Dear Charcoal Pit, What has happened to you. Gone are the days of little old ladies in skirts, moving at the speed of light. Gone are the days of your early kitschy decor. Gone are the days of good food and good service. Seriously, 20 minutes to wait in your takeout for a burger and fries? Did you forget? I know I asked for the fries well done, but they weren't. Mush by the time they got home. My rare burger sat so long that it bled through your lame crusty roll. And what is with your rolls? They used to be good...fluffy but still capable of supporting my rare burger even with toppings. My rare burger is another story. Turn up that grill! Not a char mark on it. You are not cooking hot enough. Pit - you are just a shadow of your former self. As a former professional Pit customer (lifelong), I'm not afraid to say that you've gone down the tubes. Whatashame! Please, you are a Delaware Institution. Fix this quick because consumers are more savvy than you give us credit for. You'll become the tourist trap and the locals will go to Five Guys for their burgers. You want to keep us coming back. You can't rest on your laurels....no restaurant can in this economy. Do it right or shut your doors like Cheeburger Cheeburger. You owned the Pike. Time to take it back. .5 Stars. read more

Very Dirty- child hood memories crushed. Table top was dirty. Floors were dirty. Server barely spoke English. Tried to take my BF as this was a place we always took my mom for a hot fudge sundae (she's been gone since 1983) I give it a 2 because the fries were good. But the experience was kinda gross. read more

Talk about overhyped this decrepid excuse of a restaurant serves bland greasy fried disgusting bits of nothing, makes you wait forever and overcharges you to eat it. Stay away!!! read more

Burger was bland, bun was dry and stale, onion rings had a weird greasy taste, Fries were good!

What a great throwback to the 1950s. Good fire grilled burger, French fries and milk shake. What more do you need? I refrain from 5 stars because the jukebox at the tables don't always work and the burgers are on the small side. Order a double! read more

After reading all of the other reviews on this restaurant, I thought I was in for a treat - NOT!!! The meal was very bland. The burger was like something I would cook in a pan at home. It had NO grill taste whatsoever! A burger at McDonalds is better than the very bland burger they serve here. The burgers at Five Guys are WAY better than the very mediocre burgers served here. Since the burger was a bust, I thought I'd give the milk shakes I saw people raving about here. Maybe the restaurant could redeem itself in this category. ONCE AGAIN, what a DISAPPOINTMENT!!! The shake was so watered down - it was like drinking milk. No thickness, no real milk shake consistency whatsoever!!! I would NEVER go to this place again. This is one restaurant where the reviews lead me to believe that it was something outstanding. I found it to be among the worse that I have experienced. If you want bland food and watered down shakes, then this is the place for you. read more

Worst experience in a long time. Waiter eating food off customers plates be for he took there food out. Waiters and waitresses grabbing food with hands. No one caring. Really bad. read more

I have patronized and enjoyed the Charcoal Pit for 40 years. But last night gave me serious pause. I took my mother. We ordered hamburgers, a Pit staple. The young waitress came across as indifferent (I observed that the older waitresses were friendlier to their customers). It took a long time to bring our orders. We asked that the burgers be medium rate, but they were well done. I was willing to shrug it off, but my mother asked them to take it back and make one medium rare. They returned with another well done one. But the real problem was the quality of the meat itself. The Pit used to serve meaty burgers. These were flat patties with filler, tasteless and no better than one would find at a drive-through chain. Very disappointment development. I will try the Pit again at some point to see if this was a fluke, but with the degradation of burger quality I am not optimistic. read more

Such amazing food! The chocolate malt milkshake was the best milkshake I've had in years. The service is fast and friendly. Will absolutely come here the next time we are in Delaware! read more

Great char grilled burgers. For some reason they don't serve bacon. Or it would have had 5 stars!

I had seen this place all my life on 202 but it wasn't until recently that my boyfriend and I decided to check it out. The hamburger wasn't all that special....maybe I have been ruined by fast food burgers. But I loved my black and white shake. It was sooo good I might go in the future just for take out milkshakes. read more

Meh. Our server this most recent visit was lousy. We had to repeat our order a number of times and it still arrived wrong.The fries and onion rings were undercooked and the guy plopping them on plates doesn't use gloves. And my burger that was ordered rare came out well-done. But that's all that was well done this meal. read more

We were here last weekend, hadn't been here in a couple years. Decided to order entrees instead of burgers. We had the haddock filet and crab cakes, both came with fries and Caesar salad. Fish was fresh, crab cakes were fried, tasty, very little filled, decent value for the price. I could have easily saved one of them for the next day. The salad was crisp, fresh romaine with shredded parmesan, croutons, dressing on the side. We split a hot fudge sundae with wet walnuts, it was huge! Our server, Jessica, was super-nice! Good food, yummy dessert, great service! read more

Think 1950s hamburger joint. The burgers are good but, don't come expecting a gourmet meal. The shakes and sundays are good as well. It's cheap and tasty - 'nuff said. read more

I absolutely love this place always have a good time go there 2 times a week best milk shakes the malted milk shake with extra malt the best the waitresses are very nice also great place and very quick read more

This place was disgusting. We've been there before but will never go back. The burger was like hospital food and the hot dogs were burnt and shriveled, reminiscent of a cookout you got to hours after it ended. read more

Had to check out this place. Love the atmosphere, food was decent and my shake delish. Small sundae was reminiscent of my childhood days. Great place for a casual burger and nostalgia. read more

20 meals out of the week are healthy & cooked at home, I eat one "treat meal" a week which is generally fatty, greasy, carb-loaded, completely unhealthy, but utterly delicious. I wait the whole week for this meal & unfortunately, the charcoal pit let me down. Craving some BBQ I tried the cp since the place I wanted to go to (Lapps) is closed Sunday. I got the BBQ pulled pork sandwich with a side of fries. The fries were bland (I had to add old bay seasoning when I got home) & tasted stale. I'm usually craving fatty carbs so much at this point in the week, I'll eat ALL my fries even if they aren't top notch...I didnt even eat half of these they were that bad... My BBQ pork came on a good, hearty roll & while the pork itself had a great flavor, there was much more roll than meat. Granted, it was a pretty big roll, but it needed more pork or a smaller roll, I don't want to take bites of nothing but bread... I had an "ice cream fudge cake" for dessert (my weakness), which the girl told me was "hand-made" & "really good"...it was 2 slices of dry yellow cake with vanilla ice cream in between and fudge & whipped cream on top. I ate it all, not because it was good, but it was my dessert for the week, no more till next Sunday :-( Maybe the food would've been better had I eaten it there, but I wouldn't consider the charcoal pit worthy of a future treat meal read more

Could food be this bad? Wow. Worst I've had. First their was no welcome. The guy in front says "go to you left." That's it. The server was looking upset the entire time. Well I usually ignore all those when the food is delicious. But that food was bad. The southwestern chicken had. O taste. None. Fried soggy and drenched in oil. The crab cake was soggy. Used napkins upon napkins to remove excess oil and was still more oil. Wow. Terrible. First and last time I'll be here. read more

Been coming to the Pit for over 25 years but This is likely the last time we will stop here. Burgers both over cooked. Fries had been cooked twice because we asked them to be sure they were hot. I watched the cook refry chicken tenders while waiting. The only thing that wasn't disappointing was the milkshake. Really very sad, but the quality has really gone downhill. read more

Unless you are drunk or hung over this is not good food. Dirty dusty cramped. The burger was over cooked, thank goodness because I don't trust the meat. It's frozen stuff from a box cooked to order. read more

1st visit. Saw the cook drop food on floor, pick up put back on plate, cashier witnessed as well on take out, nothing was done.. Informed manager of situation, did not fire or reprimand employee. Will never eat in that place! -5s read more

At first I thought it was going to be a dive because the restaurant smells old soon as you walk in. But the food and milkshakes were all so good. Service was excellent. Everything came out so fast and tasted delicious. The burgers have that charred taste that you can't get at many places. I'd love to go back and try their other food. read more

Disappointed each time I go, it seems to get worse each time. Not sure if I was naive as a kid or just didn't know any better but this place was always fun for me. The jukeboxes at each table don't work, and just seem dusty and sad. The menu seems to keep expanding, which is good for them I suppose but seems like it's trying too hard. People come to the Pit for burgers, shakes, fries. Stick to what you know. The menus are always sticky, the staff seems colder and colder each time we go in. The straw that broke the camels back for me was going in this winter (at the height of flu season) and having the unfortunate luck of sitting close to where salads, drinks, and ice cream/shakes are assembled by the waitstaff. I saw someone make a salad without gloves, and another waitress eating soup and then carrying out food without washing her hands. I was tempted to say something to the woman who appeared to be a manager until I saw her standing in the restaurant, eating out of a styrofoam container in front of customers (and then not washing her hands before touching plates). So sad that I can't recommend people here anymore. It's too sad and gross. read more

Today my adventure to charcoal pit was quite disappointing. Took about 40 mins to get our food when the restaurant wasn't even busy. And there were two people taking our orders that didn't communicate to each other that they both were talking care of us. Won't come to this location again. read more

The only reason I gave 2 stars was out of loyalty, I loved this place, best steak sandwiches ever, Geno's & Pat's are lousy, but after being a fan for maybe 45+yrs. The pit has well hit the PITS.. not good, waitress was not trained property, I asked for my sandwich to be cut in half. she got a dull table knife and started cutting my sandwich as i told her i wanted her to take it back to the kitchen and use a sharper knife because a dinner knife only tears the roll apart. but that was ok, but the sandwich SUCKED and we will not be back, in fact my wife said lets eat there as we drove by.. only POSITIVE was the food did come out hotter then most meals are sold in restaurants.... Damn shame.. WTF do people buy a VERY Successful operation and change things stupid... very stupid..Jim's is now my go to place for a good steak sandwich off cottman & bustleton in NE Phila read more

It's is my second time here the food is nothing like it was years ago. I had to fish sandwich halfway through the sandwich the center of the fish was still frozen. Awful. My guess had the full rack of ribs they were overcooked and dry. Will not be going back. The waitress was awesome and I felt bad for her all she could do was apologize. Shouldn't of been her apologizing should've been a chef or the manager what a disgrace. The only thing that I can say was good was the mac & cheese bites as an appetizer everything else read more

A throw back diner with a charcoal pit. I had a burger, slaw, fries and milkshake. The burger is what they seem to be known for. I got a 8oz deluxe burger cooked medium. It comes on a toasted sesame bun with lettuce, onion, and tomato standard. For some with a smaller appetite, I'd recommend the 4oz. It was a lot of meat. Although I got mine done medium, it was a tiny bit well and rather dry. However, the burger had a very nice char taste that sort of outweighed the dryness. Slaw was pretty decent, not reinventing the french fry wheel. Milkshake was delish. They have a wide array of desserts and treats that are a must try. read more

The second I walked in, I wanted to walk out. Unfortunately, my boyfriend had a little more faith in this place than I did so we stayed. I ordered the chicken tenders and honestly, I couldn't even eat them! They were hot and crispy on the outside & cold and oddly soggy on the inside. Literally the only good thing was the crisp taste of my coke. Thankfully, they took it off of my bill without asking but I still left hungry! read more

Used to love this place. Good burgers, fries, and shakes. However, my last visit could have gone better. I had gone with a bunch of my teen friends and all of us had brought some money for lunch. I had ordered a six dollar burger, which was a good size for me to be eating. The waitress took my order and said, "Ohh, I'll give you the Home Run burger, it's the best burger on our menu!" I didn't see that burger on the normal menu and I was very confused, then the waitress moved on and did the same thing to many others in my group. After she left, I found the specialty menu and noticed that the Home Run burger was fourteen dollars! this waitress had squandered us out of money that many of us couldn't even afford. These burgers were big and expensive and she hadn't even given us an option. I left with much less money than I expected to pocked afterwards and half an uneaten burger, as did unhappy others in my group. I won't let this experience ruin charcoal pit for me, I probably will return at some point, this is just a forewarning and deterrent for me and others. read more

The Charcoal Pit is one of my favorite things about Delaware. It's cozy, it's cheap, it's fast. They have jukeboxes in the booths. They have booths! The waitresses are wonderful and no-nonsense. The food is basic diner food and the menu hasn't changed in 50 year, but it is so wonderful. read more

Ordered takeout from here and was pleased with the fast and pleasant service. However, the food was disappointing. The burgers were large but tasted frozen. The fries were of the frozen variety as well. My dining partner thought the hot dog more closely resembled a shoe. Definitely will not be going back. It's too bad as I prefer a locally owned place to the chains but this was disappointing. read more

I came here before leaving Wilmington after a business travel. I love good school restaurants so I had to try it. I had the Pit Special or Pit Deluxe I think its called. The cheeseburger with fries. It was good. The service was fast for takeout and everyone was friendly. The diner seemed but I only had the takeout. Nice restaurant for those into old school restaurants. read more

Who doesn't love a simple and tasty burger? The pit's onion rings are awesome, and their shakes are on point. Prices are good and fair. Ingredients are fresh. Friendly servers, or ones that are so efficient that I don't care if they're friendly or not. Knocking one star for their awkward seating system. Love the pit, will be back again and again when I want a tasty burger and don't feel like dealing with pretentious nonsense at "fancier" burger joints. read more

Great food, nice crispy fries. Burger was cooked as ordered. Service was nice and friendly. Seating is a little tight. Milkshakes are awesome. read more

No one expects Charcoal Pit food to be 5-star. People in Delaware come here for the atmosphere and feeling of nostalgia. We both got burgers and they were "fancy" by CP standards: the Texas burger and the Kennett Square burger...and they were fine. However, another thing we expect from Charcoal Pit is nice, pleasant, efficient service. Well, not today, folks. When we arrived at 4:10 pm, there were two other tables occupied, with two people each. We waited about 5 minutes by the"wait to be seated" sign before a server yelled over to "just sit anywhere." When we sat, we were immediately asked what we wanted to order. We asked to see menus, since it been about two years since we had been there. We then waited 15 minutes before the server, Mung Le, returned. She wrote our orders in the back of what appeared to be a receipt from someone else's check. My husband ordered a milkshake....she brought it over within five minutes and literally slammed it into the table. Our burgers appeared 20 minutes later. I think we will be going to the Kirkwood Highway Charcoal Pit from now on. read more

This place is awesome!! Went here with my boyfriend whose mother grew up in Wilmington and highly recommended this place. Has been around since mid 1950's and is a classic burger and milkshake stop. You can get takeout or sitdown and eat. Must get the triple thick milkshake- YUM!! Is rich enough for two people to split. Also, the food is pretty cheap ($6-7 for a large burger,8 oz, with fries) Or, just $4 for a small burger without fries. This place is fun and a great place for a burger and milk shake! read more

Nostalgia and good fried food are the recipe to this restaurant's continued success. I've been coming here since I can remember and celebrated school plays and piano recitals with a chocolate milkshake. You can't go wrong here. Unless perhaps if you order a salad... read more

Nostalgic family restaurant. Good cheap food. Ribs were a surprise! Tender and tasty! The Delmonico steak was described as tender with a good grilled taste. read more

It's about as simple and basic as american food can possibly be. Its good food, not the best, not the worst. I understand its a landmark here in Delaware, but they need to expand the menu a bit. Ate in once months back and did takeout today. Will go back on a yearly basis maybe. read more