Here is the salad. Wilted salad green and one cerry tomato. I hope the entre is much better read more

Charley Brown's Restaurant - Salad that came with the meal entre - New American Near Me - Rochester, New York

We haven't been here since before COVID. It was a great spot for lunch but now they are only open for dinner. We showed up about 30min before they closed and they were happy to seat us but also let us know the kitchen closed at 8. Plenty of parking. The building is all one level but maneuvering a wheelchair through the tables or to the gender-specific bathrooms might be tight. A walker would work though. We were seated in the sunroom area and brought menus, bread, and water right away. Phyllis was attentive but also gave us space to enjoy dinner. Hubby had the veal marsala which he enjoyed. I had the Haddock French which was lite, delicious and very lemony. We were able to order dessert before the kitchen closed. Hubby had rice pudding and I had the mixed berry crisp - both were great! We will definitely be back for another meal soon! read more

See all

Great food -- always consistent. They have been at that location for years. We have never been disappointed by the food or the service!

Went for dinner to celebrate my husband's 82nd birthday. He ordered the lamb chops medium rare and they arrived well done. The waitress very graciously took them back but now my son and I had to stop eating so we could wait for his dinner. By the time his dinner came ours were now cold. What disappointed me was there was no apology except from the waitress and no compensation. Even a free dessert would have been nice. To bad we have always enjoyed this restaurant in the past. read more

We enjoy trying different restaurants so we took the 25 minute drive from our house to try out Charley Browns, but it was a disappointment and a place that we will try again.. Food- it was Mothers day so a special menu. My husband ordered an eggplant parm dish, the eggplant was tough to chew and not much cheese on the dish at all. My butternut squash ravioli were good except there was very little sauce on them and the goat cheese sprinkled on top was cold. The kids were only offered angel hair pasta for $10 and it did not include a drink. Service- everyone in there had a stuck up and unwelcoming demeanor. Ambiance- Was dark and romantic inside. read more

The food and service ... 10 out of 10. The waitress was so professional and it was so nice of the owner to come to our table to make sure all was perfect read more

Have been coming here for many years. True, it looks "vintage", but that is part of it's charm. Staff that are efficient and friendly, but the food is why I keep coming back. Their greens and beans and liver and onions are top notch, prime rib is my treat to myself. Come and check it out, I think you will like it too! read more

Sometimes with these local, long lasting institutions, there needs to be a mindset. A mindset of wanting old school, of looking past perfection and embracing the comfort of familiarity. This is Charley Brown's. I grew up in Rochester, get home for a few times a year and get together for dinner with friends. We have the variety, club, upscale, casual...but this time, my friend, said, shall we do old school? I said sure and we ended up at Charley Brown's. It's been there what, 40-50 years? We walked in, it's old school. I don't think there has been any updates, and you know what, that's fine, it works The bar is solid, old school, wood and brass, but the guy makes a good martini and manhattan. We had to wait a while for our table, not off putting, but again, in this place, you just roll with it - you are not here for Michelin 3 star service, you are here for dinner with old friends. So we rolled with it, had some drinks and eventually, the table was ready. Small for the four of us, but cozy. The menu is a throwback. Classics, clams casino, steamed clams, shrimp cocktail....and all of it was good. Salads were nice, classic, and dinner was veal French, chicken Marsala and haddock French. It was delicious. Wine list was - well - again, limited, but got the job done. Beth, our server was like family, she made it work perfectly. Highlight was desert - house made chocolate cake and ice cream. Just great. Price was just fine, service was great, food was solid - if you want to go here every Friday, I get it. If you want to change it up and try this place, you won't be sorry. Well done Charley Brown's. read more

It was great. Staff was very pleasant. The Ziti with meatballs was the best I've ever had. Ambiance was great. Will be returning and telling others to go there! Thanks for a great evening!! read more

Excellent food, service and the owners are kind, caring and tend to their customers like they are family. Happy Peter and I found this gem of a place to have a great dinner, drinks & a place to spend a nice evening in our town of Penfield when we moved here almost 10 years ago. Just missing my sweet loving husband of 4 years and now take other family members here for a delicious dinner & friendly atmosphere. read more

Excellent service and even better food!!! Always willing to accommodate any requests.

Visited a few week ago -- special of that Saturday was braised beef bourguignon which was outstanding! Friend with me had the turkey dinner & enjoyed the meal very much. Never have a bad meal at this establishment!! Thank you. read more

Service was good but my lobster was dry and tough, clearly overcooked. I was offered free dessert but was will not be going there again,

So, my niece was looking for a place known for their Prime Rib and was having a hard time. She remembered that years ago she had a good meal at Charley Brown's, so off we went. We found the place packed on a Saturday night. 3 of us chose the Prime Rib and I chose the Turkey Dinner, which was very good (except I didn't care for the stuffing). The others were mixed: 2 thought it was good and the 3rd thought it was mediocre. Therefore, the 4 stars. read more

Front door was unattended. This place has a horrible front...Bar tender was nasty and rude.and didn't care much. Food was tasteless and way over priced. My spouse ordered a steak medium and it was literally raw. This place has gone down hill. read more

I ordered the prime rib from the "Special of the Day" menu. Our waitress cautioned me that it may come medium to well done. What was served to me was a paper thin slice of meat that was well done three days ago! Not only was the so-called meat overdone, but it had an odd taste to it like very old meat. I never had a chance to send it back since the waitress avoided any eye contact with me even after it was obvious that I wasn't eating the meal by placing my knife and fork across my plate. When my plate was finally removed and I had the opportunity to complain, the waitress informed me that she would remove the dinner from my bill. I had to chuckle when I realized that she did remove the entree from my bill but charged me for the salad that came with the meal. All in all, not a stellar evening read more

+Dinner was Broiled Salmon, Broiled haddock and pasta dishes - Service was good, the fish was inedible; overcooked haddock and the salmon overcooked outside and raw inside. Even the 'free Cesar salad' soaked in dressing that would make you weep for the lettuce it was suffocating... The Bar does a great business, LOUD overflowing into the dining area and LOUD. The restaurant, like the parking lot is a tight squeeze, tiny spaces between seating, cars barely room to park. Think narrow alley and scratched paint. It's a bar that serves overpriced, inedible food, however, the incredibly tiny, sliver of bread served for the meal was warm and inviting, a serving size for a petite pet hamster; it added another level of 'gotcha' onto the favorable claims of this bar food joint. read more

Wow! I feel pretty blown away after my experience at Charley Brown's. All pieces of a great dining experience were present during my visit! Our server was fantastic-she knew the menu so well, treated us with so much professionalism, but was also very friendly! She really made for such a great experience in my opinion. It's pricy, but I think it's worth it. I had a chicken Marsala dish. Not only did it look fabulously Instagram-able, it tasted amazing! I'm looking forward to my leftovers. I had the risotto as an appetizer, which came with marinara sauce and a bed of some greens. Again, the restaurant is pricy... I only got TWO risotto for nearly $13!! Yikes. I don't regret getting the dish, though, because it was delicious. All other dishes ordered by my family looked very good. My only true complaint would be that I wish Charley Brown's made their own pasta! Good food, excellent and knowledgeable staff, definitely a pricy/upper scale restaurant.. great atmosphere for special occasions! read more

While the location isn't the most upscale from the outside, Charley Brown's has done a very impressive job making the interior feel very upscale. The service is solid and waitstaff are courteous. Unfortunately though, the food seems to be aimed exclusively at the aged clientele with offensively bland, unseasoned food. For the prices charged, I was appalled by how tasteless my steak, potatoes, and soup were. The same can be said for my wife's food, also incredibly bland. Neither of our steaks had any semblance of a crust, and it was clear, the usage of salt, pepper, or any other seasoning was heavily rationed in the kitchen. All in all, this place would be absolutely lovely if they made food with actual flavor, instead of charging over $100 for a couples' dinner's worth of unseasoned ingredients. read more

Delicious good in a fancy, yet calming environment. Service was just ok but would go back again for the selection and quality of foods.

My experience at Charlie Brown was ok food wise. Our waitress seemed little frustrated before we even were seated. I received the wrong order but they fixed that. The atmosphere is alright, quiet and the music was very low (in a good way). The food tasted alright, I won't say really delicious but it wasn't bad either. The manager was very welcoming and caring. A lot of space to park. I don't mind going back there to try it again. read more

Charley Brown's Restaurant - a plate of pasta with mushrooms - New American Near Me - Rochester, New York

Hands down the worst food I have ever had. Chicken French came thick pieces of grizzly chicken covered in a sauce (water) with absolutely no flavor. I can't imagine what chef would serve that let alone what restaurant! Also stuff shells when served looked odd and obviously frozen! For the prices charged for these meals you should be embarrassed serving that!! I wouldn't step foot in there again even for a free meal. It might be time for this restaurant to hang up their aprons and lock the doors and do Rochester a favor! read more

Absolutely fantastic food. Clam appetizer and smaller prime rib really hit the spot and service was attentive. The building and decorations are dated but that only hides the amazing eats. read more

Manicotti made with tortillas!!! I don't think so. Stay away, this place is ridiculous! Service was great but the food sucked big time!

I have been a customer of Charley Browns for around two decades. Sent many new people and praised the Restaurant as the BEST in the Rochester and surrounding area. I always give it 5 stars. However, my sister visited from Atlanta along with an old acquaintance that I introduced Charley Browns to visited it Sunday Evening the 28th of July. Much to my surprise as I have promoted and spent much time at this restaurant our meal was not at all what it usually is. And that would be excellent. The salad was the inside bitter core of the lettuce with the tiniest of green in it. The artichoke french one of my favorites and recommendations to my visiting sister had watery sauce instead of creamy and we could hardly cut the artichokes to eat them. My 8 oz filet order medium came between rare and medium rare with the Bearnaise sauce so thick the silver cup could be turned over and nothing came out as it was so dry. The turkey was dry for my sister on the turkey dinner yet the stuffing was good. The Arancini balls were superb. Every time I go there or even ordered from Grub Hub during COVID, I was pleased and it was my most favorite restaurant. I called to speak to a lovely woman Marsha who has taken care of myself and all I have brought to the restaurant for years was not put on the phone a few days later but instead it was the owner as he stated and as a previous owner of two restaurants and a huge customer and lover of this restaurant, I was met with disdain from the owner and all I wanted was to tell him of my experience and embarrassment bringing my sister that night. She picked up the quite high bill and wouldn't let us pay. Later she informed me she would never want to go there again. Getting back to the owner, he made it very clear to me that I should never come back and did not care for my comments. He was crude. Having owned restaurants that were very successful and written up in the D & C and Posts years ago, I always welcomed feedback as customers are the backbone of the success of a good restaurant and a bad night could happen yet instead he wanted me gone. Just because myself and many others have spent decades in this restaurant does not warrant the owners I don't care, go elsewhere attitude. All I wanted was to tell of our experience prefacing that this has always been my favorite restaurant. Even if is was a bad service at our table, a decent response such as I am sorry your experience was not your usual and I hope we can accommodate on your next return. Well he made it very clear there should not be another return. To all the wonderful employees and people I met there in my past, thank you. I hope that you speak up to if you have an expensive and poor quality cooked food experience as one day there may not be a Charlie Browns anymore. Hearing and correcting issues make restaurants keep their standing and continued happy customers. I will not be back as he so stated that would be better. However even though my fond memories of many occasions there will fade, the owner and his arrogance will be printed indelibly on my mind and maybe a thought left for you if this happens to you. Goodbye Charlie Browns. read more

I took my fiancé on Valentine's Day weekend to Charley Brown's because one of her favorite things was egg plant Parmesan,Because it was thin and crisp so I thought it would make a special treat for her And I bought her this adorable valentine dress with little hearts on it and sequence. We've eaten here before and it was very good this just may have been a bad night, but her egg plant Parmesan was neither thin or crisp :( She did have a very nondescript pasta dish and of course before I knew what was going on I thought I would order the lobster tail. At market price. I don't normally really care what the market price is, if it's something that I want I'll pay for it without any issue at all. I also ordered the shrimp cocktail, the shrimp was good cold and crisp but the cocktail sauce was very bland and had no horseradish at all.. Then I received my lobster and as you can tell by the picture it looks really good. But even after the first bite I noticed that it was a bit chewy and somewhat like I've experienced at other places lately with lobster. I don't know if there something environmentally going on with them or they're just not getting them from the right sources? Almost every piece of lobster that I ate I had to discreetly extract it from my mouth to my fist back to my plate. It was extremely chewy and not very flavorful. I understand that lately that has been happening with almost any where I purchased lobster dinner except for Outback they were excellent. I just thought OK well that's the way it is and I knew I paid market price. What I didn't know was what market price was at the time and if you look at the receipt you notice it was $59.95 For probably one of the absolute worst lobster tails I've ever had in my life. And you will also notice that I did not chastise the waitress, she got a $40 tip for her service, but not for their food and that also included $28 worth of alcohol which I should not of tipped on But that's just the way I am. I just want to make anyone aware that before they go there and purchase a lobster tail that they understand what the market value is going to be or at least ask first so you're not surprised and disappointed at the same time. The last time we were there she had the egg plant Parm and it was absolutely perfect and I had the chicken French and it was very delicious I guess it just could've been an off night but I'll probably not be back there again. read more

See all

spoke with the owner about the inedible food; he was very RUDE & condescending to me. wanted me to drive back to his rest. (over 20miles one-way) & maybe he would refund me. how does this rest. stay in business? i will NEVER go back there & i will make sure i tell all my friends. read more

I truly forgot how wonderful this restaurant is. A hidden treasure. They never felt the need to redecorate as their food is the absolute best and that's what you go for. There were 4 of us last night. We never felt rushed, they changed the ingredients on a dish I ordered, escarole instead of pasta, no problem..we all licked our plates clean!! Thank you!! read more

I misjudged this little spot, it always looks busy, how could I doubt a crowd? They have early bird specials that are reportedly smaller serving sizes but each was very substantial. The fried calamari was tender. Soup of the day was chicken and artichoke which was creamy, well seasoned and full of chicken and artichokes. The French onion was reportedly delicious but it looked to me like big uncaramelized onion chunks. My haddock french was tender and well sauced. The service was quick, friendly and accommodating. read more

See all

Absolutely wonderful! Could not be better! From the servers, chefs and owners...everything is great! I highly recommend!

One of the best atmospheres that i've been in. Great service and the creme brûlée was amazing. I am not the biggest fan of Italian food but it was very good! read more

Took a customer to a Thank you for your business dinner at the end of our season, and I cannot say enough about how fantastic the dinner and service was!! The restaurant is a very nice old-fashioned comfortable, cozy atmosphere bar and restaurant with killer food!! Although they didn't have the Prime Rib, we all chose the Delmonico and it was fantastic, melt in your mouth!! Kudos!! read more

I have tried my best to go back to Charley Brown's a few times- hoping it would be like the restaurant I remember in years past...unfortunately, it's not. The French Onion soup was soo salty it was really inedible. I then had the Chicken French, which my sister loved from there, it was ok but nothing spectacular- maybe if the chicken had been pounded out it might have been moister and less chewy. My company had the white clams over linguine, which he said wasn't the best he's ever had. I hate to say it but I think I'm done with Charley's for now.... read more

Best place for ambiance and cuisine! These people know what they're doing! The drinks were outstanding. Ordered lemon martinis and they treated us to the best martini I've had in a while. Everyone is friendly and welcoming. I now live in the Santa Barbara area but was born and raised in Penfield. Charley Browns is a MUST! Old school perfection. You will not regret it. read more

A staple in the Panorama Plaza area for half a century. Nice menu, and although I wouldn't call it an Italian restaurant, there are a lot of Italian items. Good selection and a variety of price points. Homey comfortable interior. Nice bar and good service. A little fancier than casual, and a great week night spot. Daily specials too. read more

See all

We hadn't been here in many years, I guess I just forget about Charley Brown's. I won't be forgetting anymore!! We went for the early bird dinners, and what an amazing value!! Nice salads included, and WARM BREAD!! Service was wonderful, and the food was good and plenty - I still brought leftovers of my chicken parm home. Hubby had turkey dinner, said it was great, and he raved about the carrots of all things!! ‍. Highly recommend!! read more

We took my mom here for her birthday in July. I can't believe I've never been here! Absolutely no disappointment. I had the beans and greens entree size with gnocchi. My mother loved the fish and my daughter pasta and sauce. The service was impeccable and I'd ask for Deb each time. She was so friendly, caring, and attentive. I would highly recommend this place. read more

The best fried chicken I've had in a long long time. Not greasy. Not dry. Nicely seasoned. Breading was perfect. If you come here GET THE FRIED CHICKEN!!! Good house salad came with it. Cozy place. Walkable from the Hampton. I LIKE this joint. read more

Charley Brown's Restaurant - Really good southern fried chicken. - New American Near Me - Rochester, New York

See all

Consistently good food and an extensive menu. Reasonable prices, friendly atmosphere, good live music. We've enjoyed meals there for over 15 years. Tom and Gloria read more

Excellent meal and service as always. Nice the owner is always on hand to welcome you. Very reasonable and a solid menu. Never had a bad meal or service. read more