from you? If we have gone there and sit without ordering anything i would've said okay maybe they are mad cuz we are sitting there for free but no we are paying for it.. after talking to him and asked him if there is any thing posted anywhere saying that I cannot he calm down and said ok eat here... also the dress code that they have it's stupid cuz there's no point of it.. I hope they improve their services. The place is nice tho read more

Been here for 30 min. As soon as we sat down we ordered 2 drinks 1 hummus 1 Hooakah. It took 17 min for the drinks 30min for Hooakah 35min for the Hummus The atmosphere is beautiful and relaxing, that's about the only reason I ever come here. I don't blame the waitress it was one girl for 1/2 of the patio. We use to come here a lot before and some stuff never changes. Just ordered another drink wish me luck. Thank god it took her 10 min to get it. Now I'm waiting for coal. I thing I should of brought my own. read more

This place is trash. I wish i could give zero stars. How does this place not have someone at the door to sit you down, so unprofessional. Who waits for their food for over 45min, wait another 45min for a water bottle (which I had to ask for 6x) and don't get me started on the prices. The customer service is horrible! I asked to speak to the manager and i was told he isn't available. How does a business run without a manager on site. This place obviously doesn't care about customer service. I don't recommend this place to anyone! read more

PLEASE NOTE: THE PIECE OF MEAT PICTURED IS NOT FROM THE CHARCOAL HOUSE!!!! My first mistake was reading all the previous reviews and not paying attention to what people were really writing about. MY BAD! I thought their combined enthusiasm meant that the restaurant was a good place to eat...MY BADx2 If you read the reviews of the Charcoal House they are mostly for the funky, fun, loud, very entertaining bar that is attached to the restaurant. When you enter from the back parking lot, if you hang a left, you're in funville (aka Wrinkle Room) complete with a karaoke machine. If you hang a right, then you are taking your chances with food whose recipes and cooks are clearly left over from the late 60's. Last night my husband and I had a strong hankerin' for a steak. We live out near the Viejas Casino and our mistake was either not making the trip into town to the Butcher Shop or going a little northeast to the Barona Ranchhouse, either way I checked the reviews on Yelp and off we went. First of all, I should have trusted my gut feeling when not only did I NOT note any smoke, charcoal or broiling smells wafting from the building, the Restaurant smelled like an old, stinky rag. Lots of red vinyl in there and someone should know that if you don't use a very clean rag rinsed out in a little bleach you're going to get a sour smell all over the place. Anyhow, the server (didn't catch her name, no name tag) was friendly, efficient and available so of course I am not stupid enough to "shoot the messenger" we still left her a good tip, not her fault that food sucked butt. The menu seemed impressive and we settled on two Porterhouse steaks, one w/a baked potato and one w/ a stuffed potato. There was some good garlic bread, fresh and soft, a complimentary salad plate of cold veggies and ranch dressing and a decent mixed salad w/ great croutons ruined by the most watery blue cheese dressing you have ever tasted. We didn't wait too long and were happy to observe that even though there are lots of folks of the silver haired variety on the side of the bar, there was a nice mixed crowd in the restaurant. But then...... here came the steaks and I wanted to cry. My husband first of all is a typical male of the old school who when he is hungry will eat no matter what and won't send back food no matter what. He's afraid if he does, either the staff will spit on his next plate or it will take forever and he will starve sitting at the table while he waits. I AM NOT KIDDING! I learned a long time ago to just go with the flow but that doesn't mean I can't warn anyone else right? My husband had the Porterhouse with the baked potato and as God is my witness (thank you Scarlett!) the two plastic cups that come with a potatoes that traditionally have the sour cream and butter were bigger than the potato itself. Are you kidding me? Potatoes are so incredibly cheap, giving your customers a nice big , well cooked potato many times will make up for a less than perfect piece of meat. But here's the killer....that beautiful piece of Porterhouse steak looked as though it had been cooked in a George Foreman grill!! True, it had grill marks but the meat itself was very white, the fat on the edge of the steak was white and cold and gristley. You all know that even though the fat is not good for you when a steak is done right on the grill, even the fat is tempting, almost too tempting to pass up. At first I couldn't figure out why my steak looked like an albino zebra and then on the way out to the car, I realized that I could smell any smoke, grilling, nothing mouthwatering at all. If you restaurant is called the "Charcoal House" shouldn't it smell at least as good as Burger King does? Nope, I would bet good money unless I am shown otherwise that there is not grilling going on at the old Charcoal house and that's a sad thing because we are the kind of people that eat out once or twice a week without fail and if we like a place will stick with it no matter what. If you want good steak...go somewhere else.... read more

If there was a zero star option, they would have easily got it. I've been here for 2 hours asking for my appetizers and I still haven't got them. Being here on the weekend, there's a 10 dollar cover charge, and I would assume they would provide better service. Hookah service, on the other hand, is good. Coals are coming in right on time. Waiters are nice, but there's no benefit in that if I have to keep asking for something several times. Anyway, when we got the appetizers I think they assume we use our hands to eat tabouleh, since no plates or utensils were provided. Manager is a very nice guy but I wish it was worth it. Do not recommend this place to anyone for the weekend whatsoever. This place has lost all of my business including anyone else that asks me about it. read more

Charcoal House - American Near Me - La Mesa, California

Okay...a review about A RESTAURANT. All these people writing reviews of the restaurant crowd that hangs out in front area. I go to EAT there.This place is a "gem in the rough." Im sure not many local people eat there due to daily amphetamine habits/ lack of teetth per capita in the region,l but who doesn't like to "people-watch?" Tuesday's $12.00 /$16.00 prime rib dinner rocks. Good service and food. That is my review, since all I do is eat there. You go to Charcoal House to hang-out and not eat?...really??? read more

I'm a hookah junkie, we like middle eastern food and good wine and beer. So my husband and I thought this would be a great place for dinner for my birthday. We used to come all time 3+ years ago when they had different owners but stopped going because of a horrible customer service issue with the old owners. I was happy to try it out again under the new ownership. The food IS good. The ambiance is nice. The service is SLOWWWWWWW..... It's a Wednesday night and there's almost as many employees as there are patrons and everything still took too long. We told the hostess we wanted hookah and dinner. After 15mins of waiting my husband had to get up and ask for menus and if we could order drinks. The hookah is just ok. With so many lounges in east county to compare to, you NEED to nail your hookah packing. Especially considering the prices they charge. My biggest issue is we asked for water and they slapped on an extra $4. They should offer you the option of a glass of water or a bottle. Not cool. I get they need to make a profit but with ordering alcohol, hookah and food, it's not like we were just sitting there wanting free water. Charging extra for water on top of a large bill is just tacky and something cheap places do. It was very telling when I observed a server bringing out a tray of water in GLASSES and the hostess intercepted him, took the tray away and went back to the kitchen with it. Super tacky. read more

This is an interesting establishment, the building has no windows, you have to park around back, next to the indoor soccer field and la casa blanca mex place. Interesting, as you look at the building, its all sealed up..is this a secret place? And when you park out back, you have to walk back up that alley since the back door has a sign and arrow front entrance' that way..and you get to the side door, and its 'entrance' nothing more..seriously felt like we were entering someone's house...and we oh so close to jumping across to the mex restaurant, their corn chips smell..ooh..anyhow.. no windows, just arch ways with mirrors..so you get the effect of windows, and its low light conditions..very dark, and lots of table cloths, walking in the side front entrance door, you get bar to your left and tables to right..almost dark and seedy on the bar side..is that leather on the wall? or some type of textile? in we go, met and greeted by a waitress in a mostly empty place (6pm on a fri?) Go to sit down and well, the prices are medium to high for steak places. $24 for thin cut prime rib? what's that, like 6oz or 8oz? c'mon man.. and our waiter, he was good, but damn he was tall, like 6'4" or something and the tables are short, so it was like a weird fun house mirror effect..'hey you, way up there, more ice t?' but he was cool. so we ordered. I got the prime rib slappers or slammers, basically take a prime rib sandwich and cut it into 6 squares..i got the potato skins as app and Cesar salad (you can have fries or salad with sandwich). Wife got angel hair carbonera, not even close to carbonera..but she was ok with it. The sandwich was ok, they shaved prime rib down, pan fried it in oil and served it on foccacia bread, since I had no fries, I had one pickle spear surrounded by these 2"x2" square bites. It was good, but meat had a lot of oil leftover from being fried again. The pasta was covered in creamy, white sauce and filled with lots peas..my understanding of carbonera is there should be a light sauce, barely visible, this was covered, almost soupy like with a ton of peas. The cesar salads were cut from romaine, i got the green leafy part and wife got the lighter, ice bergy type (mix it up fellas!). The potato skins had a weird taste, like they didnt use cheddar, but some other off orange cheese and i think there was about 1-3 atoms of bacon mixed in. We asked for ranch, which saves the day anytime on dishes like that.. And I heard creme brulee, so had to get it..and well, it was good, sugar crusted top, but the custard was still fridge cold..the act of glazing the sugar on top should lukewarm the custard but it didnt happen..luckily the custard was good, but damn $9 for that? total bill came to $55, and well..it was closer to a $40 meal..just saying. so the fun part was later that night, at home, and well, something wasn't right. We both suffered gurgling guts and well, not to go into too much detail, wasn't fun and we didnt not like the rest of our night..blah. Not sure what triggered the gurgles, but definitely was quite queasy and well...NEXT steak house please.. oh and didnt even know about the hookah stuff, i didnt even see it...you think the waiter would of mentioned it..? I dont know..anyhow..prob can think of other meat places. read more

Loved everything about this place!! Was my first one here and I enjoyed every minute of it! Definitely will leave the OC and come back

Three words............ The Wrinkle Room! East Counties finest and hey I am not poking fun I am actually an east county broad myself so please don't take offense. Great place to go to be entertained, there is dancing, stiff drinks and karaoke so what's not to love. It does get crowed so it's best to go early and I would advise steering clear of the restaurant and just visit the bar. PS - if you ever got caught in a tidal wave or hurricane with most of the lady patrons you definitely wouldn't be lacking in flotation devices. read more

My previous opinion of the Charcoal House wasn't changed by my second visit. CH is a broken down restaurant and karaoke bar posing as a night spot. If you like loud raucous bars, bad karaoke singers, a greasy atmosphere, and worn out bar deco lighting you'll like CH. I'm sure certain kinds of people like CH and since there aren't a lot of night spots in East County it's easy to understand why people go there. Since I don't live in the area I would return only under protest. Positives are that it has one pool table, one electronic game and an endless supply of karaoke songs. The drinks appear to be reasonably priced. I have no idea what the food is like although I noticed that the dining area has nothing but booth seating. The cougar factor cited in other reviews is hugely overstated. Maybe I wasn't there the right night? I noticed a few women over 40 but the majority of people were in their 20s and 30s. One surprise factor was the number of short petite women. I'm a tall guy and I notice these things. CH seems to attract a disproportionate number of short women. I have no idea why. Maybe they grown them shorter in East County? One star is being generous. It's just not my kind of place. There much nicer classier places in SD that don't have all the issues this place does. read more

I mainly go for the hookah and love the Mediterranean looking cabanas. They play music videos on the tv and sometimes bring a belly dancer on the weekend. If you're into the whole Arab/hookah vibe you'll enjoy it. Food is pretty good and full bar of course but like I said I mainly come for the hooks. read more

Charcoal House - Orange head - American Near Me - La Mesa, California

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It's a comfortable place to be in Always being there because of there the best coustmer service it's nice to be there especially in the weekends read more

...so I went back to the Charcoal House last week to watch the Chargers beat the Raiders with a "friend". I walked right in...to the middle of a guitar-toting lounge singer in between classic rock songs, a small dance floor, and about seventy five people, seemingly staring at me as I stood there, a little bewildered. "She's lookin' for someone to dance with!" he crooned into his microphone. Then I realized that the football game was projected on the wall directly beside the entrance... a-ha. So... I like Charcoal House a LOT better now. They serve pitchers of hefeweizen for $9.50. Appetizers are a dollar off from 4 or 5 to 7 and are standard bar fare, but served up well. Free mini-buffet. Lots and lots of cute old people dancing and not-so-cute old people drinking, live music (so if you need to LISTEN to your football game you're f'd). I really liked it (but I wouldn't have dinner there again). 3 stars. read more

Whoever dubbed this place 'The Wrinkle Room' has a special place in my heart. This place is COUGAR CENTRAL. But not Desperate Housewives kind of cougar, think more like Hulk Hogans ex wife kind of cougar. Never been here to eat only to drink, and I have had some memorable experiences, to say the least. My first time coming here, I was pretty scared. Mid 40 to late 50 year old women running around, dressed like AND acting like flirty high school girls. The womens bathroom was a scary experience. I won't elaborate on it, I'll let you use your imagination. I really come here for the karaoke, even though I get dirty looks from people if I sing anything that isn't country, which is always. Last time I was here there was a 'special' on Bloody Marys for some reason. $3 for a tasty Bloody Mary. Good deal. read more

If you are looking for a restaurant for dinner, do not go here! The service is SLOW! I really think they want to fail. No restaurant would give poor service. Have music so loud you couldn't have a conversation. Not polish the mirror after a child slobbered and smudged. We even got the wrong drinks. How hard would three up gray goose be? Don't go here! Someone spent their hard earned money to clean this place up. Then hired help that don't care! read more

Okay,,,,Somethin' about this place "Cougar or Wrinkle room" whatever!!....hmmm?..but it's not for everyone to be honest, If you just know how to have fun with the groups, then worth of checking out!!....But.... It's more a lot of fun going out bunch of friends to get loose!! Anyway this place is always gets crowded on the weekend, karaoke and the dancing place so insane packed. It's perfect for last minute decision night out also ...yea!!!..Mix crowd, nothing more to it, You'll see a diff. characters of individual. Gets my 4 Stars for a great a service never failed me,,, beer keeps coming once you raise your eyebrow! and as far as the food goes, not bad at all, I had better but never expect to much from the place like this. We always end up of coming back here!! read more

Went for Steak Lovers Saturday and was disappointed in the food. I ordered the Ribeye with mashed potatoes and veggies. The steak was not seasoned, was cooked well done when I ordered it medium, and it was a very poor cut of meat (I would say 65% of it was fat and/or gristle). You should not need to use steak sauce on a good steak and I had to drown mine in A1. I ordered a draft beer and next thing I know, the bartender sets down 2 pints in front of me. I told him I only ordered 1 and he said it was 2 for 1. While I would never complain about free alcohol, I found it strange that he poured both at once rather than giving me one right then and pouring me the second one after I was done with the first so the 2nd didn't have to sit there getting warm. The decor inside was very nice but didn't go with the outdoor/patio hookah lounge they had. It seemed almost like 2 different place. Very strange. read more

So first of all talk about outstanding service! Me and my friend just left this place. I took her here for her belated birthday tonight. It was an amazing restaurant. The food was fantastic and the drinks were killer! Best of all we had an amazing server. I think his name was Fermin. He went over the menu with us and described all the items that they had to offer. He also recommended a great Mexican Martini to us! He was more than nice and made our time at Charcoal house great. IF you go to charcoal house try to ask for Fermin to be your server! read more

Oh, The Wrinkle Room. This place is like going to a random wedding reception: there's a weird and varied crowd tearing up the dance floor, and 90 year olds are using their "cute grandpa factor" to dance with 30 year olds. I like this place because it's great for people watching. The karaoke scene here is very competitive. It seems as though the regulars practice all week just for their moment to shine to an upbeat Tina Turner jam. Lots of country karaoke, and guys with cowboy hats to match. The karaoke host INSISTS on singing backup, which is hilarious, and he also has a strict "NO SLOW SONGS ALLOWED" policy. Once, he let us get away with singing "Leader of the Pack," until he realized there was a slow part to it and the song is about a bad-ass that gets killed in a motorcycle crash. We may or may not have been booed off stage and stripped of our mics. Anyway, fun place if you feel like people watching and getting your ass grabbed by someone's skeevie gramps. Good drinks, fair prices. read more

I had a gift certificate from Restaurant.com, so that's the only reason why I went here. Thank God I had a coupon, because if I paid full-price for what I got, I would be totally ticked. My husband and I went Saturday night and didn't know what to expect since it was our first time there. I had my mind made up that I wanted prime rib, but the waitress told me they just ran out of prime rib. There was only one other table in there, so how do you run out of prime rib on a Saturday night with no customers? Nothing else really looked good since I had my heart set on prime rib, but I got $19.99 La Costa Shrimp - shrimp stuffed with crab, wrapped in bacon and served with a cream sauce. I ordered the twice baked potato as my side dish, and unfortunately, my potato was the best part of my meal. My husband's $18.00 rib eye steak was not very good - comparable to a steak from Applebee's. My shrimp were fishy, not sure if that was the shrimp or the crab stuffing. Some of the bacon was fully-cooked, some of it was soft and soggy. The "cream sauce" on the shrimp was in fact, gravy. A white, boring, tasteless gravy. I do have to say that the chicken tortilla soup was delicious and so was the twice baked potato. Both of our main courses were not good. After dinner, we went to the bar and watched karaoke. It's obvious people don't come here to eat, they come to the bar for a reason - it was nice in there, fun too. Drinks were reasonably priced and made well. I would never come back to this place for dinner, but if I was in the area and nothing else was around, I might stop in at the bar. read more

Charcoal house was amazing. The food was on point and the hummus was my favorite. Had a bottle of wine to myself and a mint hookah. High recommend this place!! read more

Bar is over crowded and it takes forever to walk from one side of the room to the other to get another one... the big dance floor full of 40 somethings dancing the line dance doesn't help either. Karoke is fun, but you can find that at Norma Jeans just up the road... Ate dinner here once and it wasn't great either... I'd go here for someone else's birthday but would never suggest it. read more

Carnivore's rejoice - Saturday's Steak Specials are right on! Got the NY Steak (10 oz), and a friend got the Filet (8 oz) - both were delicious, cooked as we liked them, and cost a reasonable 16 bucks (woohoo!). Mines came with veggies and garlic mashed potatos - creamy and very delicious. Our server was very attentive and friendly. I did get an appetizer - Shrimptini: Tempura Shrimp and cocktail sauce - honestly, it too was pretty good, though I do think the price was a bit too high (~$12 smackaroos) - but since i didn't get a cocktail, i figured it was a wash. Note to all - Saturday is Karaoke night in the bar, with live lounge music. We decided to eat in the back where it was much quieter (and which reminded me of old school mobster dinner joints, in a good way). read more

I went for the first time last saturday and was so very disappointed. The place was overcrowded, the bar staff, less than friendly unless you were a woman, and the drinks were not mixed well. I give them an extra star for the heavy handed alcohol pour but it was almost too strong. Karaoke is fun but disorganized and you cannot hear yourself think over the piped in tunes. Definitely not a place I will return to any time soon. read more

Caution: This is not a food review. Rather, its a review on a karaoke bar in La Mesa with frequent "cougar" sightings. First...the patrons. The average age has to be 48 - ranging from 21 to mid-70s! That's were the name "wrinkle room" comes from...i hope. Eclectic might be to soft of a word...one of the other YELPers said bizarre; i say somewhere in between. You'll get some lifted truck El Cajoners, wanna be rock stars, hip hop heads (which confuses me), older married couples, OLDer men who are high on viagra (pretty gross and hysterical at the same time), interesting selection of Cougars, this sweet looking older woman who may be the mascot (I'll come back to her), and then you'll get a few really good looking girls who look like they dressed up to go clubbing downtown but somehow ended up here! Picture being in the middle of this crowd, throw in fair priced alcohol, karaoke...and you got yourself a good night! Every one of my times here has been WAY different...from crazy all nighters to a mellow billiard night...but every time has been good. If you're up for some people watching, you won't be disappointed! I come here to throw a few beers back and just watch people have a good time (which sometimes means horrible karaoke!) I think they have karaoke Thurs-Sat. One last comment, but very much worth it. The older woman mascot. I don't even know how to comprehend who or what she is. Has to be at least 70, pure white hair, and I've seen her EVERY time i have stopped in. She always wears some solid bright color (last night was turquoise), a flowing dress, kind of gypsy like, and always has the same dance moves. She waddles back and forth with a huge uncomfortable grin, and does the same motion with her hand, lol. I can't really explain it...its almost worth coming out just to see her. Marwan doesn't lie. read more

Literally the best place ever. Don't understand why this place has three stars but honestly I can give this place a five star. Especially Adriana, she was our bartender and nothing but accommodating me at every moment that she could possibly get. There was no second that I was in here that she didn't not serve me or make sure that my class was full. Big props to her! Make sure you guys treat her well because if you don't then I can't come back here. Thank you for the best michilada and hookah I've had in a very long time. read more

Bahahahahah! When anyone suggests we go to this place, I just laugh. It's dirty, cheesy, and funny all rolled into one. I have never eaten here, and I don't think that I EVER will, but if you want to hang out in a dank, musty, overcrowded Karaoke bar, with a fine mix of old folks and clientele who are still wet behind the ears demonstrating their finest mating rituals, this is your spot! I'll have to admit- some of the male bartenders are pretty easy on the eyes, but nonetheless, I always find myself escaping to the front patio to flee from the indoor tyrants which reside inside this bar. It's people are entertaining to say the least...have met many a weirdoes here. read more

We hosted my son and daughter in law wedding shower and it was perfect!!! The staff was fantastic, they food was good and every one had a great time. So glad we choose that restaurant for the venue... thank u to the entire staff and of course can't forget the dj's!!! We will be back!!! read more

Charcoal House - American Near Me - La Mesa, California

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Dang --- I'm kinda fearful to know that when I hit whatever age makes a "cougar"?? 35, 45.... 55? I"m not really sure.... but at some point I'm apparently not supposed to go out for dinner and hit the dance floor because I'm old and wrinkly and a cougar -- yipes. Ummm aren't we all gonna get older, isn't that the point unless we die in a fiery wreck first? When I see older people, little kids, 20-somethings (I'm 32) out HAVING FUN -- it just makes me happy people are OUT and aren't home watching TV. Four stars just for having an atmosphere that can flaunt the ability to draw in and successfully mix 21-90 year olds of every race, creed & color having a fun night out! That said - I'm in East County, so admittedly, I've eaten here more than a few times. Despite the talk of 'plastic cups' and small potatoes and no smoke and zombies and all of it - for the price, I have always had a great dinner here. It won't be Ruth Chris, but it also won't be a $200+ tab for 3 people for the night either.... The crazy retro atmosphere, cheap drinks, great people watching/singing/dancing mixed with a great big chunk of steak makes for good night out. But maybe I'm just easily amused. And like to show off a new pair of cowboy boots. It sounds like when I turn into a cougar any minute now, I'll be right at home, hurray. read more