We decided to celebrate our engagement with both sets of parents here and had one of the worst dining experiences ever. The service was terrible and the waitstaff was inattentive. It took over an hour between our appetizers and entrees. My mother's entree was brought to her cold, and after eating a shrimp and sending the dish back, the server returned with the exact same plate which had clearly been reheated. Any other restaurant would make a new dish. The food overall was decent and the restaurant itself is pretty with a nice view, but this experience was not worth going back. We even declined a discount on a return visit after my mother called to complain.
(2)
Eileen B.
Food: The food is average for Chart House. As for fine dining, this is the first fine dining restaurant I've been to in Melbourne, FL. Hubby had a nice steak and the portion was as described. The salad bar variety is average, but could do with more frequent cleaning. I ordered a steak as well, as I wasn't into the fish choices of the day, which rarely happens. My steak was a little rarer than I like, but definitely edible and tender. Ambiance: It wasn't as romantic as most other Chart House. The restaurant was a little loud. Service: The service was pleasant, not over bearing, but at times difficult to locate my server. Overall: It lives up to a Chart House, but a little snooty and the service and food isn't as extensive as other Chart Houses around the country. The one star off is for the valet parking only, and the service. Update 3/31/08 - 2nd trip there: Arrived 10 mins before time and was told it will be closer to reservation time. Reservation time came and went, we went up to ask, and was told, they are running a little behind, no apologies. When seated 15 mins after reservation time, waiter didn't show up with drinks or welcome for a good 10 mins and even then only after we flagged down the manager who offered to comp us drinks and appetizers, we negotiated for the lava cake instead with no heath crunch. We got the appetizer with heath crunch and our cappuchino showed up after we are almost done with the lava cake. Overall, the service was a great disappointment. I don't think I will go there again unless someone else invites me there. Stars are dropping fast. With a high end restaurant, my service expectation has to be better than Olive Garden. I get greeted and profuse apologies when seated at an olive garden! Chart House made me feel like, if I wasn't there, they didn't have to work that hard!
(3)
Alan S.
This place was great. I was there with a big group for an important business meeting and they fed us well. I saw the bill... OMG... but thankfully the other company was the one paying! I had the fillet and the lava cake... and before the meal they had a bunch of appetizers. The crab cakes were amazing. The fillet was really good... and the lava cake was to die for. On top of it all there was a nice view of the water. I would defiantly go again should I ever happen to be in Melbourne.
(4)
Craig B.
My first trip to Chart House several years ago was decent, but this trip was pretty awful. My wife's "medium-well" filet was significantly overcooked while my "medium" Ahi steak was just plain raw. Furthermore, a third of the tuna was inedible due to a large amount of connective tissue running through the steak. Both meals were very plain and unsophisticated. My wife's filet was paired with a baked potato and my Ahi was served with steamed broccoli and rice. The service was merely average and the atmosphere in the lounge section of restaurant left something to be desired. Overall, unacceptable for a $100 meal.
(2)
Heather H.
We went here for our anniversary and they printed us special anniversary menus! Service was great, food was great.
(4)
Karen H.
This restaurant definitely has great food but it is just a little out of our price range for anything other than a special occassion, so I am reviewing their happy hour. Most people would not think to go to Chart House for the weekly Friday after work event, but it's actually pretty great. The view is beautiful, sitting out over the river and marina and they have a special HH food and alcohol menu. The have items for as little as $4 and everything we've tried has been super.
I made a reservation for a Saturday evening at 7:30 with a request for outside or window but we arrived there at 7. They sat us immediately outside at the table of our choosing. Perfect view of the sunset as boats were returning to dock. Our waitress was very knowledgeable and friendly to us. The Lobster Bisque was creamy with nice sized chucks of lobster. The sizzling mushrooms were ordered as an appetizer and delicious! The main dishes were the Prime Rib and Filet Mignon. Both were cooked to our request. The desert was the raspberry sorbet. So light and pallet cleansing. We had a relaxing, romantic dinner and I would definitely go back.
(4)
Alex M.
Overpriced place, ok food (nothing special), ok service, never again. Nice view. Good location. Thats all this restaurant has.
(2)
Darlene T.
We definitely made the right choice in dining here. The food was superb and the service was fantastic. Totally what I would expect from a restaurant like this. But the most impressive thing was the spectacular view of the bay, which added to the ambience. On the recommendation of the server, I chose the Key West Spiced Grouper. The dish was cooked to perfection and the habanero sauce had a slight kick but wasn't too spicy. We also order the King Salmon which included the summer vegetables....also cooked to perfection. Just make sure you save room for their signature Hot Lava Cake...which was rich and decadent. Will definitely make it back again the next time I'm in town.
(5)
Audra K.
Celebrating our anniversary and we were treated wonderfully. Our server Rachel was so friendly and the right amount of attentive. The food was delicious and the view was amazing. I highly recommend the bronzed swordfish & the lava cake - it's well worth the wait!
(5)
Chriscoral A.
This was our first visit since they took out the devider between the bar and reastaurant. They gained 20 seats at the bar but the noise was horrible!!! The food I must say is still excellent! Prime rib that melts in your mouth and the best salad bar around.
(4)
L J.
Go for the happy hour! 4-6 it's such a good deal, but space is limited so get there early!
(5)
Richard M.
Fabulous entree and delicious dessert make for a very filling dinner! Had a great time here, food turned out great! Drinks were made to perfection, and don't get me started on the dessert. We were all very full, then someone ordered dessert. It arrived, and was devoured in record time :-) great views of the intercoastal, the sun was setting over tall palm trees in the distance, and cranes and pelicans could be seen by the water. very nice place!
(5)
Kayelee U.
My husband and I went here to celebrate our engagement when we were in Florida. We absolutely loved it. The atmosphere was perfect with a romantic view. We had outstanding food and service and will most definitely go back if we are ever back in the area.
(5)
Andrew R.
Made a reservation, Restaurant seemed to forgotten about it. No sorrys given, they pretty much acted as if it was business at normal. Would not eat here again.
(1)
Wendy F.
Have eaten here twice and both times the food and service was excellent! My husband loves the prime rib and I recommend the Paneed Chicken...chocolate lava cake was also very good! We love sitting by the window and watching the dolphins swim in and out of the bay. Great place!
(5)
Sheller K.
Exceptional customer service! I was in town on business and my parents drove over two hours to join me for dinner. We arrived before the dinner hour and sat in the bar area and had a couple of drinks and appetizers. We moved over to the dining area and had a fantastic view of the water. The manager helped me sign up for their rewards program since I was unsuccessful on my iPad. I travel for work so this will be very nice. We all ordered salmon, one Parmesan crusted, one grilled, one blackened. All were delicious. Too full to eat the lava cake we ordered, they boxed it up for my parents to take home and the ice cream went to the hotel with me. The waiter Johnny was very attentive and wish I would have gotten the manager's name since he stopped by a couple of times to check on us. Our overall experience was delicious food and exceptional service - the kind of service that creates brand loyalty. If I'm in Melbourne again, I will be back.
(5)
Peggy R.
We came here to clebrate a friends birthday and it was his choice. I think the best part of the meal was the clam chouder, it was great! Service was good and one of our party had the lobster bisque and she loves it (she had been here before). We ordered crab cakes (good), the 3 shrimp dinner (meh), grouper (very good) and scallops (very good). Kind of a mixed bag but for the price I expect ore quality with the food. The shrimp were disappointing at best. It was an expensive lesson and I wouldn't go back. We were at a table on the water and did enjoy that so if you decide to go ask for a table with a view of the water.
(2)
Mark M.
I've frequented many of the high-end steak houses over the years around the country - this one (Melbourne, FL) now ranks at the bottom of my extensive list. I cannot begin to express my disappointment in virtually every aspect of our meal during my visit to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We were seated very quickly with a water view that was nice, and the waiter was extremely courteous and attentive, if maybe somewhat pushy on quick ordering. Although polite, his recommendations/knowledge were not communicated in a manner conducive to helping our food choice. Chart House's Salad Bar is suppose to be legendary - however, their premade Caesar salad was floating in liquid that ultimately wilted the salad and the rest of the salad bar was not much better than what you would see at a Ruby Tuesdays (gasp!). My spouse's Grouper entree with potatoes was obviously not very fresh and was laying in a non-imaginative type of salsa - quite frankly, yuck. My entree of scallops and braised short ribs had a whole 2 scallops (really - a whole two) and the shrts ribs had virtually no taste. All-in-all, an completely unimaginative meal with exhorbant prices for very little food. The appetizer of seared tuna and tuna tataki with coleslaw was probably the most edible food of the evening, it's a shame that it didn't carry over into anything else. We were afraid to oder anything else. In the end, I would have rather spent my $140 on Meg O'Malleys downtown, or maybe at Matt's Casbah - we would have received much higher quality food at half the price, and those places actually have an enjoyable atmosphere with top-notch service. Bottom line, Old school restaurant, old school food, ridiculous prices - Yellow Dog Cafe is a much better alternative if you want to spend $$$ money.
(1)
Chad D.
My family and I were in town for the weekend and decided to eat here. Beautiful water views where dolphins made their presence known. Our waiter (Todd) was fantastic and was able to help us pick a great meal keeping everyone in my family's taste in mind. If I ever make it back to Melbourne I will make sure I make it back to the Chart House.
(5)
Vivian H.
We went to the chart house to celebrate our friends anniversary . All six of us had wonderful meals, and the waiter was great. We chose the Chart House because of its outstanding cuisine , and beautiful view. it's a good thing we had a view to contemplate and delicious food to eat because the noise level was so high we could not carry on a conversation. The noise was all due to one table with four very obnoxious middle aged women who behaved as though they were at a frat party.the manager said he would not and could not do anything about it. I ask myself why four people get to dominate the whole section and no one working there was willing to say anything to them. Other diners were aggravated by their behavior. My friend asked them to lower the volume and they got louder and sang. The staff did nothing. the message was very clear, we don't care how you feel, we do support drunkards. I did not realize that Chart house supported this kind of behavior.
(3)
Joanne S.
Special occasion place pricewise but they have a good happy hour drink and food specials in the lounge from 4-6.
(3)
Cameron O.
Our party of eight dined at the Chart House in Melbourne Florida this past Saturday evening and had one after another disappointment throughout the night. It started with my wine being served in a totally dirty glass. Soups and salads were all delivered at widely varying times. I had to asdk the waiter for my salad after most of the others had already finished theirs. While clearing the salad plates, the waited dropped a dirty fork down my back and other than saying "oops, I'm sorry" did nothing to offer personally wipe off my shirt or to pick up a dry cleaning tab. My wifes meal arrived incomplete and we had to ask a second time for het a la carte baked potato. The last straw came when my sister-in-law bit into her Tilapia dinner only to crunch down on a piece of glass. Very very poor. I regret buying my Landry's Club card as I doubt we will ever return to this location.
(1)
Mary R.
Be prepared to pay, but it is one of the best restaurants in the Cocoa area. Every drink is perfect and they The one exception is Happy hour and that is just as lovely as the regular menu. If you are on a budget their happy hour is still going to beat the pants off other area restaurants. My favorite things: Fried Asparagus ap, Spiced Yellow fin (rare), and Macadamia nut Cheescake. I'm not usually a fan of cheesecake, but their's is an unbelievable special treat as are all of the drinks!
(4)
Eileen D.
Had reservations for Christmas eve dinner after a 4:00 church service. We were seated next to a table which 7 children, about ages 4-9. There were also 4 adults. The children ruined our dinner, by yelling, running around, bashing into our table and making so much noise we could not even hear each other talk, let alone, hear what the waiter was saying. I glared at them numerous times, and said " please don't do that" to one of the kids that bashing into me, but to no avail, the parents were all visiting at one end of the table, and basically totality ignored their children. I complained to our waiter, the person who brought our bread, the person who brought our salads, as well as the manager, ( 4 employees total) but no one would say a word to the offending table. We spent 140 dollars on the meal, and even after complaining to the greasy haired manager, he simply did not comp us anything, and said "sorry, try us again". I thought of personally saying something to the dad of some of the children, , but he seemed to be totally tuned out to how the children were robbing us of our good time. This was the worse dining experience of our life,and the manager should be fired. We will not be back! I might expect this at a Mcdonalds, but not at a restaurant where our entrees were 36 dollars each, and the salads, were 9 dollars each!
(1)
Nicole B.
Can always count on the Chart house for a good meal when traveling. They have never let us down. Must try the fried asparagus! Don't go near the peppercorn steak medallions!!! For some reason the chef at this Chart House has the recipe for the sauce wrong or something because it was really bad. Other then that, great service, kind of snotty crowd being in the vicinity of the yacht club.
(3)
Michael M.
This restaurant is great. They have valet service. You are warmly greated when you arrive. I have never waited more than a few minutes for a table. The view from our riverview table is stunning. Drink orders are made promptly and delivered in reasonable time. Cocktails here are very good. Today I ordered oysters on the half shell, lobster bisque, and alaskan king crab legs. The oysters are very nice and served with cocktail sauce and horderadish. The lobster bisque was so tasty and served at just the right temperature. The king crab is to die for and it comes with a baked potato dressed any way you want. For dessert I had the raspberry sorbet. It tasted fresh made which is a big plus. I also sampled the key lime pie, the cheesecake, and the creme brulle. All were excellent. The service here was very good and our server was very helpful and attentive. Consistency is the secret to this restaurants success as well as being able to maintain an atmosphere of charm and elegance. Definitely a great place for a night out with someone special.
(5)
Mary L.
We were displaced Thanksgiving day guests and decided to give the Chart House a try. Let's just start with it was a holiday and it was busy. This was actually my first Thanksgiving where I went out for dinner and I must say I felt a little guilty about going because I hate that people have to work that day. Everyone we encountered from the bartender to the servers were very nice and professional and seemed to be okay with working that day. The Chart House has been remodeled and it appears that it is pretty much complete. The bar that once was hidden is now wide open and I hear a 60 inch television is going against the wall. While it looks great it does increase the noise level in the place. It also allows for wide open views to the river. We had drinks at the bar while we waited for our table. The bartender John was friendly and fast! Our table was ready about 15 minutes after our reservation but it was so busy they were doing the best we could. The tables are close together so if you plan on having a private conversation this is not the place. However if you want to ask for a divorce and want to make sure that your soon to be ex won't scream at you this is a great place. We started off our meal with Coconut Crunchy Shrimp. They were good not fantastic. You have to try really hard to screw up fried shrimp. We both had the salad bar. For an additional $8.25 with a meal you are allowed access to the salad bar. It's a good salad bar. The cesear salad station was my favorite and that is probably because I love anchovies and croutons. The server manning the salad bar was working hard all night. Be careful when you pull a salad plate because a few of them were dirty but I am sure it was because the place was jam packed last night. For dinner I had the filet with mashed potatoes. The filet was perfectly cooked and the mashed potatoes were tasty. My boyfriend had the Hemingway Snapper which was a very big piece of fish with crab meat on top. It was cooked perfectly. For desert we had the Hot Chocolate Lava Cake. I am not a huge dessert fan but it was good. My boyfriend loved it. They have a pretty good wine selection and a bunch of speciality drinks. The Chart House is good restaurant. It's not at the same level as Yellow Dog Cafe or Crush Eleven but they are a solid restaurant. I am not sure why the Chart House is getting slammed on Yelp! On a side note they have a great happy hour if you want to just go sample a few things and have some cocktails.
(4)
Colin C.
Went there in Christmas Eve with the family. It was packed. The reservation time was honored. The service and food were outstanding. The limited menus had all the best items from the regular menu. We had several appetizers, entree's and desserts and all were very good. A must is the mango mojito.
Finally sitting down to review our "go-to" restaurant of choice. Let's just say it was my first date with my husband when it was still the 1980's decor, and we enjoy it even more with all the new updates. My husband loves a good steak and it has always been consistent. I will say we eat here at least 2 to 4 times a month. We have enjoyed holidays, special celebrations, Sunday brunch, Happy Hour, even bring our kids and always bring out-of town visitors here. The staff is welcoming, attentive and helpful and the food is consistently good. The valet guys know my husband on a first name basis...On only one occasion in the past 7 years can I recall a steak that was not as tasty, and they immediately replaced it with a new one when I mentioned it. On another occasion a waiter threw out my left-overs by mistake and the manager brought me an entire new meal to take home! Now that's nice service! My husband is part of the Loyalty rewards program (highly recommend this), and you earn points for your meals that convert to cash toward your next visit. Pretty cool. Last night it was so busy (Yah!) we could not get a table in the bar area at 8pm, so we decided to eat at the bar (we did this one new years eve at the last minute too) and it is a nice bar area. Yes, it is a little noisier since the wall was torn down, but we enjoy the activity and people watching. Max was the bartender who served us and when I asked about a new salmon dish he highly recommended it. All I can say is WOW!!! I love salmon. I order fish out all the time since I rarely cook it at home. The Chart house has wonderful fish, truly! I can't say enough because I've tried them all, but this was sooooo extraordinary! I feel like you can not go wrong with any fish you try there. The ahi tuna, the encrusted mahi, oysters, shrimp, scallops, but this new pesto Salmon was a great surprise! Steak lovers know what to expect from the Chart House but fish lovers rejoice! Thanks for another wonderful dinning experience.
(5)
Oscar D.
This review covers my last two visits during June and July 2015. I'll begin with saying the food was very good on both occasions and on food alone, I'd give a score of 5 stars. However my reason for the 3 star score is for the service. On both occasions, our servers have been forgetful. In June, the waiter forgot that we had ordered soup and boasted that he could make this "Out of the World" tartar sauce which somehow never arrived either. In July our waitress stated that if we wanted their signature Lava Cake, we'd have to order it 20 to 30 minutes prior to getting it. So we asked for the cake when ordering our meal to later find out that she forgot to place the order. Somehow she scrambled and got us one that was cold and not very good. For the caliber of restaurant and amount of money they charge, the quality of wait staff is far less than I would expect. Sadly, I don't see myself returning anytime soon. There are too many other good restaurants which are not as pricey and am sure don't hire a wait staff with dementia.
(3)
Natures Parables S.
Excellent!!! Went here for my birthday dinner and the food and service was great! Jerry was our server and treated us great! We had grouper and salad bar...fabulous! A birthday surprise came at the end. We highly recommend this restaurant!
(5)
simon d.
After eating at the chart house for many years and many meals I am afraid to say the last few visits have been extremely disappointing. it's just not the old Chart House. It starts out with a friendly greeting by our valet and then it slowly goes downhill from there with an extremely snobby staff that meet you at the front desk, the attention to detail that once made the Chart House famous is disappearing and the food by no means is the same as it once was, the food seems to be pre packaged or frozen and then Dr'ed up, the other problem is the quantity of food for the price. I do not mind spending extra for quality and a good quality but the Chart House has lost both quantity and quality. We had an anniversary dinner there my wife and I and the prime rib tasted like it was from the night before. I would bet a thousand dollars that it was. We brought this to the attention of the restaurant and the folks that own the Chart House with absolutely no response. it is very unfortunate and I hope things get better but it just doesn't look real good. 4 positive stars for a very good salad bar.
(1)
Lisa E.
I visited this restaurant for the first time over Labor Day weekend. I made a reservation and requested a water view table. They did not accommodate this request. Not a huge deal. On the other hand, the service was a huge headache. Our waiter seemed annoyed that she was working on a holiday weekend (complained right to me about the place being too busy) but worse, seemed to have no clue how to interact with the elder company in my dinner party. She was not attentive to their needs and was condescending at times. Overall, the service was just completely awkward and I couldn't get out of her company fast enough. Thankfully, the food was good and fresh. The salad bar was nice and had a lot of options. The place is pretty pricey but the portions were a good size. The views are nice, just try for a water view. At the end of the meal, the waiter tried to have us sign up for some points club, was pretty insistent on this even though it costs $25 to join. She seemed annoyed when we declined. Shocker. I might go back at some point and try this place out again. The service really ruined it for me.
(3)
M M.
Only been for the Happy Hour, but it's Fantastic!!! The price is right and food and drinks are great! You can sit outside or inside depending on the weather. But get there early because it does fill up for Happy Hour.
(4)
Mark S.
Excellent waterfront view and service. Fine food with surf and turf menu. The salad bar is the best around, including caviar or a made to order Caesar. The prices are top end in this town, so we usually only visit on special occasions. Very good bar.
(4)
Audrey W.
Always dolphins in the waterway.
(5)
Tammy R.
My girlfriends and I came here for happy hour. Cocktails and appetizers in the bar area. Our waiter was very rude to us from the time we sat down. He acted as if it was an imposition to bring us our food we ordered things. We witnessed him being rude to other patrons. We also witnessed him eating directly from the salad bar with his hands. The appetizer food was good. The cocktails were okay. Don't eat in the bar when Donny us the waiter. My girlfriend was here the previous week when a nice young lady was tending the bar area and she said she was very personable. I was contacted by the management after posting this review. He was very apologetic about our negative experience and offered compensation at a future visit.
(2)
Joanne B.
Let me say that I know I am a food snob, but this place must hate food because they have no idea how to prepare anything good. First, we walked in and the place smelled like a port o potty, so now I refer to it as the "Fart House". No place should smell like that and there is clearly a sewage issue somewhere. Please fix it and please update your outdated decor. It was hurting my eyes! Don't waste your time at the salad bar, the one at my office cafeteria is better and anyone can open a can of olives and throw it in a bowl and who cares about bad caviar, just because it's caviar. My favorite line of the night was when the hostess seated our party of four and said, "oh crap, I forgot to bring the other two menus." I got annoyed at paying $30.00 an entree for the quality of the food that was received. Thank goodness for the good company we where in, the view, and our very nice and well humored waiter.
(1)
Janeen K.
Food always very good, salad bar is fantastic, service is super, view is beautiful...highly recommend! My meal was Salmon, ginger rice, broccoli, also in the past tried the Prime Rib which is very good, perpared to perfection, all meals have a good presentation. Price maybe on the high end. If you feel the service is slow..well it's really well worth the wait! Janeen K
(5)
Mike M.
The view of the river is definitely breathtaking. Though I've always thought the inside of this place needed some sort of makeover. Maybe paint or new tables. I can't put my finger on it, but when you go in take a look around at the cheesy floral prints. The wait staff is very appeasing. If a crumb falls on the table you can bet your bottom dollar to find them chasing after it with crumb comb. The salad bar is overrated. It's def eye catching as you walk in but don't let the nice presentation fool you into paying 8-15$ on it just because it has caviar and bright colored fruit. Really it's just and average salad bar. Every entre that I've ordered always looks and taste amazing. I've never had a compliant about the food but believe that the price is a little high for the area.
(4)
M. O.
My review is based only on the drinks and an appetizer. I don't even remember which one we had that night. The only reason we keep going to the Chart House is the blueberry Mojitos. Myself and a friend are attempting to try Mojitos from all the establishments that serve them in the Melbourne/Beachside areas. So far the best one we've had (out of about 30 so far) are the blueberry Mojitos from Chart House. They currently rank number 1. We've never had the food, except for that appetizer, which I remember was really good. I think it was cheese stuffed shrimp? Oh yes, and we also tried a banana creme brulee. That was fabulous. We'd like to try the food here at some point but based on these reviews I am a little discouraged already. All but one time that we've gone for the Mojitos we've sat outside. The service wasn't outstanding but it wasn't terrible either. The day we tried the app was the day we sat at the bar and the bartender was brilliant. Watching him make the Mojito was artful. It's got a fancy feel to it and fancy prices to match but those blueberry Mojitos are worth the check.
(4)
Denny C.
We had a party of 7 and once seated, the noise level got increasingly louder than the bar we had just left. The food was absolutely horrible. Chart House used to be a good place back in the day to go for good savory food and a wonderful dining experience. Now, it's just like a cafeteria. The service was mediocre at best. We were celebrating a friends birthday and they printed a menu with a "happy birthday for turning 69" . He just turned 62. Sloppy and inattention to detail. Never is a long time, but I'll NEVER go back. If I want to blow $200 again, I'll open my car window and throw the money out. That's what we felt like last weekend.
(2)
Francis M.
If you're looking for a quiet dinner for 2 on a Friday night this is not the place. The one star rating is a bit unfair because we did not stay for dinner. We were early for our reservation so I had a $9 Kettle and tonic at the bar. It was fine. Unfortunately the restaurant noise level reminded us of a high school cafeteria. The louder it got the louder people talked. It wasn't any better when we were seated so we politely let our waiter know that we were looking for a more subdued atmosphere and wouldn't be staying. He understood and attempted to find a "quiet" booth but, we were probably fortunate, and nothing was available.
(1)
C H.
Had reservations for 8:30 on Valentine's night. The waiting area was packed. We checked in. Our reservations were for the deck which was a concern due to the drizzling rain. We were assured that it would fine, they had it covered and heated. We were also told at 8:30 that we were next to be seated on the deck. We waited and waited. Asked the hostess several times to check on our table. She told us on 3 occasions that she would go see what was available. TO BE FAIR: the power flickered on and off twice during our wait which was messing with their computer systems. We started hearing people complaining that they wouldn't accept cash payments because the staff didn't know how to handle the money without a computer. Are you kidding me?? What has happened that we can't even take care of customers if there is a power blink? Other guests were slowly being seated. Even those with later reservation times. We once again questioned the hostess and she finally took us to our table at 9:30. One hour after our reservation. There were still many many people waiting to be seated. As we were walked towards the deck we see lots of empty tables. Clean, set, ready for guests. No one seated there. When we arrive on the deck there were 9 TABLES WITH NO GUESTS SEATED AT THEM!! Why in the world were we (and everyone else) forced to wait for an hour when there were tables available. We sat down and it really made us angry that they thought so little of their customers to make us wait an hour. Decided to get up and leave. Goodness only knows how long our food would have taken! As we left my husband told the hostess why we decided to not dine with them. Her response was that maybe ALL OF THOSE CUSTOMERS we at the salad bar. Ummm. No. There were ZERO customers at the salad bar. She was just desperate for some excuse. We will not go back. I prefer establishments that truly care about their customer service.
(1)
T. B.
Beautiful location, but I usually feel like I'm getting my money's worth in most Chart Houses. Not so this one. It's a bit more cramped than the ones I've gone to (five or six on both East and West Coasts) and definitely a lot more noisy. I'm not a fan of places that have loud music and horrible sound muffling; loud does not equal hip. Parking appears to be only valet. I love valet when it's convenient; I hate it when I don't have a choice. I had the seared ahi and even the outside was cold; just a tad too much sauce and the saffron risotto was also chilled. I've had better, so I won't be back here unless the boss is paying.
(2)
Pat K.
Food, service and ambiance were excellent. The salad bar and mud pie are a must. The only negative was the piped in music, it was intrusive.
(5)
Ressa K.
For what you pay, it's not very good. everyone complained about their side dishes... which for the price you pay should be awesome. We were there for a family birthday and it's nice they put the name of the birthday person on the menu but it wasn't up to the price you pay for food. Blech. so sorry. it's been better in the past.
(2)
MOna J.
To be clear I understand it was Thanksgiving, but, that is no excuse for the service I received. I'm pretty sure our server hated me upon arrival, at a table with 9 people 4 of us having a drink I was the only person carded. I ordered a salad she just didn't bring it. We had to point out the missing salad After my entree arrived my salad plate sat there the entire meal. I wouldn't be as irritated had anyone else in my party had the same experience, but, she was extremely attentive with everyone else. I don't think having a tip included in the check is a good reason to be a bad server. It was busy, and maybe she should have prepared herself for it being a busy day a little better. I've worked in the service industry both FOH and BOH, there is no excuse. Perhaps she should have rested a little more knowing it was a holiday. Otherwise the food was delicious the only complaint would be gravy on everything. It could have been on the menu that way.
(2)
Jessica M.
The restaurant has a beautiful view of the ocean. If you look long enough, you'll even spot a dolphin. The service is excellent and the food is breathtaking. We have eaten there the past two days for work engagements. The first night I got the Seared Mahi and the second night I got their blue cheese filet. In addition, on both nights I got the salad bar and shared their famous lava cake. The food was amazing. Extremely tasty and very filling.
(4)
Tee L.
we went here last nite, because we are staying in the melbourne area and looking for a good place to get great drinks and good meals and service and found the yelp reviews ,pretty mixed.. It has been a long time,since I went to any ChartHouse.. I must say the bartender Jeff, knows how to make a tasty great drink and some of the apertizers,tasty too.. The service was excellent, maybe because we sat in the bar for an hour(we were waiting on a couple of friends),so we had our cocktail time. The sear ahi, was my favorite lite bite. And the lava cake was totally chocolately delicious. I had the macadamia crusted mahi-mahi,,but I should of gotten red meat,as the fish was on the sweet side,but good.. No it is not a place for a romantic dinner,as it is pretty well lit and little noisy.. But I think,being tuesday, our service was better than some other busier evening..
(4)
Jeff C.
Second trip. Great service. Surf & Turf pasta OK, little less spinach. Mrs. liked the chicken romano! Patrick was our server. He was great!
(4)
Adrian G.
Not an upscale restaurant!!! First off, tried to make reservations for seating that was romantic/overlooking the water and was only offered first come first serve seating and my reservations were on a Wednesday night. When we got there, there were two young ladies working at the front and neither one of them greeted us and acted to busy to ask us if we had reservations. After about 10 minutes of just standing there my interrupted on of the ladies and told her we had reservations and if she could check us in. She told us to be seated and we waited another 10 minutes and we were seated. For an "upscale" restaurant, the seating was too close together and I have never been to an "upscale" restaurant with a salad bar. The waiter was ok, not good but not extremely bad. He was too pushy with trying to get us to order the lava cake that takes 30 minutes to cook. I don't remember exactly what my wife ordered but I ordered the chicken and it was nothing to write home about. It was tender but it didn't have any flavor. My wife stated that her fish didn't have any flavor as well. After receiving the bill, we were extremely disappointed that we spent so much for a lack luster meal. The only positive note is that the water/scenery is beautiful. We walked around hand-in-hand, looked at the boats and enjoyed each other's company. We are both very upbeat and happy people who try to make the best of every situation but we are growing tired of receiving unsatisfactory service.
(1)
Angela S.
The food was okay. They try hard, you can tell. I've had better but I've had way worse. I'd give it another try. Hopefully next time the temperature inside the building will be better regulated. It was so hot.
(3)
Carly L.
Caviar at the salad bar? YES PLEASE. My family took me there on my last night of visiting them in FL, and I was impressed. Great appetizers, attentive service, and a great meal. why not 5 stars? The only WA wine on the wine list was 14 Hands. The wine "snob" in me found that very sad.
(4)
Amanda P.
This is always a good fall back for a good meal. Great views of the water. The service and the food are consistant. I love going for happy hour and they have some appetizers priced lower than during normal hours. I love the macadamia crusted fish and the salad bar is to die for.
(4)
Nelson L.
Great views in this upscale restaruant. The service was excellent and food was well prepared. It wasn't the best steak I ever had, but it was good. However, sides and appetizers (stuffed mushrooms) were very good. This place won't break the bankk, but be prepared to spend some $$$...
(4)
JJ P.
Note that Chart House is part of very large corporation. That being said, Chart House can be very bland and formulaic. I have had mixed experiences there from superb to downright dull. I recently attended a private function at the Chart House and was really impressed by the attentive service, quality of food, cleanliness of the building and professional staff. The location and view are superb. Is the greatest food in Melbourne? No its not, but it definitely is a good destination restaurant.
(4)
Kim S.
Dreadful experience...I'd leave it at that, but I feel compelled to warn anyone with intentions of eating here to please rethink that choice. In my opinion, the only reason this place keeps its doors open is because there is almost nothing else to choose from in this area. To start our experience, there was a detour and we were totally confused as to where this place even was...ok, not their fault and we're not completely familiar with Melbourne. Well, we found it. We walked in and the decor looked old, washed out, and a little like a pumpkin spiced latte got sick everywhere. The music was loud and obnoxious, not what you'd expect from fine dining ambiance. The snooty toddlers at the hostess station asked my husband if he had a reservation and he said that he did. We were then directed to the seating area 3 feet away from them, where we remained for 15-20 minutes. People without reservations were seated before us and the people with reservations 15 minutes after ours were seated before us...but we tried to remain positive...even though the dizzying and dirty looking hotel carpet and salad bar's mere existence kept begging us to walk out. Are salad bars gross to you? They are to me...and nothing about them says upscale. But I digress as I often do. Ok, so we finally got seated after another ridiculous debacle that I'll spare you having to read about. Our server promptly came over and was super friendly. We ordered the lobster and shrimp spring rolls and a couple of drinks. Don't get the moscato sangria. It was cloyingly sweet, we sent it back. The lobster rolls a.k.a. cabbage rolls were ok, huge and awkward to eat but certainly not the worst thing either of us had ever tasted. Worth $13? ummm no. We ordered the seared mahi and the coconut shrimp for our entrees and went ahead and ordered dessert, the chocolate lava cake, since we were told it would take 30 minutes to prepare. As we waited, we tried to pinpoint exactly what this restaurant's decor and vibe was trying to say. We decided it was tragically confused and stopped thinking about it before our brains exploded. We were happy to see our food arrive and were excited to dig in, as we were starving (skipped lunch). The coconut shrimp was overcooked and my hubby could barely even cut through most of his shrimp. This is not something you'd expect from a $30 entree. However, a few of the shrimp were actually edible and tasted ok but the sweet chili sauce they paired them with was a strange choice, not complementary at all. The shrimp was also served with the worst thing either of us had ever tasted, crab fried rice. How do you mess up fried rice, you say? I don't know but this stuff tasted rancid. It was just bad. Soooo, onto my food, "seared" mahi, which was not seared at all, it looked totally poached and had some of their nasty crab on top. The fish was cooked well I guess but was probably one of the blandest pieces of fish anyone ever put on a plate. Poor fish, it deserved better than to be drowned in butter and tastelessness. I did eat my broccoli. It was steamed, can't really mess that up. So, needless to say, we sent the food back and declined their offers of ordering something else. When that famous cake got to the table, we were cautiously optimistic about its quality but were happy that it tasted like chocolate and cake so we devoured the whole thing. Though, I'm not certain what the fluff was about needing 30 minutes to prepare since parts of it were cold, so it obviously was not baked fresh. The manager came over and comped our entrees. Thanks manager lady but we will never ever ever return. It's over between us. Upon driving away my hubby said, "well, at least now I have a place to recommend to people I don't like." We drove off into the night and hit our favorite sushi restaurant. The End.
(1)
Ron J.
Just got home from here and, as usual, I don't feel well. This has happened the last few tomes I've dined here. I have no known allergies and just received a very clean bill of health not more that three weeks ago from my physician. So, I logically believe that these ill feelings are the result of food consumed here, as it just started shortly after I left ths restaurant. The drinks took an unusually long time to be served, although the bar was busy. Still. We had 7 o'clock reservations and were seated promptly; however, our cocktails arrived closer to 7:30. Our server sort of disappeared for a while after we were seated, too. That seemed a bit unusual. After our drinks, and our server, appeared we ordered two appetizers to accompany our drinks. The Stuffed Mushrooms and the Muscles were both very good. Then the salad arroved. I ordered the Cescer Salad, a departur from my usual Spinach Salad. The Cescer Salad was mediocre at best. I was truly disappointed, if that's even possible, to be disappointed by a salad, but I was. It lacked flavor and was devoid of any seasoning whatsoever - very unusual for a Cescer Salad, don't you think? They did redeem themselves when the entrees were served. The Sordfish, Grouper, Snapper and the Filet Megnon were all prepared well. Everyone at the table enjoyed their meals and the view of the river. We were treated to an awesome Florida afternoon thunderstorm with amazing lightning. All in all, it was not a horrible experience, and everyone seemed to leave the table happy. Typically, Chart House provides attentive service and with a party of eight (six adults, one teen and one child) I was not expecting a server to be dedicated to our table and nothing else. I will be back, but this is not one of my favorite weekend dining establishments - I much prefer the less busy weekday evenings.
(3)
Jason H.
Whenever I return 'home' to visit my parents we go here and it never disappoints. I've been to a few other Chart House locations in the US and this one is by far the best. Great river view, friendly service, nice salad bar (and I like the Caesar with anchovies). My wife eats a gluten- and dairy-restricted diet and the head chef came out to go over the menu with her to discuss her options and how he could accomodate--very nice. One drawback on my most recent visit was the drinks. Our cocktails seemed to be lacking the flare, flavour, and quantity I'm used to (and I'm a straight-up gin martini guy, so nothing fancy).
(4)
Terry G.
Catching up on older reviews... The setting was a large business dinner at The Chart House scheduled by a vendor. The location was very nice along the mainland side of the inter-coastal waterway with nice views of the water. We arrived near sunset so the the light was very nice. The service throughout the meal was very good, especially considering that we had about 12 people involved. Good meal, but the notable item was the mushrooms, oh my just about the best I have ever had,. Nice wine selection, although our host opted for an economical option, but still one that was nice. Good outing.
(4)
Jim S.
The view looking out on the Indian River is impressive and our overall dining experience was quite satisfactory. My salmon was fresh and well prepared and my guests reported that their food (some seafood, some steak) was very good. We chose a hearty red wine to complement our meals but somehow I do not recall the name of the wine. As they say, "The mind's the first thing to go." This Chart House is probably a 4-star restaurant but I knocked 1 star off as the service was quite slow. Mind you our server performed admirably and exhibited a nice manner, however, the poor fellow was very overworked and madly dashing all around the floor area. I suspect he was covering for an absent staff member (or two). I am happy to return soon and give this another go.
(3)
Cheri B.
My husband & I have been to the Chart House in Melbourne several times and let me tell ya....it only gets better. We actually can't wait for a 'special' occasion to arise (i.e., company, birthday, holiday), just we can make plans to go there. Excellant atmosphere, food, and staff. It is pricey but well worth it. Again, not an everyday place, but for those special occasions, you can't beat it. Cheri B.
(5)
Tom W.
One of the most upscale in Melbourne. Very nice views, and excellent location in Melbourne Harbor. We are regulars here, because of the location. Small friendly bar, but gets over-crowded quickly by patrons waiting to be seated. Staff (current) are great, and service is quite good. Food can be variable in quality, and is a bit pricey for its quality, but overall acceptable.
(4)
Wendy F.
Have eaten here twice and both times the food and service was excellent! My husband loves the prime rib and I recommend the Paneed Chicken...chocolate lava cake was also very good! We love sitting by the window and watching the dolphins swim in and out of the bay. Great place!
(5)
Dina V.
Finally sitting down to review our "go-to" restaurant of choice. Let's just say it was my first date with my husband when it was still the 1980's decor, and we enjoy it even more with all the new updates. My husband loves a good steak and it has always been consistent. I will say we eat here at least 2 to 4 times a month. We have enjoyed holidays, special celebrations, Sunday brunch, Happy Hour, even bring our kids and always bring out-of town visitors here. The staff is welcoming, attentive and helpful and the food is consistently good. The valet guys know my husband on a first name basis...On only one occasion in the past 7 years can I recall a steak that was not as tasty, and they immediately replaced it with a new one when I mentioned it. On another occasion a waiter threw out my left-overs by mistake and the manager brought me an entire new meal to take home! Now that's nice service! My husband is part of the Loyalty rewards program (highly recommend this), and you earn points for your meals that convert to cash toward your next visit. Pretty cool. Last night it was so busy (Yah!) we could not get a table in the bar area at 8pm, so we decided to eat at the bar (we did this one new years eve at the last minute too) and it is a nice bar area. Yes, it is a little noisier since the wall was torn down, but we enjoy the activity and people watching. Max was the bartender who served us and when I asked about a new salmon dish he highly recommended it. All I can say is WOW!!! I love salmon. I order fish out all the time since I rarely cook it at home. The Chart house has wonderful fish, truly! I can't say enough because I've tried them all, but this was sooooo extraordinary! I feel like you can not go wrong with any fish you try there. The ahi tuna, the encrusted mahi, oysters, shrimp, scallops, but this new pesto Salmon was a great surprise! Steak lovers know what to expect from the Chart House but fish lovers rejoice! Thanks for another wonderful dinning experience.
(5)
Oscar D.
This review covers my last two visits during June and July 2015. I'll begin with saying the food was very good on both occasions and on food alone, I'd give a score of 5 stars. However my reason for the 3 star score is for the service. On both occasions, our servers have been forgetful. In June, the waiter forgot that we had ordered soup and boasted that he could make this "Out of the World" tartar sauce which somehow never arrived either. In July our waitress stated that if we wanted their signature Lava Cake, we'd have to order it 20 to 30 minutes prior to getting it. So we asked for the cake when ordering our meal to later find out that she forgot to place the order. Somehow she scrambled and got us one that was cold and not very good. For the caliber of restaurant and amount of money they charge, the quality of wait staff is far less than I would expect. Sadly, I don't see myself returning anytime soon. There are too many other good restaurants which are not as pricey and am sure don't hire a wait staff with dementia.
(3)
Sheller K.
Exceptional customer service! I was in town on business and my parents drove over two hours to join me for dinner. We arrived before the dinner hour and sat in the bar area and had a couple of drinks and appetizers. We moved over to the dining area and had a fantastic view of the water. The manager helped me sign up for their rewards program since I was unsuccessful on my iPad. I travel for work so this will be very nice. We all ordered salmon, one Parmesan crusted, one grilled, one blackened. All were delicious. Too full to eat the lava cake we ordered, they boxed it up for my parents to take home and the ice cream went to the hotel with me. The waiter Johnny was very attentive and wish I would have gotten the manager's name since he stopped by a couple of times to check on us. Our overall experience was delicious food and exceptional service - the kind of service that creates brand loyalty. If I'm in Melbourne again, I will be back.
I've frequented many of the high-end steak houses over the years around the country - this one (Melbourne, FL) now ranks at the bottom of my extensive list. I cannot begin to express my disappointment in virtually every aspect of our meal during my visit to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We were seated very quickly with a water view that was nice, and the waiter was extremely courteous and attentive, if maybe somewhat pushy on quick ordering. Although polite, his recommendations/knowledge were not communicated in a manner conducive to helping our food choice. Chart House's Salad Bar is suppose to be legendary - however, their premade Caesar salad was floating in liquid that ultimately wilted the salad and the rest of the salad bar was not much better than what you would see at a Ruby Tuesdays (gasp!). My spouse's Grouper entree with potatoes was obviously not very fresh and was laying in a non-imaginative type of salsa - quite frankly, yuck. My entree of scallops and braised short ribs had a whole 2 scallops (really - a whole two) and the shrts ribs had virtually no taste. All-in-all, an completely unimaginative meal with exhorbant prices for very little food. The appetizer of seared tuna and tuna tataki with coleslaw was probably the most edible food of the evening, it's a shame that it didn't carry over into anything else. We were afraid to oder anything else. In the end, I would have rather spent my $140 on Meg O'Malleys downtown, or maybe at Matt's Casbah - we would have received much higher quality food at half the price, and those places actually have an enjoyable atmosphere with top-notch service. Bottom line, Old school restaurant, old school food, ridiculous prices - Yellow Dog Cafe is a much better alternative if you want to spend $$$ money.
(1)
Chad D.
My family and I were in town for the weekend and decided to eat here. Beautiful water views where dolphins made their presence known. Our waiter (Todd) was fantastic and was able to help us pick a great meal keeping everyone in my family's taste in mind. If I ever make it back to Melbourne I will make sure I make it back to the Chart House.
(5)
Lisa E.
I visited this restaurant for the first time over Labor Day weekend. I made a reservation and requested a water view table. They did not accommodate this request. Not a huge deal. On the other hand, the service was a huge headache. Our waiter seemed annoyed that she was working on a holiday weekend (complained right to me about the place being too busy) but worse, seemed to have no clue how to interact with the elder company in my dinner party. She was not attentive to their needs and was condescending at times. Overall, the service was just completely awkward and I couldn't get out of her company fast enough. Thankfully, the food was good and fresh. The salad bar was nice and had a lot of options. The place is pretty pricey but the portions were a good size. The views are nice, just try for a water view. At the end of the meal, the waiter tried to have us sign up for some points club, was pretty insistent on this even though it costs $25 to join. She seemed annoyed when we declined. Shocker. I might go back at some point and try this place out again. The service really ruined it for me.
(3)
M M.
Only been for the Happy Hour, but it's Fantastic!!! The price is right and food and drinks are great! You can sit outside or inside depending on the weather. But get there early because it does fill up for Happy Hour.
(4)
Mark S.
Excellent waterfront view and service. Fine food with surf and turf menu. The salad bar is the best around, including caviar or a made to order Caesar. The prices are top end in this town, so we usually only visit on special occasions. Very good bar.
(4)
Audrey W.
Always dolphins in the waterway.
(5)
Tammy R.
My girlfriends and I came here for happy hour. Cocktails and appetizers in the bar area. Our waiter was very rude to us from the time we sat down. He acted as if it was an imposition to bring us our food we ordered things. We witnessed him being rude to other patrons. We also witnessed him eating directly from the salad bar with his hands. The appetizer food was good. The cocktails were okay. Don't eat in the bar when Donny us the waiter. My girlfriend was here the previous week when a nice young lady was tending the bar area and she said she was very personable. I was contacted by the management after posting this review. He was very apologetic about our negative experience and offered compensation at a future visit.
(2)
Richard M.
Fabulous entree and delicious dessert make for a very filling dinner! Had a great time here, food turned out great! Drinks were made to perfection, and don't get me started on the dessert. We were all very full, then someone ordered dessert. It arrived, and was devoured in record time :-) great views of the intercoastal, the sun was setting over tall palm trees in the distance, and cranes and pelicans could be seen by the water. very nice place!
(5)
Kayelee U.
My husband and I went here to celebrate our engagement when we were in Florida. We absolutely loved it. The atmosphere was perfect with a romantic view. We had outstanding food and service and will most definitely go back if we are ever back in the area.
(5)
Eileen D.
Had reservations for Christmas eve dinner after a 4:00 church service. We were seated next to a table which 7 children, about ages 4-9. There were also 4 adults. The children ruined our dinner, by yelling, running around, bashing into our table and making so much noise we could not even hear each other talk, let alone, hear what the waiter was saying. I glared at them numerous times, and said " please don't do that" to one of the kids that bashing into me, but to no avail, the parents were all visiting at one end of the table, and basically totality ignored their children. I complained to our waiter, the person who brought our bread, the person who brought our salads, as well as the manager, ( 4 employees total) but no one would say a word to the offending table. We spent 140 dollars on the meal, and even after complaining to the greasy haired manager, he simply did not comp us anything, and said "sorry, try us again". I thought of personally saying something to the dad of some of the children, , but he seemed to be totally tuned out to how the children were robbing us of our good time. This was the worse dining experience of our life,and the manager should be fired. We will not be back! I might expect this at a Mcdonalds, but not at a restaurant where our entrees were 36 dollars each, and the salads, were 9 dollars each!
(1)
Nicole B.
Can always count on the Chart house for a good meal when traveling. They have never let us down. Must try the fried asparagus! Don't go near the peppercorn steak medallions!!! For some reason the chef at this Chart House has the recipe for the sauce wrong or something because it was really bad. Other then that, great service, kind of snotty crowd being in the vicinity of the yacht club.
(3)
Ron J.
Just got home from here and, as usual, I don't feel well. This has happened the last few tomes I've dined here. I have no known allergies and just received a very clean bill of health not more that three weeks ago from my physician. So, I logically believe that these ill feelings are the result of food consumed here, as it just started shortly after I left ths restaurant. The drinks took an unusually long time to be served, although the bar was busy. Still. We had 7 o'clock reservations and were seated promptly; however, our cocktails arrived closer to 7:30. Our server sort of disappeared for a while after we were seated, too. That seemed a bit unusual. After our drinks, and our server, appeared we ordered two appetizers to accompany our drinks. The Stuffed Mushrooms and the Muscles were both very good. Then the salad arroved. I ordered the Cescer Salad, a departur from my usual Spinach Salad. The Cescer Salad was mediocre at best. I was truly disappointed, if that's even possible, to be disappointed by a salad, but I was. It lacked flavor and was devoid of any seasoning whatsoever - very unusual for a Cescer Salad, don't you think? They did redeem themselves when the entrees were served. The Sordfish, Grouper, Snapper and the Filet Megnon were all prepared well. Everyone at the table enjoyed their meals and the view of the river. We were treated to an awesome Florida afternoon thunderstorm with amazing lightning. All in all, it was not a horrible experience, and everyone seemed to leave the table happy. Typically, Chart House provides attentive service and with a party of eight (six adults, one teen and one child) I was not expecting a server to be dedicated to our table and nothing else. I will be back, but this is not one of my favorite weekend dining establishments - I much prefer the less busy weekday evenings.
(3)
Vivian H.
We went to the chart house to celebrate our friends anniversary . All six of us had wonderful meals, and the waiter was great. We chose the Chart House because of its outstanding cuisine , and beautiful view. it's a good thing we had a view to contemplate and delicious food to eat because the noise level was so high we could not carry on a conversation. The noise was all due to one table with four very obnoxious middle aged women who behaved as though they were at a frat party.the manager said he would not and could not do anything about it. I ask myself why four people get to dominate the whole section and no one working there was willing to say anything to them. Other diners were aggravated by their behavior. My friend asked them to lower the volume and they got louder and sang. The staff did nothing. the message was very clear, we don't care how you feel, we do support drunkards. I did not realize that Chart house supported this kind of behavior.
(3)
Joanne S.
Special occasion place pricewise but they have a good happy hour drink and food specials in the lounge from 4-6.
(3)
Peggy R.
We came here to clebrate a friends birthday and it was his choice. I think the best part of the meal was the clam chouder, it was great! Service was good and one of our party had the lobster bisque and she loves it (she had been here before). We ordered crab cakes (good), the 3 shrimp dinner (meh), grouper (very good) and scallops (very good). Kind of a mixed bag but for the price I expect ore quality with the food. The shrimp were disappointing at best. It was an expensive lesson and I wouldn't go back. We were at a table on the water and did enjoy that so if you decide to go ask for a table with a view of the water.
(2)
Cameron O.
Our party of eight dined at the Chart House in Melbourne Florida this past Saturday evening and had one after another disappointment throughout the night. It started with my wine being served in a totally dirty glass. Soups and salads were all delivered at widely varying times. I had to asdk the waiter for my salad after most of the others had already finished theirs. While clearing the salad plates, the waited dropped a dirty fork down my back and other than saying "oops, I'm sorry" did nothing to offer personally wipe off my shirt or to pick up a dry cleaning tab. My wifes meal arrived incomplete and we had to ask a second time for het a la carte baked potato. The last straw came when my sister-in-law bit into her Tilapia dinner only to crunch down on a piece of glass. Very very poor. I regret buying my Landry's Club card as I doubt we will ever return to this location.
(1)
Mary R.
Be prepared to pay, but it is one of the best restaurants in the Cocoa area. Every drink is perfect and they The one exception is Happy hour and that is just as lovely as the regular menu. If you are on a budget their happy hour is still going to beat the pants off other area restaurants. My favorite things: Fried Asparagus ap, Spiced Yellow fin (rare), and Macadamia nut Cheescake. I'm not usually a fan of cheesecake, but their's is an unbelievable special treat as are all of the drinks!
(4)
Adrian G.
Not an upscale restaurant!!! First off, tried to make reservations for seating that was romantic/overlooking the water and was only offered first come first serve seating and my reservations were on a Wednesday night. When we got there, there were two young ladies working at the front and neither one of them greeted us and acted to busy to ask us if we had reservations. After about 10 minutes of just standing there my interrupted on of the ladies and told her we had reservations and if she could check us in. She told us to be seated and we waited another 10 minutes and we were seated. For an "upscale" restaurant, the seating was too close together and I have never been to an "upscale" restaurant with a salad bar. The waiter was ok, not good but not extremely bad. He was too pushy with trying to get us to order the lava cake that takes 30 minutes to cook. I don't remember exactly what my wife ordered but I ordered the chicken and it was nothing to write home about. It was tender but it didn't have any flavor. My wife stated that her fish didn't have any flavor as well. After receiving the bill, we were extremely disappointed that we spent so much for a lack luster meal. The only positive note is that the water/scenery is beautiful. We walked around hand-in-hand, looked at the boats and enjoyed each other's company. We are both very upbeat and happy people who try to make the best of every situation but we are growing tired of receiving unsatisfactory service.
(1)
Angela S.
The food was okay. They try hard, you can tell. I've had better but I've had way worse. I'd give it another try. Hopefully next time the temperature inside the building will be better regulated. It was so hot.
(3)
Carly L.
Caviar at the salad bar? YES PLEASE. My family took me there on my last night of visiting them in FL, and I was impressed. Great appetizers, attentive service, and a great meal. why not 5 stars? The only WA wine on the wine list was 14 Hands. The wine "snob" in me found that very sad.
(4)
Jason H.
Whenever I return 'home' to visit my parents we go here and it never disappoints. I've been to a few other Chart House locations in the US and this one is by far the best. Great river view, friendly service, nice salad bar (and I like the Caesar with anchovies). My wife eats a gluten- and dairy-restricted diet and the head chef came out to go over the menu with her to discuss her options and how he could accomodate--very nice. One drawback on my most recent visit was the drinks. Our cocktails seemed to be lacking the flare, flavour, and quantity I'm used to (and I'm a straight-up gin martini guy, so nothing fancy).
(4)
Terry G.
Catching up on older reviews... The setting was a large business dinner at The Chart House scheduled by a vendor. The location was very nice along the mainland side of the inter-coastal waterway with nice views of the water. We arrived near sunset so the the light was very nice. The service throughout the meal was very good, especially considering that we had about 12 people involved. Good meal, but the notable item was the mushrooms, oh my just about the best I have ever had,. Nice wine selection, although our host opted for an economical option, but still one that was nice. Good outing.
(4)
Mike M.
The view of the river is definitely breathtaking. Though I've always thought the inside of this place needed some sort of makeover. Maybe paint or new tables. I can't put my finger on it, but when you go in take a look around at the cheesy floral prints. The wait staff is very appeasing. If a crumb falls on the table you can bet your bottom dollar to find them chasing after it with crumb comb. The salad bar is overrated. It's def eye catching as you walk in but don't let the nice presentation fool you into paying 8-15$ on it just because it has caviar and bright colored fruit. Really it's just and average salad bar. Every entre that I've ordered always looks and taste amazing. I've never had a compliant about the food but believe that the price is a little high for the area.
(4)
M. O.
My review is based only on the drinks and an appetizer. I don't even remember which one we had that night. The only reason we keep going to the Chart House is the blueberry Mojitos. Myself and a friend are attempting to try Mojitos from all the establishments that serve them in the Melbourne/Beachside areas. So far the best one we've had (out of about 30 so far) are the blueberry Mojitos from Chart House. They currently rank number 1. We've never had the food, except for that appetizer, which I remember was really good. I think it was cheese stuffed shrimp? Oh yes, and we also tried a banana creme brulee. That was fabulous. We'd like to try the food here at some point but based on these reviews I am a little discouraged already. All but one time that we've gone for the Mojitos we've sat outside. The service wasn't outstanding but it wasn't terrible either. The day we tried the app was the day we sat at the bar and the bartender was brilliant. Watching him make the Mojito was artful. It's got a fancy feel to it and fancy prices to match but those blueberry Mojitos are worth the check.
(4)
Kim S.
Dreadful experience...I'd leave it at that, but I feel compelled to warn anyone with intentions of eating here to please rethink that choice. In my opinion, the only reason this place keeps its doors open is because there is almost nothing else to choose from in this area. To start our experience, there was a detour and we were totally confused as to where this place even was...ok, not their fault and we're not completely familiar with Melbourne. Well, we found it. We walked in and the decor looked old, washed out, and a little like a pumpkin spiced latte got sick everywhere. The music was loud and obnoxious, not what you'd expect from fine dining ambiance. The snooty toddlers at the hostess station asked my husband if he had a reservation and he said that he did. We were then directed to the seating area 3 feet away from them, where we remained for 15-20 minutes. People without reservations were seated before us and the people with reservations 15 minutes after ours were seated before us...but we tried to remain positive...even though the dizzying and dirty looking hotel carpet and salad bar's mere existence kept begging us to walk out. Are salad bars gross to you? They are to me...and nothing about them says upscale. But I digress as I often do. Ok, so we finally got seated after another ridiculous debacle that I'll spare you having to read about. Our server promptly came over and was super friendly. We ordered the lobster and shrimp spring rolls and a couple of drinks. Don't get the moscato sangria. It was cloyingly sweet, we sent it back. The lobster rolls a.k.a. cabbage rolls were ok, huge and awkward to eat but certainly not the worst thing either of us had ever tasted. Worth $13? ummm no. We ordered the seared mahi and the coconut shrimp for our entrees and went ahead and ordered dessert, the chocolate lava cake, since we were told it would take 30 minutes to prepare. As we waited, we tried to pinpoint exactly what this restaurant's decor and vibe was trying to say. We decided it was tragically confused and stopped thinking about it before our brains exploded. We were happy to see our food arrive and were excited to dig in, as we were starving (skipped lunch). The coconut shrimp was overcooked and my hubby could barely even cut through most of his shrimp. This is not something you'd expect from a $30 entree. However, a few of the shrimp were actually edible and tasted ok but the sweet chili sauce they paired them with was a strange choice, not complementary at all. The shrimp was also served with the worst thing either of us had ever tasted, crab fried rice. How do you mess up fried rice, you say? I don't know but this stuff tasted rancid. It was just bad. Soooo, onto my food, "seared" mahi, which was not seared at all, it looked totally poached and had some of their nasty crab on top. The fish was cooked well I guess but was probably one of the blandest pieces of fish anyone ever put on a plate. Poor fish, it deserved better than to be drowned in butter and tastelessness. I did eat my broccoli. It was steamed, can't really mess that up. So, needless to say, we sent the food back and declined their offers of ordering something else. When that famous cake got to the table, we were cautiously optimistic about its quality but were happy that it tasted like chocolate and cake so we devoured the whole thing. Though, I'm not certain what the fluff was about needing 30 minutes to prepare since parts of it were cold, so it obviously was not baked fresh. The manager came over and comped our entrees. Thanks manager lady but we will never ever ever return. It's over between us. Upon driving away my hubby said, "well, at least now I have a place to recommend to people I don't like." We drove off into the night and hit our favorite sushi restaurant. The End.
(1)
Denny C.
We had a party of 7 and once seated, the noise level got increasingly louder than the bar we had just left. The food was absolutely horrible. Chart House used to be a good place back in the day to go for good savory food and a wonderful dining experience. Now, it's just like a cafeteria. The service was mediocre at best. We were celebrating a friends birthday and they printed a menu with a "happy birthday for turning 69" . He just turned 62. Sloppy and inattention to detail. Never is a long time, but I'll NEVER go back. If I want to blow $200 again, I'll open my car window and throw the money out. That's what we felt like last weekend.
(2)
Francis M.
If you're looking for a quiet dinner for 2 on a Friday night this is not the place. The one star rating is a bit unfair because we did not stay for dinner. We were early for our reservation so I had a $9 Kettle and tonic at the bar. It was fine. Unfortunately the restaurant noise level reminded us of a high school cafeteria. The louder it got the louder people talked. It wasn't any better when we were seated so we politely let our waiter know that we were looking for a more subdued atmosphere and wouldn't be staying. He understood and attempted to find a "quiet" booth but, we were probably fortunate, and nothing was available.
(1)
C H.
Had reservations for 8:30 on Valentine's night. The waiting area was packed. We checked in. Our reservations were for the deck which was a concern due to the drizzling rain. We were assured that it would fine, they had it covered and heated. We were also told at 8:30 that we were next to be seated on the deck. We waited and waited. Asked the hostess several times to check on our table. She told us on 3 occasions that she would go see what was available. TO BE FAIR: the power flickered on and off twice during our wait which was messing with their computer systems. We started hearing people complaining that they wouldn't accept cash payments because the staff didn't know how to handle the money without a computer. Are you kidding me?? What has happened that we can't even take care of customers if there is a power blink? Other guests were slowly being seated. Even those with later reservation times. We once again questioned the hostess and she finally took us to our table at 9:30. One hour after our reservation. There were still many many people waiting to be seated. As we were walked towards the deck we see lots of empty tables. Clean, set, ready for guests. No one seated there. When we arrive on the deck there were 9 TABLES WITH NO GUESTS SEATED AT THEM!! Why in the world were we (and everyone else) forced to wait for an hour when there were tables available. We sat down and it really made us angry that they thought so little of their customers to make us wait an hour. Decided to get up and leave. Goodness only knows how long our food would have taken! As we left my husband told the hostess why we decided to not dine with them. Her response was that maybe ALL OF THOSE CUSTOMERS we at the salad bar. Ummm. No. There were ZERO customers at the salad bar. She was just desperate for some excuse. We will not go back. I prefer establishments that truly care about their customer service.
(1)
T. B.
Beautiful location, but I usually feel like I'm getting my money's worth in most Chart Houses. Not so this one. It's a bit more cramped than the ones I've gone to (five or six on both East and West Coasts) and definitely a lot more noisy. I'm not a fan of places that have loud music and horrible sound muffling; loud does not equal hip. Parking appears to be only valet. I love valet when it's convenient; I hate it when I don't have a choice. I had the seared ahi and even the outside was cold; just a tad too much sauce and the saffron risotto was also chilled. I've had better, so I won't be back here unless the boss is paying.
(2)
Pat K.
Food, service and ambiance were excellent. The salad bar and mud pie are a must. The only negative was the piped in music, it was intrusive.
(5)
Ressa K.
For what you pay, it's not very good. everyone complained about their side dishes... which for the price you pay should be awesome. We were there for a family birthday and it's nice they put the name of the birthday person on the menu but it wasn't up to the price you pay for food. Blech. so sorry. it's been better in the past.
(2)
Joanne B.
Let me say that I know I am a food snob, but this place must hate food because they have no idea how to prepare anything good. First, we walked in and the place smelled like a port o potty, so now I refer to it as the "Fart House". No place should smell like that and there is clearly a sewage issue somewhere. Please fix it and please update your outdated decor. It was hurting my eyes! Don't waste your time at the salad bar, the one at my office cafeteria is better and anyone can open a can of olives and throw it in a bowl and who cares about bad caviar, just because it's caviar. My favorite line of the night was when the hostess seated our party of four and said, "oh crap, I forgot to bring the other two menus." I got annoyed at paying $30.00 an entree for the quality of the food that was received. Thank goodness for the good company we where in, the view, and our very nice and well humored waiter.
(1)
Janeen K.
Food always very good, salad bar is fantastic, service is super, view is beautiful...highly recommend! My meal was Salmon, ginger rice, broccoli, also in the past tried the Prime Rib which is very good, perpared to perfection, all meals have a good presentation. Price maybe on the high end. If you feel the service is slow..well it's really well worth the wait! Janeen K
(5)
Stephanie K.
We decided to celebrate our engagement with both sets of parents here and had one of the worst dining experiences ever. The service was terrible and the waitstaff was inattentive. It took over an hour between our appetizers and entrees. My mother's entree was brought to her cold, and after eating a shrimp and sending the dish back, the server returned with the exact same plate which had clearly been reheated. Any other restaurant would make a new dish. The food overall was decent and the restaurant itself is pretty with a nice view, but this experience was not worth going back. We even declined a discount on a return visit after my mother called to complain.
(2)
MOna J.
To be clear I understand it was Thanksgiving, but, that is no excuse for the service I received. I'm pretty sure our server hated me upon arrival, at a table with 9 people 4 of us having a drink I was the only person carded. I ordered a salad she just didn't bring it. We had to point out the missing salad After my entree arrived my salad plate sat there the entire meal. I wouldn't be as irritated had anyone else in my party had the same experience, but, she was extremely attentive with everyone else. I don't think having a tip included in the check is a good reason to be a bad server. It was busy, and maybe she should have prepared herself for it being a busy day a little better. I've worked in the service industry both FOH and BOH, there is no excuse. Perhaps she should have rested a little more knowing it was a holiday. Otherwise the food was delicious the only complaint would be gravy on everything. It could have been on the menu that way.
(2)
Jessica M.
The restaurant has a beautiful view of the ocean. If you look long enough, you'll even spot a dolphin. The service is excellent and the food is breathtaking. We have eaten there the past two days for work engagements. The first night I got the Seared Mahi and the second night I got their blue cheese filet. In addition, on both nights I got the salad bar and shared their famous lava cake. The food was amazing. Extremely tasty and very filling.
(4)
Tee L.
we went here last nite, because we are staying in the melbourne area and looking for a good place to get great drinks and good meals and service and found the yelp reviews ,pretty mixed.. It has been a long time,since I went to any ChartHouse.. I must say the bartender Jeff, knows how to make a tasty great drink and some of the apertizers,tasty too.. The service was excellent, maybe because we sat in the bar for an hour(we were waiting on a couple of friends),so we had our cocktail time. The sear ahi, was my favorite lite bite. And the lava cake was totally chocolately delicious. I had the macadamia crusted mahi-mahi,,but I should of gotten red meat,as the fish was on the sweet side,but good.. No it is not a place for a romantic dinner,as it is pretty well lit and little noisy.. But I think,being tuesday, our service was better than some other busier evening..
(4)
Jeff C.
Second trip. Great service. Surf & Turf pasta OK, little less spinach. Mrs. liked the chicken romano! Patrick was our server. He was great!
(4)
Craig B.
My first trip to Chart House several years ago was decent, but this trip was pretty awful. My wife's "medium-well" filet was significantly overcooked while my "medium" Ahi steak was just plain raw. Furthermore, a third of the tuna was inedible due to a large amount of connective tissue running through the steak. Both meals were very plain and unsophisticated. My wife's filet was paired with a baked potato and my Ahi was served with steamed broccoli and rice. The service was merely average and the atmosphere in the lounge section of restaurant left something to be desired. Overall, unacceptable for a $100 meal.
(2)
Heather H.
We went here for our anniversary and they printed us special anniversary menus! Service was great, food was great.
(4)
Eileen B.
Food: The food is average for Chart House. As for fine dining, this is the first fine dining restaurant I've been to in Melbourne, FL. Hubby had a nice steak and the portion was as described. The salad bar variety is average, but could do with more frequent cleaning. I ordered a steak as well, as I wasn't into the fish choices of the day, which rarely happens. My steak was a little rarer than I like, but definitely edible and tender. Ambiance: It wasn't as romantic as most other Chart House. The restaurant was a little loud. Service: The service was pleasant, not over bearing, but at times difficult to locate my server. Overall: It lives up to a Chart House, but a little snooty and the service and food isn't as extensive as other Chart Houses around the country. The one star off is for the valet parking only, and the service. Update 3/31/08 - 2nd trip there: Arrived 10 mins before time and was told it will be closer to reservation time. Reservation time came and went, we went up to ask, and was told, they are running a little behind, no apologies. When seated 15 mins after reservation time, waiter didn't show up with drinks or welcome for a good 10 mins and even then only after we flagged down the manager who offered to comp us drinks and appetizers, we negotiated for the lava cake instead with no heath crunch. We got the appetizer with heath crunch and our cappuchino showed up after we are almost done with the lava cake. Overall, the service was a great disappointment. I don't think I will go there again unless someone else invites me there. Stars are dropping fast. With a high end restaurant, my service expectation has to be better than Olive Garden. I get greeted and profuse apologies when seated at an olive garden! Chart House made me feel like, if I wasn't there, they didn't have to work that hard!
(3)
Alan S.
This place was great. I was there with a big group for an important business meeting and they fed us well. I saw the bill... OMG... but thankfully the other company was the one paying! I had the fillet and the lava cake... and before the meal they had a bunch of appetizers. The crab cakes were amazing. The fillet was really good... and the lava cake was to die for. On top of it all there was a nice view of the water. I would defiantly go again should I ever happen to be in Melbourne.
(4)
Amanda P.
This is always a good fall back for a good meal. Great views of the water. The service and the food are consistant. I love going for happy hour and they have some appetizers priced lower than during normal hours. I love the macadamia crusted fish and the salad bar is to die for.
(4)
Nelson L.
Great views in this upscale restaruant. The service was excellent and food was well prepared. It wasn't the best steak I ever had, but it was good. However, sides and appetizers (stuffed mushrooms) were very good. This place won't break the bankk, but be prepared to spend some $$$...
(4)
JJ P.
Note that Chart House is part of very large corporation. That being said, Chart House can be very bland and formulaic. I have had mixed experiences there from superb to downright dull. I recently attended a private function at the Chart House and was really impressed by the attentive service, quality of food, cleanliness of the building and professional staff. The location and view are superb. Is the greatest food in Melbourne? No its not, but it definitely is a good destination restaurant.
(4)
Karen H.
This restaurant definitely has great food but it is just a little out of our price range for anything other than a special occassion, so I am reviewing their happy hour. Most people would not think to go to Chart House for the weekly Friday after work event, but it's actually pretty great. The view is beautiful, sitting out over the river and marina and they have a special HH food and alcohol menu. The have items for as little as $4 and everything we've tried has been super.
(4)
Jim S.
The view looking out on the Indian River is impressive and our overall dining experience was quite satisfactory. My salmon was fresh and well prepared and my guests reported that their food (some seafood, some steak) was very good. We chose a hearty red wine to complement our meals but somehow I do not recall the name of the wine. As they say, "The mind's the first thing to go." This Chart House is probably a 4-star restaurant but I knocked 1 star off as the service was quite slow. Mind you our server performed admirably and exhibited a nice manner, however, the poor fellow was very overworked and madly dashing all around the floor area. I suspect he was covering for an absent staff member (or two). I am happy to return soon and give this another go.
(3)
Cheri B.
My husband & I have been to the Chart House in Melbourne several times and let me tell ya....it only gets better. We actually can't wait for a 'special' occasion to arise (i.e., company, birthday, holiday), just we can make plans to go there. Excellant atmosphere, food, and staff. It is pricey but well worth it. Again, not an everyday place, but for those special occasions, you can't beat it. Cheri B.
(5)
Tom W.
One of the most upscale in Melbourne. Very nice views, and excellent location in Melbourne Harbor. We are regulars here, because of the location. Small friendly bar, but gets over-crowded quickly by patrons waiting to be seated. Staff (current) are great, and service is quite good. Food can be variable in quality, and is a bit pricey for its quality, but overall acceptable.
(4)
Darlene T.
We definitely made the right choice in dining here. The food was superb and the service was fantastic. Totally what I would expect from a restaurant like this. But the most impressive thing was the spectacular view of the bay, which added to the ambience. On the recommendation of the server, I chose the Key West Spiced Grouper. The dish was cooked to perfection and the habanero sauce had a slight kick but wasn't too spicy. We also order the King Salmon which included the summer vegetables....also cooked to perfection. Just make sure you save room for their signature Hot Lava Cake...which was rich and decadent. Will definitely make it back again the next time I'm in town.
(5)
Schylone T.
I made a reservation for a Saturday evening at 7:30 with a request for outside or window but we arrived there at 7. They sat us immediately outside at the table of our choosing. Perfect view of the sunset as boats were returning to dock. Our waitress was very knowledgeable and friendly to us. The Lobster Bisque was creamy with nice sized chucks of lobster. The sizzling mushrooms were ordered as an appetizer and delicious! The main dishes were the Prime Rib and Filet Mignon. Both were cooked to our request. The desert was the raspberry sorbet. So light and pallet cleansing. We had a relaxing, romantic dinner and I would definitely go back.
(4)
Alex M.
Overpriced place, ok food (nothing special), ok service, never again. Nice view. Good location. Thats all this restaurant has.
(2)
Chriscoral A.
This was our first visit since they took out the devider between the bar and reastaurant. They gained 20 seats at the bar but the noise was horrible!!! The food I must say is still excellent! Prime rib that melts in your mouth and the best salad bar around.
(4)
L J.
Go for the happy hour! 4-6 it's such a good deal, but space is limited so get there early!
(5)
Mary L.
We were displaced Thanksgiving day guests and decided to give the Chart House a try. Let's just start with it was a holiday and it was busy. This was actually my first Thanksgiving where I went out for dinner and I must say I felt a little guilty about going because I hate that people have to work that day. Everyone we encountered from the bartender to the servers were very nice and professional and seemed to be okay with working that day. The Chart House has been remodeled and it appears that it is pretty much complete. The bar that once was hidden is now wide open and I hear a 60 inch television is going against the wall. While it looks great it does increase the noise level in the place. It also allows for wide open views to the river. We had drinks at the bar while we waited for our table. The bartender John was friendly and fast! Our table was ready about 15 minutes after our reservation but it was so busy they were doing the best we could. The tables are close together so if you plan on having a private conversation this is not the place. However if you want to ask for a divorce and want to make sure that your soon to be ex won't scream at you this is a great place. We started off our meal with Coconut Crunchy Shrimp. They were good not fantastic. You have to try really hard to screw up fried shrimp. We both had the salad bar. For an additional $8.25 with a meal you are allowed access to the salad bar. It's a good salad bar. The cesear salad station was my favorite and that is probably because I love anchovies and croutons. The server manning the salad bar was working hard all night. Be careful when you pull a salad plate because a few of them were dirty but I am sure it was because the place was jam packed last night. For dinner I had the filet with mashed potatoes. The filet was perfectly cooked and the mashed potatoes were tasty. My boyfriend had the Hemingway Snapper which was a very big piece of fish with crab meat on top. It was cooked perfectly. For desert we had the Hot Chocolate Lava Cake. I am not a huge dessert fan but it was good. My boyfriend loved it. They have a pretty good wine selection and a bunch of speciality drinks. The Chart House is good restaurant. It's not at the same level as Yellow Dog Cafe or Crush Eleven but they are a solid restaurant. I am not sure why the Chart House is getting slammed on Yelp! On a side note they have a great happy hour if you want to just go sample a few things and have some cocktails.
(4)
Andrew R.
Made a reservation, Restaurant seemed to forgotten about it. No sorrys given, they pretty much acted as if it was business at normal. Would not eat here again.
Celebrating our anniversary and we were treated wonderfully. Our server Rachel was so friendly and the right amount of attentive. The food was delicious and the view was amazing. I highly recommend the bronzed swordfish & the lava cake - it's well worth the wait!
(5)
Michael M.
This restaurant is great. They have valet service. You are warmly greated when you arrive. I have never waited more than a few minutes for a table. The view from our riverview table is stunning. Drink orders are made promptly and delivered in reasonable time. Cocktails here are very good. Today I ordered oysters on the half shell, lobster bisque, and alaskan king crab legs. The oysters are very nice and served with cocktail sauce and horderadish. The lobster bisque was so tasty and served at just the right temperature. The king crab is to die for and it comes with a baked potato dressed any way you want. For dessert I had the raspberry sorbet. It tasted fresh made which is a big plus. I also sampled the key lime pie, the cheesecake, and the creme brulle. All were excellent. The service here was very good and our server was very helpful and attentive. Consistency is the secret to this restaurants success as well as being able to maintain an atmosphere of charm and elegance. Definitely a great place for a night out with someone special.
(5)
Colin C.
Went there in Christmas Eve with the family. It was packed. The reservation time was honored. The service and food were outstanding. The limited menus had all the best items from the regular menu. We had several appetizers, entree's and desserts and all were very good. A must is the mango mojito.
(5)
simon d.
After eating at the chart house for many years and many meals I am afraid to say the last few visits have been extremely disappointing. it's just not the old Chart House. It starts out with a friendly greeting by our valet and then it slowly goes downhill from there with an extremely snobby staff that meet you at the front desk, the attention to detail that once made the Chart House famous is disappearing and the food by no means is the same as it once was, the food seems to be pre packaged or frozen and then Dr'ed up, the other problem is the quantity of food for the price. I do not mind spending extra for quality and a good quality but the Chart House has lost both quantity and quality. We had an anniversary dinner there my wife and I and the prime rib tasted like it was from the night before. I would bet a thousand dollars that it was. We brought this to the attention of the restaurant and the folks that own the Chart House with absolutely no response. it is very unfortunate and I hope things get better but it just doesn't look real good. 4 positive stars for a very good salad bar.
(1)
Natures Parables S.
Excellent!!! Went here for my birthday dinner and the food and service was great! Jerry was our server and treated us great! We had grouper and salad bar...fabulous! A birthday surprise came at the end. We highly recommend this restaurant!
(5)
Mark M.
I've frequented many of the high-end steak houses over the years around the country - this one (Melbourne, FL) now ranks at the bottom of my extensive list. I cannot begin to express my disappointment in virtually every aspect of our meal during my visit to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We were seated very quickly with a water view that was nice, and the waiter was extremely courteous and attentive, if maybe somewhat pushy on quick ordering. Although polite, his recommendations/knowledge were not communicated in a manner conducive to helping our food choice. Chart House's Salad Bar is suppose to be legendary - however, their premade Caesar salad was floating in liquid that ultimately wilted the salad and the rest of the salad bar was not much better than what you would see at a Ruby Tuesdays (gasp!). My spouse's Grouper entree with potatoes was obviously not very fresh and was laying in a non-imaginative type of salsa - quite frankly, yuck. My entree of scallops and braised short ribs had a whole 2 scallops (really - a whole two) and the shrts ribs had virtually no taste. All-in-all, an completely unimaginative meal with exhorbant prices for very little food. The appetizer of seared tuna and tuna tataki with coleslaw was probably the most edible food of the evening, it's a shame that it didn't carry over into anything else. We were afraid to oder anything else. In the end, I would have rather spent my $140 on Meg O'Malleys downtown, or maybe at Matt's Casbah - we would have received much higher quality food at half the price, and those places actually have an enjoyable atmosphere with top-notch service. Bottom line, Old school restaurant, old school food, ridiculous prices - Yellow Dog Cafe is a much better alternative if you want to spend $$$ money.
(1)
Chad D.
My family and I were in town for the weekend and decided to eat here. Beautiful water views where dolphins made their presence known. Our waiter (Todd) was fantastic and was able to help us pick a great meal keeping everyone in my family's taste in mind. If I ever make it back to Melbourne I will make sure I make it back to the Chart House.
(5)
Vivian H.
We went to the chart house to celebrate our friends anniversary . All six of us had wonderful meals, and the waiter was great. We chose the Chart House because of its outstanding cuisine , and beautiful view. it's a good thing we had a view to contemplate and delicious food to eat because the noise level was so high we could not carry on a conversation. The noise was all due to one table with four very obnoxious middle aged women who behaved as though they were at a frat party.the manager said he would not and could not do anything about it. I ask myself why four people get to dominate the whole section and no one working there was willing to say anything to them. Other diners were aggravated by their behavior. My friend asked them to lower the volume and they got louder and sang. The staff did nothing. the message was very clear, we don't care how you feel, we do support drunkards. I did not realize that Chart house supported this kind of behavior.
(3)
Joanne S.
Special occasion place pricewise but they have a good happy hour drink and food specials in the lounge from 4-6.
Went there in Christmas Eve with the family. It was packed. The reservation time was honored. The service and food were outstanding. The limited menus had all the best items from the regular menu. We had several appetizers, entree's and desserts and all were very good. A must is the mango mojito.
I made a reservation for a Saturday evening at 7:30 with a request for outside or window but we arrived there at 7. They sat us immediately outside at the table of our choosing. Perfect view of the sunset as boats were returning to dock. Our waitress was very knowledgeable and friendly to us. The Lobster Bisque was creamy with nice sized chucks of lobster. The sizzling mushrooms were ordered as an appetizer and delicious! The main dishes were the Prime Rib and Filet Mignon. Both were cooked to our request. The desert was the raspberry sorbet. So light and pallet cleansing. We had a relaxing, romantic dinner and I would definitely go back.
(4)
Alex M.
Overpriced place, ok food (nothing special), ok service, never again. Nice view. Good location. Thats all this restaurant has.
(2)
Darlene T.
We definitely made the right choice in dining here. The food was superb and the service was fantastic. Totally what I would expect from a restaurant like this. But the most impressive thing was the spectacular view of the bay, which added to the ambience. On the recommendation of the server, I chose the Key West Spiced Grouper. The dish was cooked to perfection and the habanero sauce had a slight kick but wasn't too spicy. We also order the King Salmon which included the summer vegetables....also cooked to perfection. Just make sure you save room for their signature Hot Lava Cake...which was rich and decadent. Will definitely make it back again the next time I'm in town.
(5)
Audra K.
Celebrating our anniversary and we were treated wonderfully. Our server Rachel was so friendly and the right amount of attentive. The food was delicious and the view was amazing. I highly recommend the bronzed swordfish & the lava cake - it's well worth the wait!
(5)
Chriscoral A.
This was our first visit since they took out the devider between the bar and reastaurant. They gained 20 seats at the bar but the noise was horrible!!! The food I must say is still excellent! Prime rib that melts in your mouth and the best salad bar around.
(4)
L J.
Go for the happy hour! 4-6 it's such a good deal, but space is limited so get there early!
(5)
Michael M.
This restaurant is great. They have valet service. You are warmly greated when you arrive. I have never waited more than a few minutes for a table. The view from our riverview table is stunning. Drink orders are made promptly and delivered in reasonable time. Cocktails here are very good. Today I ordered oysters on the half shell, lobster bisque, and alaskan king crab legs. The oysters are very nice and served with cocktail sauce and horderadish. The lobster bisque was so tasty and served at just the right temperature. The king crab is to die for and it comes with a baked potato dressed any way you want. For dessert I had the raspberry sorbet. It tasted fresh made which is a big plus. I also sampled the key lime pie, the cheesecake, and the creme brulle. All were excellent. The service here was very good and our server was very helpful and attentive. Consistency is the secret to this restaurants success as well as being able to maintain an atmosphere of charm and elegance. Definitely a great place for a night out with someone special.
(5)
Mary L.
We were displaced Thanksgiving day guests and decided to give the Chart House a try. Let's just start with it was a holiday and it was busy. This was actually my first Thanksgiving where I went out for dinner and I must say I felt a little guilty about going because I hate that people have to work that day. Everyone we encountered from the bartender to the servers were very nice and professional and seemed to be okay with working that day. The Chart House has been remodeled and it appears that it is pretty much complete. The bar that once was hidden is now wide open and I hear a 60 inch television is going against the wall. While it looks great it does increase the noise level in the place. It also allows for wide open views to the river. We had drinks at the bar while we waited for our table. The bartender John was friendly and fast! Our table was ready about 15 minutes after our reservation but it was so busy they were doing the best we could. The tables are close together so if you plan on having a private conversation this is not the place. However if you want to ask for a divorce and want to make sure that your soon to be ex won't scream at you this is a great place. We started off our meal with Coconut Crunchy Shrimp. They were good not fantastic. You have to try really hard to screw up fried shrimp. We both had the salad bar. For an additional $8.25 with a meal you are allowed access to the salad bar. It's a good salad bar. The cesear salad station was my favorite and that is probably because I love anchovies and croutons. The server manning the salad bar was working hard all night. Be careful when you pull a salad plate because a few of them were dirty but I am sure it was because the place was jam packed last night. For dinner I had the filet with mashed potatoes. The filet was perfectly cooked and the mashed potatoes were tasty. My boyfriend had the Hemingway Snapper which was a very big piece of fish with crab meat on top. It was cooked perfectly. For desert we had the Hot Chocolate Lava Cake. I am not a huge dessert fan but it was good. My boyfriend loved it. They have a pretty good wine selection and a bunch of speciality drinks. The Chart House is good restaurant. It's not at the same level as Yellow Dog Cafe or Crush Eleven but they are a solid restaurant. I am not sure why the Chart House is getting slammed on Yelp! On a side note they have a great happy hour if you want to just go sample a few things and have some cocktails.
(4)
Peggy R.
We came here to clebrate a friends birthday and it was his choice. I think the best part of the meal was the clam chouder, it was great! Service was good and one of our party had the lobster bisque and she loves it (she had been here before). We ordered crab cakes (good), the 3 shrimp dinner (meh), grouper (very good) and scallops (very good). Kind of a mixed bag but for the price I expect ore quality with the food. The shrimp were disappointing at best. It was an expensive lesson and I wouldn't go back. We were at a table on the water and did enjoy that so if you decide to go ask for a table with a view of the water.
(2)
Dina V.
Finally sitting down to review our "go-to" restaurant of choice. Let's just say it was my first date with my husband when it was still the 1980's decor, and we enjoy it even more with all the new updates. My husband loves a good steak and it has always been consistent. I will say we eat here at least 2 to 4 times a month. We have enjoyed holidays, special celebrations, Sunday brunch, Happy Hour, even bring our kids and always bring out-of town visitors here. The staff is welcoming, attentive and helpful and the food is consistently good. The valet guys know my husband on a first name basis...On only one occasion in the past 7 years can I recall a steak that was not as tasty, and they immediately replaced it with a new one when I mentioned it. On another occasion a waiter threw out my left-overs by mistake and the manager brought me an entire new meal to take home! Now that's nice service! My husband is part of the Loyalty rewards program (highly recommend this), and you earn points for your meals that convert to cash toward your next visit. Pretty cool. Last night it was so busy (Yah!) we could not get a table in the bar area at 8pm, so we decided to eat at the bar (we did this one new years eve at the last minute too) and it is a nice bar area. Yes, it is a little noisier since the wall was torn down, but we enjoy the activity and people watching. Max was the bartender who served us and when I asked about a new salmon dish he highly recommended it. All I can say is WOW!!! I love salmon. I order fish out all the time since I rarely cook it at home. The Chart house has wonderful fish, truly! I can't say enough because I've tried them all, but this was sooooo extraordinary! I feel like you can not go wrong with any fish you try there. The ahi tuna, the encrusted mahi, oysters, shrimp, scallops, but this new pesto Salmon was a great surprise! Steak lovers know what to expect from the Chart House but fish lovers rejoice! Thanks for another wonderful dinning experience.
(5)
Oscar D.
This review covers my last two visits during June and July 2015. I'll begin with saying the food was very good on both occasions and on food alone, I'd give a score of 5 stars. However my reason for the 3 star score is for the service. On both occasions, our servers have been forgetful. In June, the waiter forgot that we had ordered soup and boasted that he could make this "Out of the World" tartar sauce which somehow never arrived either. In July our waitress stated that if we wanted their signature Lava Cake, we'd have to order it 20 to 30 minutes prior to getting it. So we asked for the cake when ordering our meal to later find out that she forgot to place the order. Somehow she scrambled and got us one that was cold and not very good. For the caliber of restaurant and amount of money they charge, the quality of wait staff is far less than I would expect. Sadly, I don't see myself returning anytime soon. There are too many other good restaurants which are not as pricey and am sure don't hire a wait staff with dementia.
(3)
Natures Parables S.
Excellent!!! Went here for my birthday dinner and the food and service was great! Jerry was our server and treated us great! We had grouper and salad bar...fabulous! A birthday surprise came at the end. We highly recommend this restaurant!
(5)
simon d.
After eating at the chart house for many years and many meals I am afraid to say the last few visits have been extremely disappointing. it's just not the old Chart House. It starts out with a friendly greeting by our valet and then it slowly goes downhill from there with an extremely snobby staff that meet you at the front desk, the attention to detail that once made the Chart House famous is disappearing and the food by no means is the same as it once was, the food seems to be pre packaged or frozen and then Dr'ed up, the other problem is the quantity of food for the price. I do not mind spending extra for quality and a good quality but the Chart House has lost both quantity and quality. We had an anniversary dinner there my wife and I and the prime rib tasted like it was from the night before. I would bet a thousand dollars that it was. We brought this to the attention of the restaurant and the folks that own the Chart House with absolutely no response. it is very unfortunate and I hope things get better but it just doesn't look real good. 4 positive stars for a very good salad bar.
(1)
Lisa E.
I visited this restaurant for the first time over Labor Day weekend. I made a reservation and requested a water view table. They did not accommodate this request. Not a huge deal. On the other hand, the service was a huge headache. Our waiter seemed annoyed that she was working on a holiday weekend (complained right to me about the place being too busy) but worse, seemed to have no clue how to interact with the elder company in my dinner party. She was not attentive to their needs and was condescending at times. Overall, the service was just completely awkward and I couldn't get out of her company fast enough. Thankfully, the food was good and fresh. The salad bar was nice and had a lot of options. The place is pretty pricey but the portions were a good size. The views are nice, just try for a water view. At the end of the meal, the waiter tried to have us sign up for some points club, was pretty insistent on this even though it costs $25 to join. She seemed annoyed when we declined. Shocker. I might go back at some point and try this place out again. The service really ruined it for me.
(3)
M M.
Only been for the Happy Hour, but it's Fantastic!!! The price is right and food and drinks are great! You can sit outside or inside depending on the weather. But get there early because it does fill up for Happy Hour.
(4)
Mark S.
Excellent waterfront view and service. Fine food with surf and turf menu. The salad bar is the best around, including caviar or a made to order Caesar. The prices are top end in this town, so we usually only visit on special occasions. Very good bar.
(4)
Audrey W.
Always dolphins in the waterway.
(5)
Tammy R.
My girlfriends and I came here for happy hour. Cocktails and appetizers in the bar area. Our waiter was very rude to us from the time we sat down. He acted as if it was an imposition to bring us our food we ordered things. We witnessed him being rude to other patrons. We also witnessed him eating directly from the salad bar with his hands. The appetizer food was good. The cocktails were okay. Don't eat in the bar when Donny us the waiter. My girlfriend was here the previous week when a nice young lady was tending the bar area and she said she was very personable. I was contacted by the management after posting this review. He was very apologetic about our negative experience and offered compensation at a future visit.
(2)
Richard M.
Fabulous entree and delicious dessert make for a very filling dinner! Had a great time here, food turned out great! Drinks were made to perfection, and don't get me started on the dessert. We were all very full, then someone ordered dessert. It arrived, and was devoured in record time :-) great views of the intercoastal, the sun was setting over tall palm trees in the distance, and cranes and pelicans could be seen by the water. very nice place!
(5)
Kayelee U.
My husband and I went here to celebrate our engagement when we were in Florida. We absolutely loved it. The atmosphere was perfect with a romantic view. We had outstanding food and service and will most definitely go back if we are ever back in the area.
(5)
Andrew R.
Made a reservation, Restaurant seemed to forgotten about it. No sorrys given, they pretty much acted as if it was business at normal. Would not eat here again.
(1)
Wendy F.
Have eaten here twice and both times the food and service was excellent! My husband loves the prime rib and I recommend the Paneed Chicken...chocolate lava cake was also very good! We love sitting by the window and watching the dolphins swim in and out of the bay. Great place!
(5)
Sheller K.
Exceptional customer service! I was in town on business and my parents drove over two hours to join me for dinner. We arrived before the dinner hour and sat in the bar area and had a couple of drinks and appetizers. We moved over to the dining area and had a fantastic view of the water. The manager helped me sign up for their rewards program since I was unsuccessful on my iPad. I travel for work so this will be very nice. We all ordered salmon, one Parmesan crusted, one grilled, one blackened. All were delicious. Too full to eat the lava cake we ordered, they boxed it up for my parents to take home and the ice cream went to the hotel with me. The waiter Johnny was very attentive and wish I would have gotten the manager's name since he stopped by a couple of times to check on us. Our overall experience was delicious food and exceptional service - the kind of service that creates brand loyalty. If I'm in Melbourne again, I will be back.
(5)
Cameron O.
Our party of eight dined at the Chart House in Melbourne Florida this past Saturday evening and had one after another disappointment throughout the night. It started with my wine being served in a totally dirty glass. Soups and salads were all delivered at widely varying times. I had to asdk the waiter for my salad after most of the others had already finished theirs. While clearing the salad plates, the waited dropped a dirty fork down my back and other than saying "oops, I'm sorry" did nothing to offer personally wipe off my shirt or to pick up a dry cleaning tab. My wifes meal arrived incomplete and we had to ask a second time for het a la carte baked potato. The last straw came when my sister-in-law bit into her Tilapia dinner only to crunch down on a piece of glass. Very very poor. I regret buying my Landry's Club card as I doubt we will ever return to this location.
(1)
Mary R.
Be prepared to pay, but it is one of the best restaurants in the Cocoa area. Every drink is perfect and they The one exception is Happy hour and that is just as lovely as the regular menu. If you are on a budget their happy hour is still going to beat the pants off other area restaurants. My favorite things: Fried Asparagus ap, Spiced Yellow fin (rare), and Macadamia nut Cheescake. I'm not usually a fan of cheesecake, but their's is an unbelievable special treat as are all of the drinks!
(4)
Eileen D.
Had reservations for Christmas eve dinner after a 4:00 church service. We were seated next to a table which 7 children, about ages 4-9. There were also 4 adults. The children ruined our dinner, by yelling, running around, bashing into our table and making so much noise we could not even hear each other talk, let alone, hear what the waiter was saying. I glared at them numerous times, and said " please don't do that" to one of the kids that bashing into me, but to no avail, the parents were all visiting at one end of the table, and basically totality ignored their children. I complained to our waiter, the person who brought our bread, the person who brought our salads, as well as the manager, ( 4 employees total) but no one would say a word to the offending table. We spent 140 dollars on the meal, and even after complaining to the greasy haired manager, he simply did not comp us anything, and said "sorry, try us again". I thought of personally saying something to the dad of some of the children, , but he seemed to be totally tuned out to how the children were robbing us of our good time. This was the worse dining experience of our life,and the manager should be fired. We will not be back! I might expect this at a Mcdonalds, but not at a restaurant where our entrees were 36 dollars each, and the salads, were 9 dollars each!
(1)
Nicole B.
Can always count on the Chart house for a good meal when traveling. They have never let us down. Must try the fried asparagus! Don't go near the peppercorn steak medallions!!! For some reason the chef at this Chart House has the recipe for the sauce wrong or something because it was really bad. Other then that, great service, kind of snotty crowd being in the vicinity of the yacht club.
(3)
Ron J.
Just got home from here and, as usual, I don't feel well. This has happened the last few tomes I've dined here. I have no known allergies and just received a very clean bill of health not more that three weeks ago from my physician. So, I logically believe that these ill feelings are the result of food consumed here, as it just started shortly after I left ths restaurant. The drinks took an unusually long time to be served, although the bar was busy. Still. We had 7 o'clock reservations and were seated promptly; however, our cocktails arrived closer to 7:30. Our server sort of disappeared for a while after we were seated, too. That seemed a bit unusual. After our drinks, and our server, appeared we ordered two appetizers to accompany our drinks. The Stuffed Mushrooms and the Muscles were both very good. Then the salad arroved. I ordered the Cescer Salad, a departur from my usual Spinach Salad. The Cescer Salad was mediocre at best. I was truly disappointed, if that's even possible, to be disappointed by a salad, but I was. It lacked flavor and was devoid of any seasoning whatsoever - very unusual for a Cescer Salad, don't you think? They did redeem themselves when the entrees were served. The Sordfish, Grouper, Snapper and the Filet Megnon were all prepared well. Everyone at the table enjoyed their meals and the view of the river. We were treated to an awesome Florida afternoon thunderstorm with amazing lightning. All in all, it was not a horrible experience, and everyone seemed to leave the table happy. Typically, Chart House provides attentive service and with a party of eight (six adults, one teen and one child) I was not expecting a server to be dedicated to our table and nothing else. I will be back, but this is not one of my favorite weekend dining establishments - I much prefer the less busy weekday evenings.
(3)
Jason H.
Whenever I return 'home' to visit my parents we go here and it never disappoints. I've been to a few other Chart House locations in the US and this one is by far the best. Great river view, friendly service, nice salad bar (and I like the Caesar with anchovies). My wife eats a gluten- and dairy-restricted diet and the head chef came out to go over the menu with her to discuss her options and how he could accomodate--very nice. One drawback on my most recent visit was the drinks. Our cocktails seemed to be lacking the flare, flavour, and quantity I'm used to (and I'm a straight-up gin martini guy, so nothing fancy).
(4)
Terry G.
Catching up on older reviews... The setting was a large business dinner at The Chart House scheduled by a vendor. The location was very nice along the mainland side of the inter-coastal waterway with nice views of the water. We arrived near sunset so the the light was very nice. The service throughout the meal was very good, especially considering that we had about 12 people involved. Good meal, but the notable item was the mushrooms, oh my just about the best I have ever had,. Nice wine selection, although our host opted for an economical option, but still one that was nice. Good outing.
(4)
Adrian G.
Not an upscale restaurant!!! First off, tried to make reservations for seating that was romantic/overlooking the water and was only offered first come first serve seating and my reservations were on a Wednesday night. When we got there, there were two young ladies working at the front and neither one of them greeted us and acted to busy to ask us if we had reservations. After about 10 minutes of just standing there my interrupted on of the ladies and told her we had reservations and if she could check us in. She told us to be seated and we waited another 10 minutes and we were seated. For an "upscale" restaurant, the seating was too close together and I have never been to an "upscale" restaurant with a salad bar. The waiter was ok, not good but not extremely bad. He was too pushy with trying to get us to order the lava cake that takes 30 minutes to cook. I don't remember exactly what my wife ordered but I ordered the chicken and it was nothing to write home about. It was tender but it didn't have any flavor. My wife stated that her fish didn't have any flavor as well. After receiving the bill, we were extremely disappointed that we spent so much for a lack luster meal. The only positive note is that the water/scenery is beautiful. We walked around hand-in-hand, looked at the boats and enjoyed each other's company. We are both very upbeat and happy people who try to make the best of every situation but we are growing tired of receiving unsatisfactory service.
(1)
Angela S.
The food was okay. They try hard, you can tell. I've had better but I've had way worse. I'd give it another try. Hopefully next time the temperature inside the building will be better regulated. It was so hot.
(3)
Carly L.
Caviar at the salad bar? YES PLEASE. My family took me there on my last night of visiting them in FL, and I was impressed. Great appetizers, attentive service, and a great meal. why not 5 stars? The only WA wine on the wine list was 14 Hands. The wine "snob" in me found that very sad.
(4)
Amanda P.
This is always a good fall back for a good meal. Great views of the water. The service and the food are consistant. I love going for happy hour and they have some appetizers priced lower than during normal hours. I love the macadamia crusted fish and the salad bar is to die for.
(4)
Nelson L.
Great views in this upscale restaruant. The service was excellent and food was well prepared. It wasn't the best steak I ever had, but it was good. However, sides and appetizers (stuffed mushrooms) were very good. This place won't break the bankk, but be prepared to spend some $$$...
(4)
JJ P.
Note that Chart House is part of very large corporation. That being said, Chart House can be very bland and formulaic. I have had mixed experiences there from superb to downright dull. I recently attended a private function at the Chart House and was really impressed by the attentive service, quality of food, cleanliness of the building and professional staff. The location and view are superb. Is the greatest food in Melbourne? No its not, but it definitely is a good destination restaurant.
(4)
T. B.
Beautiful location, but I usually feel like I'm getting my money's worth in most Chart Houses. Not so this one. It's a bit more cramped than the ones I've gone to (five or six on both East and West Coasts) and definitely a lot more noisy. I'm not a fan of places that have loud music and horrible sound muffling; loud does not equal hip. Parking appears to be only valet. I love valet when it's convenient; I hate it when I don't have a choice. I had the seared ahi and even the outside was cold; just a tad too much sauce and the saffron risotto was also chilled. I've had better, so I won't be back here unless the boss is paying.
(2)
Pat K.
Food, service and ambiance were excellent. The salad bar and mud pie are a must. The only negative was the piped in music, it was intrusive.
(5)
Ressa K.
For what you pay, it's not very good. everyone complained about their side dishes... which for the price you pay should be awesome. We were there for a family birthday and it's nice they put the name of the birthday person on the menu but it wasn't up to the price you pay for food. Blech. so sorry. it's been better in the past.
(2)
Joanne B.
Let me say that I know I am a food snob, but this place must hate food because they have no idea how to prepare anything good. First, we walked in and the place smelled like a port o potty, so now I refer to it as the "Fart House". No place should smell like that and there is clearly a sewage issue somewhere. Please fix it and please update your outdated decor. It was hurting my eyes! Don't waste your time at the salad bar, the one at my office cafeteria is better and anyone can open a can of olives and throw it in a bowl and who cares about bad caviar, just because it's caviar. My favorite line of the night was when the hostess seated our party of four and said, "oh crap, I forgot to bring the other two menus." I got annoyed at paying $30.00 an entree for the quality of the food that was received. Thank goodness for the good company we where in, the view, and our very nice and well humored waiter.
(1)
Janeen K.
Food always very good, salad bar is fantastic, service is super, view is beautiful...highly recommend! My meal was Salmon, ginger rice, broccoli, also in the past tried the Prime Rib which is very good, perpared to perfection, all meals have a good presentation. Price maybe on the high end. If you feel the service is slow..well it's really well worth the wait! Janeen K
(5)
Eileen B.
Food: The food is average for Chart House. As for fine dining, this is the first fine dining restaurant I've been to in Melbourne, FL. Hubby had a nice steak and the portion was as described. The salad bar variety is average, but could do with more frequent cleaning. I ordered a steak as well, as I wasn't into the fish choices of the day, which rarely happens. My steak was a little rarer than I like, but definitely edible and tender. Ambiance: It wasn't as romantic as most other Chart House. The restaurant was a little loud. Service: The service was pleasant, not over bearing, but at times difficult to locate my server. Overall: It lives up to a Chart House, but a little snooty and the service and food isn't as extensive as other Chart Houses around the country. The one star off is for the valet parking only, and the service. Update 3/31/08 - 2nd trip there: Arrived 10 mins before time and was told it will be closer to reservation time. Reservation time came and went, we went up to ask, and was told, they are running a little behind, no apologies. When seated 15 mins after reservation time, waiter didn't show up with drinks or welcome for a good 10 mins and even then only after we flagged down the manager who offered to comp us drinks and appetizers, we negotiated for the lava cake instead with no heath crunch. We got the appetizer with heath crunch and our cappuchino showed up after we are almost done with the lava cake. Overall, the service was a great disappointment. I don't think I will go there again unless someone else invites me there. Stars are dropping fast. With a high end restaurant, my service expectation has to be better than Olive Garden. I get greeted and profuse apologies when seated at an olive garden! Chart House made me feel like, if I wasn't there, they didn't have to work that hard!
(3)
Alan S.
This place was great. I was there with a big group for an important business meeting and they fed us well. I saw the bill... OMG... but thankfully the other company was the one paying! I had the fillet and the lava cake... and before the meal they had a bunch of appetizers. The crab cakes were amazing. The fillet was really good... and the lava cake was to die for. On top of it all there was a nice view of the water. I would defiantly go again should I ever happen to be in Melbourne.
(4)
Craig B.
My first trip to Chart House several years ago was decent, but this trip was pretty awful. My wife's "medium-well" filet was significantly overcooked while my "medium" Ahi steak was just plain raw. Furthermore, a third of the tuna was inedible due to a large amount of connective tissue running through the steak. Both meals were very plain and unsophisticated. My wife's filet was paired with a baked potato and my Ahi was served with steamed broccoli and rice. The service was merely average and the atmosphere in the lounge section of restaurant left something to be desired. Overall, unacceptable for a $100 meal.
(2)
Heather H.
We went here for our anniversary and they printed us special anniversary menus! Service was great, food was great.
(4)
Kim S.
Dreadful experience...I'd leave it at that, but I feel compelled to warn anyone with intentions of eating here to please rethink that choice. In my opinion, the only reason this place keeps its doors open is because there is almost nothing else to choose from in this area. To start our experience, there was a detour and we were totally confused as to where this place even was...ok, not their fault and we're not completely familiar with Melbourne. Well, we found it. We walked in and the decor looked old, washed out, and a little like a pumpkin spiced latte got sick everywhere. The music was loud and obnoxious, not what you'd expect from fine dining ambiance. The snooty toddlers at the hostess station asked my husband if he had a reservation and he said that he did. We were then directed to the seating area 3 feet away from them, where we remained for 15-20 minutes. People without reservations were seated before us and the people with reservations 15 minutes after ours were seated before us...but we tried to remain positive...even though the dizzying and dirty looking hotel carpet and salad bar's mere existence kept begging us to walk out. Are salad bars gross to you? They are to me...and nothing about them says upscale. But I digress as I often do. Ok, so we finally got seated after another ridiculous debacle that I'll spare you having to read about. Our server promptly came over and was super friendly. We ordered the lobster and shrimp spring rolls and a couple of drinks. Don't get the moscato sangria. It was cloyingly sweet, we sent it back. The lobster rolls a.k.a. cabbage rolls were ok, huge and awkward to eat but certainly not the worst thing either of us had ever tasted. Worth $13? ummm no. We ordered the seared mahi and the coconut shrimp for our entrees and went ahead and ordered dessert, the chocolate lava cake, since we were told it would take 30 minutes to prepare. As we waited, we tried to pinpoint exactly what this restaurant's decor and vibe was trying to say. We decided it was tragically confused and stopped thinking about it before our brains exploded. We were happy to see our food arrive and were excited to dig in, as we were starving (skipped lunch). The coconut shrimp was overcooked and my hubby could barely even cut through most of his shrimp. This is not something you'd expect from a $30 entree. However, a few of the shrimp were actually edible and tasted ok but the sweet chili sauce they paired them with was a strange choice, not complementary at all. The shrimp was also served with the worst thing either of us had ever tasted, crab fried rice. How do you mess up fried rice, you say? I don't know but this stuff tasted rancid. It was just bad. Soooo, onto my food, "seared" mahi, which was not seared at all, it looked totally poached and had some of their nasty crab on top. The fish was cooked well I guess but was probably one of the blandest pieces of fish anyone ever put on a plate. Poor fish, it deserved better than to be drowned in butter and tastelessness. I did eat my broccoli. It was steamed, can't really mess that up. So, needless to say, we sent the food back and declined their offers of ordering something else. When that famous cake got to the table, we were cautiously optimistic about its quality but were happy that it tasted like chocolate and cake so we devoured the whole thing. Though, I'm not certain what the fluff was about needing 30 minutes to prepare since parts of it were cold, so it obviously was not baked fresh. The manager came over and comped our entrees. Thanks manager lady but we will never ever ever return. It's over between us. Upon driving away my hubby said, "well, at least now I have a place to recommend to people I don't like." We drove off into the night and hit our favorite sushi restaurant. The End.
(1)
Mike M.
The view of the river is definitely breathtaking. Though I've always thought the inside of this place needed some sort of makeover. Maybe paint or new tables. I can't put my finger on it, but when you go in take a look around at the cheesy floral prints. The wait staff is very appeasing. If a crumb falls on the table you can bet your bottom dollar to find them chasing after it with crumb comb. The salad bar is overrated. It's def eye catching as you walk in but don't let the nice presentation fool you into paying 8-15$ on it just because it has caviar and bright colored fruit. Really it's just and average salad bar. Every entre that I've ordered always looks and taste amazing. I've never had a compliant about the food but believe that the price is a little high for the area.
(4)
Karen H.
This restaurant definitely has great food but it is just a little out of our price range for anything other than a special occassion, so I am reviewing their happy hour. Most people would not think to go to Chart House for the weekly Friday after work event, but it's actually pretty great. The view is beautiful, sitting out over the river and marina and they have a special HH food and alcohol menu. The have items for as little as $4 and everything we've tried has been super.
(4)
Jim S.
The view looking out on the Indian River is impressive and our overall dining experience was quite satisfactory. My salmon was fresh and well prepared and my guests reported that their food (some seafood, some steak) was very good. We chose a hearty red wine to complement our meals but somehow I do not recall the name of the wine. As they say, "The mind's the first thing to go." This Chart House is probably a 4-star restaurant but I knocked 1 star off as the service was quite slow. Mind you our server performed admirably and exhibited a nice manner, however, the poor fellow was very overworked and madly dashing all around the floor area. I suspect he was covering for an absent staff member (or two). I am happy to return soon and give this another go.
(3)
Cheri B.
My husband & I have been to the Chart House in Melbourne several times and let me tell ya....it only gets better. We actually can't wait for a 'special' occasion to arise (i.e., company, birthday, holiday), just we can make plans to go there. Excellant atmosphere, food, and staff. It is pricey but well worth it. Again, not an everyday place, but for those special occasions, you can't beat it. Cheri B.
(5)
Tom W.
One of the most upscale in Melbourne. Very nice views, and excellent location in Melbourne Harbor. We are regulars here, because of the location. Small friendly bar, but gets over-crowded quickly by patrons waiting to be seated. Staff (current) are great, and service is quite good. Food can be variable in quality, and is a bit pricey for its quality, but overall acceptable.
(4)
M. O.
My review is based only on the drinks and an appetizer. I don't even remember which one we had that night. The only reason we keep going to the Chart House is the blueberry Mojitos. Myself and a friend are attempting to try Mojitos from all the establishments that serve them in the Melbourne/Beachside areas. So far the best one we've had (out of about 30 so far) are the blueberry Mojitos from Chart House. They currently rank number 1. We've never had the food, except for that appetizer, which I remember was really good. I think it was cheese stuffed shrimp? Oh yes, and we also tried a banana creme brulee. That was fabulous. We'd like to try the food here at some point but based on these reviews I am a little discouraged already. All but one time that we've gone for the Mojitos we've sat outside. The service wasn't outstanding but it wasn't terrible either. The day we tried the app was the day we sat at the bar and the bartender was brilliant. Watching him make the Mojito was artful. It's got a fancy feel to it and fancy prices to match but those blueberry Mojitos are worth the check.
(4)
Denny C.
We had a party of 7 and once seated, the noise level got increasingly louder than the bar we had just left. The food was absolutely horrible. Chart House used to be a good place back in the day to go for good savory food and a wonderful dining experience. Now, it's just like a cafeteria. The service was mediocre at best. We were celebrating a friends birthday and they printed a menu with a "happy birthday for turning 69" . He just turned 62. Sloppy and inattention to detail. Never is a long time, but I'll NEVER go back. If I want to blow $200 again, I'll open my car window and throw the money out. That's what we felt like last weekend.
(2)
Francis M.
If you're looking for a quiet dinner for 2 on a Friday night this is not the place. The one star rating is a bit unfair because we did not stay for dinner. We were early for our reservation so I had a $9 Kettle and tonic at the bar. It was fine. Unfortunately the restaurant noise level reminded us of a high school cafeteria. The louder it got the louder people talked. It wasn't any better when we were seated so we politely let our waiter know that we were looking for a more subdued atmosphere and wouldn't be staying. He understood and attempted to find a "quiet" booth but, we were probably fortunate, and nothing was available.
(1)
C H.
Had reservations for 8:30 on Valentine's night. The waiting area was packed. We checked in. Our reservations were for the deck which was a concern due to the drizzling rain. We were assured that it would fine, they had it covered and heated. We were also told at 8:30 that we were next to be seated on the deck. We waited and waited. Asked the hostess several times to check on our table. She told us on 3 occasions that she would go see what was available. TO BE FAIR: the power flickered on and off twice during our wait which was messing with their computer systems. We started hearing people complaining that they wouldn't accept cash payments because the staff didn't know how to handle the money without a computer. Are you kidding me?? What has happened that we can't even take care of customers if there is a power blink? Other guests were slowly being seated. Even those with later reservation times. We once again questioned the hostess and she finally took us to our table at 9:30. One hour after our reservation. There were still many many people waiting to be seated. As we were walked towards the deck we see lots of empty tables. Clean, set, ready for guests. No one seated there. When we arrive on the deck there were 9 TABLES WITH NO GUESTS SEATED AT THEM!! Why in the world were we (and everyone else) forced to wait for an hour when there were tables available. We sat down and it really made us angry that they thought so little of their customers to make us wait an hour. Decided to get up and leave. Goodness only knows how long our food would have taken! As we left my husband told the hostess why we decided to not dine with them. Her response was that maybe ALL OF THOSE CUSTOMERS we at the salad bar. Ummm. No. There were ZERO customers at the salad bar. She was just desperate for some excuse. We will not go back. I prefer establishments that truly care about their customer service.
(1)
Stephanie K.
We decided to celebrate our engagement with both sets of parents here and had one of the worst dining experiences ever. The service was terrible and the waitstaff was inattentive. It took over an hour between our appetizers and entrees. My mother's entree was brought to her cold, and after eating a shrimp and sending the dish back, the server returned with the exact same plate which had clearly been reheated. Any other restaurant would make a new dish. The food overall was decent and the restaurant itself is pretty with a nice view, but this experience was not worth going back. We even declined a discount on a return visit after my mother called to complain.
(2)
MOna J.
To be clear I understand it was Thanksgiving, but, that is no excuse for the service I received. I'm pretty sure our server hated me upon arrival, at a table with 9 people 4 of us having a drink I was the only person carded. I ordered a salad she just didn't bring it. We had to point out the missing salad After my entree arrived my salad plate sat there the entire meal. I wouldn't be as irritated had anyone else in my party had the same experience, but, she was extremely attentive with everyone else. I don't think having a tip included in the check is a good reason to be a bad server. It was busy, and maybe she should have prepared herself for it being a busy day a little better. I've worked in the service industry both FOH and BOH, there is no excuse. Perhaps she should have rested a little more knowing it was a holiday. Otherwise the food was delicious the only complaint would be gravy on everything. It could have been on the menu that way.
(2)
Jessica M.
The restaurant has a beautiful view of the ocean. If you look long enough, you'll even spot a dolphin. The service is excellent and the food is breathtaking. We have eaten there the past two days for work engagements. The first night I got the Seared Mahi and the second night I got their blue cheese filet. In addition, on both nights I got the salad bar and shared their famous lava cake. The food was amazing. Extremely tasty and very filling.
(4)
Tee L.
we went here last nite, because we are staying in the melbourne area and looking for a good place to get great drinks and good meals and service and found the yelp reviews ,pretty mixed.. It has been a long time,since I went to any ChartHouse.. I must say the bartender Jeff, knows how to make a tasty great drink and some of the apertizers,tasty too.. The service was excellent, maybe because we sat in the bar for an hour(we were waiting on a couple of friends),so we had our cocktail time. The sear ahi, was my favorite lite bite. And the lava cake was totally chocolately delicious. I had the macadamia crusted mahi-mahi,,but I should of gotten red meat,as the fish was on the sweet side,but good.. No it is not a place for a romantic dinner,as it is pretty well lit and little noisy.. But I think,being tuesday, our service was better than some other busier evening..
(4)
Jeff C.
Second trip. Great service. Surf & Turf pasta OK, little less spinach. Mrs. liked the chicken romano! Patrick was our server. He was great!
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : No Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Valet Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : No Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Dressy Ambience : Romantic Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : Free Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Stephanie K.
We decided to celebrate our engagement with both sets of parents here and had one of the worst dining experiences ever. The service was terrible and the waitstaff was inattentive. It took over an hour between our appetizers and entrees. My mother's entree was brought to her cold, and after eating a shrimp and sending the dish back, the server returned with the exact same plate which had clearly been reheated. Any other restaurant would make a new dish. The food overall was decent and the restaurant itself is pretty with a nice view, but this experience was not worth going back. We even declined a discount on a return visit after my mother called to complain.
(2)Eileen B.
Food: The food is average for Chart House. As for fine dining, this is the first fine dining restaurant I've been to in Melbourne, FL. Hubby had a nice steak and the portion was as described. The salad bar variety is average, but could do with more frequent cleaning. I ordered a steak as well, as I wasn't into the fish choices of the day, which rarely happens. My steak was a little rarer than I like, but definitely edible and tender. Ambiance: It wasn't as romantic as most other Chart House. The restaurant was a little loud. Service: The service was pleasant, not over bearing, but at times difficult to locate my server. Overall: It lives up to a Chart House, but a little snooty and the service and food isn't as extensive as other Chart Houses around the country. The one star off is for the valet parking only, and the service. Update 3/31/08 - 2nd trip there: Arrived 10 mins before time and was told it will be closer to reservation time. Reservation time came and went, we went up to ask, and was told, they are running a little behind, no apologies. When seated 15 mins after reservation time, waiter didn't show up with drinks or welcome for a good 10 mins and even then only after we flagged down the manager who offered to comp us drinks and appetizers, we negotiated for the lava cake instead with no heath crunch. We got the appetizer with heath crunch and our cappuchino showed up after we are almost done with the lava cake. Overall, the service was a great disappointment. I don't think I will go there again unless someone else invites me there. Stars are dropping fast. With a high end restaurant, my service expectation has to be better than Olive Garden. I get greeted and profuse apologies when seated at an olive garden! Chart House made me feel like, if I wasn't there, they didn't have to work that hard!
(3)Alan S.
This place was great. I was there with a big group for an important business meeting and they fed us well. I saw the bill... OMG... but thankfully the other company was the one paying! I had the fillet and the lava cake... and before the meal they had a bunch of appetizers. The crab cakes were amazing. The fillet was really good... and the lava cake was to die for. On top of it all there was a nice view of the water. I would defiantly go again should I ever happen to be in Melbourne.
(4)Craig B.
My first trip to Chart House several years ago was decent, but this trip was pretty awful. My wife's "medium-well" filet was significantly overcooked while my "medium" Ahi steak was just plain raw. Furthermore, a third of the tuna was inedible due to a large amount of connective tissue running through the steak. Both meals were very plain and unsophisticated. My wife's filet was paired with a baked potato and my Ahi was served with steamed broccoli and rice. The service was merely average and the atmosphere in the lounge section of restaurant left something to be desired. Overall, unacceptable for a $100 meal.
(2)Heather H.
We went here for our anniversary and they printed us special anniversary menus! Service was great, food was great.
(4)Karen H.
This restaurant definitely has great food but it is just a little out of our price range for anything other than a special occassion, so I am reviewing their happy hour. Most people would not think to go to Chart House for the weekly Friday after work event, but it's actually pretty great. The view is beautiful, sitting out over the river and marina and they have a special HH food and alcohol menu. The have items for as little as $4 and everything we've tried has been super.
(4)JM R.
We celebrated a wonderful wedding anniversary at the Charthouse Melbourne. Superb! They have recently renovated and it is lovely. The service was spectacular! Our server definitely made this a special event. The salad bar is always great. From salad, to fruit, to cavier! Hello! I had the Snapper Hemingway for my entrée but seriously considered the Key West Spiced Grouper...maybe next time. Snapper was delicious. My husband had the Filet, cooked to perfection. Dessert at the Charthouse has always been Mud Pie for us, a tradition. Wonderful as always. I hadn't realized they have Sunday Brunch, a must add for our next FLA trip. Renovated space is a little loud, however the manager stopped by and said they were "working on that". It's a beautiful spot, not to be missed!
(5)Schylone T.
I made a reservation for a Saturday evening at 7:30 with a request for outside or window but we arrived there at 7. They sat us immediately outside at the table of our choosing. Perfect view of the sunset as boats were returning to dock. Our waitress was very knowledgeable and friendly to us. The Lobster Bisque was creamy with nice sized chucks of lobster. The sizzling mushrooms were ordered as an appetizer and delicious! The main dishes were the Prime Rib and Filet Mignon. Both were cooked to our request. The desert was the raspberry sorbet. So light and pallet cleansing. We had a relaxing, romantic dinner and I would definitely go back.
(4)Alex M.
Overpriced place, ok food (nothing special), ok service, never again. Nice view. Good location. Thats all this restaurant has.
(2)Darlene T.
We definitely made the right choice in dining here. The food was superb and the service was fantastic. Totally what I would expect from a restaurant like this. But the most impressive thing was the spectacular view of the bay, which added to the ambience. On the recommendation of the server, I chose the Key West Spiced Grouper. The dish was cooked to perfection and the habanero sauce had a slight kick but wasn't too spicy. We also order the King Salmon which included the summer vegetables....also cooked to perfection. Just make sure you save room for their signature Hot Lava Cake...which was rich and decadent. Will definitely make it back again the next time I'm in town.
(5)Audra K.
Celebrating our anniversary and we were treated wonderfully. Our server Rachel was so friendly and the right amount of attentive. The food was delicious and the view was amazing. I highly recommend the bronzed swordfish & the lava cake - it's well worth the wait!
(5)Chriscoral A.
This was our first visit since they took out the devider between the bar and reastaurant. They gained 20 seats at the bar but the noise was horrible!!! The food I must say is still excellent! Prime rib that melts in your mouth and the best salad bar around.
(4)L J.
Go for the happy hour! 4-6 it's such a good deal, but space is limited so get there early!
(5)Richard M.
Fabulous entree and delicious dessert make for a very filling dinner! Had a great time here, food turned out great! Drinks were made to perfection, and don't get me started on the dessert. We were all very full, then someone ordered dessert. It arrived, and was devoured in record time :-) great views of the intercoastal, the sun was setting over tall palm trees in the distance, and cranes and pelicans could be seen by the water. very nice place!
(5)Kayelee U.
My husband and I went here to celebrate our engagement when we were in Florida. We absolutely loved it. The atmosphere was perfect with a romantic view. We had outstanding food and service and will most definitely go back if we are ever back in the area.
(5)Andrew R.
Made a reservation, Restaurant seemed to forgotten about it. No sorrys given, they pretty much acted as if it was business at normal. Would not eat here again.
(1)Wendy F.
Have eaten here twice and both times the food and service was excellent! My husband loves the prime rib and I recommend the Paneed Chicken...chocolate lava cake was also very good! We love sitting by the window and watching the dolphins swim in and out of the bay. Great place!
(5)Sheller K.
Exceptional customer service! I was in town on business and my parents drove over two hours to join me for dinner. We arrived before the dinner hour and sat in the bar area and had a couple of drinks and appetizers. We moved over to the dining area and had a fantastic view of the water. The manager helped me sign up for their rewards program since I was unsuccessful on my iPad. I travel for work so this will be very nice. We all ordered salmon, one Parmesan crusted, one grilled, one blackened. All were delicious. Too full to eat the lava cake we ordered, they boxed it up for my parents to take home and the ice cream went to the hotel with me. The waiter Johnny was very attentive and wish I would have gotten the manager's name since he stopped by a couple of times to check on us. Our overall experience was delicious food and exceptional service - the kind of service that creates brand loyalty. If I'm in Melbourne again, I will be back.
(5)Peggy R.
We came here to clebrate a friends birthday and it was his choice. I think the best part of the meal was the clam chouder, it was great! Service was good and one of our party had the lobster bisque and she loves it (she had been here before). We ordered crab cakes (good), the 3 shrimp dinner (meh), grouper (very good) and scallops (very good). Kind of a mixed bag but for the price I expect ore quality with the food. The shrimp were disappointing at best. It was an expensive lesson and I wouldn't go back. We were at a table on the water and did enjoy that so if you decide to go ask for a table with a view of the water.
(2)Mark M.
I've frequented many of the high-end steak houses over the years around the country - this one (Melbourne, FL) now ranks at the bottom of my extensive list. I cannot begin to express my disappointment in virtually every aspect of our meal during my visit to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We were seated very quickly with a water view that was nice, and the waiter was extremely courteous and attentive, if maybe somewhat pushy on quick ordering. Although polite, his recommendations/knowledge were not communicated in a manner conducive to helping our food choice. Chart House's Salad Bar is suppose to be legendary - however, their premade Caesar salad was floating in liquid that ultimately wilted the salad and the rest of the salad bar was not much better than what you would see at a Ruby Tuesdays (gasp!). My spouse's Grouper entree with potatoes was obviously not very fresh and was laying in a non-imaginative type of salsa - quite frankly, yuck. My entree of scallops and braised short ribs had a whole 2 scallops (really - a whole two) and the shrts ribs had virtually no taste. All-in-all, an completely unimaginative meal with exhorbant prices for very little food. The appetizer of seared tuna and tuna tataki with coleslaw was probably the most edible food of the evening, it's a shame that it didn't carry over into anything else. We were afraid to oder anything else. In the end, I would have rather spent my $140 on Meg O'Malleys downtown, or maybe at Matt's Casbah - we would have received much higher quality food at half the price, and those places actually have an enjoyable atmosphere with top-notch service. Bottom line, Old school restaurant, old school food, ridiculous prices - Yellow Dog Cafe is a much better alternative if you want to spend $$$ money.
(1)Chad D.
My family and I were in town for the weekend and decided to eat here. Beautiful water views where dolphins made their presence known. Our waiter (Todd) was fantastic and was able to help us pick a great meal keeping everyone in my family's taste in mind. If I ever make it back to Melbourne I will make sure I make it back to the Chart House.
(5)Vivian H.
We went to the chart house to celebrate our friends anniversary . All six of us had wonderful meals, and the waiter was great. We chose the Chart House because of its outstanding cuisine , and beautiful view. it's a good thing we had a view to contemplate and delicious food to eat because the noise level was so high we could not carry on a conversation. The noise was all due to one table with four very obnoxious middle aged women who behaved as though they were at a frat party.the manager said he would not and could not do anything about it. I ask myself why four people get to dominate the whole section and no one working there was willing to say anything to them. Other diners were aggravated by their behavior. My friend asked them to lower the volume and they got louder and sang. The staff did nothing. the message was very clear, we don't care how you feel, we do support drunkards. I did not realize that Chart house supported this kind of behavior.
(3)Joanne S.
Special occasion place pricewise but they have a good happy hour drink and food specials in the lounge from 4-6.
(3)Cameron O.
Our party of eight dined at the Chart House in Melbourne Florida this past Saturday evening and had one after another disappointment throughout the night. It started with my wine being served in a totally dirty glass. Soups and salads were all delivered at widely varying times. I had to asdk the waiter for my salad after most of the others had already finished theirs. While clearing the salad plates, the waited dropped a dirty fork down my back and other than saying "oops, I'm sorry" did nothing to offer personally wipe off my shirt or to pick up a dry cleaning tab. My wifes meal arrived incomplete and we had to ask a second time for het a la carte baked potato. The last straw came when my sister-in-law bit into her Tilapia dinner only to crunch down on a piece of glass. Very very poor. I regret buying my Landry's Club card as I doubt we will ever return to this location.
(1)Mary R.
Be prepared to pay, but it is one of the best restaurants in the Cocoa area. Every drink is perfect and they The one exception is Happy hour and that is just as lovely as the regular menu. If you are on a budget their happy hour is still going to beat the pants off other area restaurants. My favorite things: Fried Asparagus ap, Spiced Yellow fin (rare), and Macadamia nut Cheescake. I'm not usually a fan of cheesecake, but their's is an unbelievable special treat as are all of the drinks!
(4)Eileen D.
Had reservations for Christmas eve dinner after a 4:00 church service. We were seated next to a table which 7 children, about ages 4-9. There were also 4 adults. The children ruined our dinner, by yelling, running around, bashing into our table and making so much noise we could not even hear each other talk, let alone, hear what the waiter was saying. I glared at them numerous times, and said " please don't do that" to one of the kids that bashing into me, but to no avail, the parents were all visiting at one end of the table, and basically totality ignored their children. I complained to our waiter, the person who brought our bread, the person who brought our salads, as well as the manager, ( 4 employees total) but no one would say a word to the offending table. We spent 140 dollars on the meal, and even after complaining to the greasy haired manager, he simply did not comp us anything, and said "sorry, try us again". I thought of personally saying something to the dad of some of the children, , but he seemed to be totally tuned out to how the children were robbing us of our good time. This was the worse dining experience of our life,and the manager should be fired. We will not be back! I might expect this at a Mcdonalds, but not at a restaurant where our entrees were 36 dollars each, and the salads, were 9 dollars each!
(1)Nicole B.
Can always count on the Chart house for a good meal when traveling. They have never let us down. Must try the fried asparagus! Don't go near the peppercorn steak medallions!!! For some reason the chef at this Chart House has the recipe for the sauce wrong or something because it was really bad. Other then that, great service, kind of snotty crowd being in the vicinity of the yacht club.
(3)Michael M.
This restaurant is great. They have valet service. You are warmly greated when you arrive. I have never waited more than a few minutes for a table. The view from our riverview table is stunning. Drink orders are made promptly and delivered in reasonable time. Cocktails here are very good. Today I ordered oysters on the half shell, lobster bisque, and alaskan king crab legs. The oysters are very nice and served with cocktail sauce and horderadish. The lobster bisque was so tasty and served at just the right temperature. The king crab is to die for and it comes with a baked potato dressed any way you want. For dessert I had the raspberry sorbet. It tasted fresh made which is a big plus. I also sampled the key lime pie, the cheesecake, and the creme brulle. All were excellent. The service here was very good and our server was very helpful and attentive. Consistency is the secret to this restaurants success as well as being able to maintain an atmosphere of charm and elegance. Definitely a great place for a night out with someone special.
(5)Mary L.
We were displaced Thanksgiving day guests and decided to give the Chart House a try. Let's just start with it was a holiday and it was busy. This was actually my first Thanksgiving where I went out for dinner and I must say I felt a little guilty about going because I hate that people have to work that day. Everyone we encountered from the bartender to the servers were very nice and professional and seemed to be okay with working that day. The Chart House has been remodeled and it appears that it is pretty much complete. The bar that once was hidden is now wide open and I hear a 60 inch television is going against the wall. While it looks great it does increase the noise level in the place. It also allows for wide open views to the river. We had drinks at the bar while we waited for our table. The bartender John was friendly and fast! Our table was ready about 15 minutes after our reservation but it was so busy they were doing the best we could. The tables are close together so if you plan on having a private conversation this is not the place. However if you want to ask for a divorce and want to make sure that your soon to be ex won't scream at you this is a great place. We started off our meal with Coconut Crunchy Shrimp. They were good not fantastic. You have to try really hard to screw up fried shrimp. We both had the salad bar. For an additional $8.25 with a meal you are allowed access to the salad bar. It's a good salad bar. The cesear salad station was my favorite and that is probably because I love anchovies and croutons. The server manning the salad bar was working hard all night. Be careful when you pull a salad plate because a few of them were dirty but I am sure it was because the place was jam packed last night. For dinner I had the filet with mashed potatoes. The filet was perfectly cooked and the mashed potatoes were tasty. My boyfriend had the Hemingway Snapper which was a very big piece of fish with crab meat on top. It was cooked perfectly. For desert we had the Hot Chocolate Lava Cake. I am not a huge dessert fan but it was good. My boyfriend loved it. They have a pretty good wine selection and a bunch of speciality drinks. The Chart House is good restaurant. It's not at the same level as Yellow Dog Cafe or Crush Eleven but they are a solid restaurant. I am not sure why the Chart House is getting slammed on Yelp! On a side note they have a great happy hour if you want to just go sample a few things and have some cocktails.
(4)Colin C.
Went there in Christmas Eve with the family. It was packed. The reservation time was honored. The service and food were outstanding. The limited menus had all the best items from the regular menu. We had several appetizers, entree's and desserts and all were very good. A must is the mango mojito.
(5)Jonathan M.
My fiancée offered the Chart House as a dinner suggestion tonight and it reminded me of why I love her so much. This place was absolutely perfect. Beautiful nighttime view of the water (along with fireworks and an approaching lightning storm). I loved everything. The crab stuffed tilapia was amazing. And yes, save room for the chocolate lava cake. It was great! We will be coming back here for every visit to MLB.
(5)Dina V.
Finally sitting down to review our "go-to" restaurant of choice. Let's just say it was my first date with my husband when it was still the 1980's decor, and we enjoy it even more with all the new updates. My husband loves a good steak and it has always been consistent. I will say we eat here at least 2 to 4 times a month. We have enjoyed holidays, special celebrations, Sunday brunch, Happy Hour, even bring our kids and always bring out-of town visitors here. The staff is welcoming, attentive and helpful and the food is consistently good. The valet guys know my husband on a first name basis...On only one occasion in the past 7 years can I recall a steak that was not as tasty, and they immediately replaced it with a new one when I mentioned it. On another occasion a waiter threw out my left-overs by mistake and the manager brought me an entire new meal to take home! Now that's nice service! My husband is part of the Loyalty rewards program (highly recommend this), and you earn points for your meals that convert to cash toward your next visit. Pretty cool. Last night it was so busy (Yah!) we could not get a table in the bar area at 8pm, so we decided to eat at the bar (we did this one new years eve at the last minute too) and it is a nice bar area. Yes, it is a little noisier since the wall was torn down, but we enjoy the activity and people watching. Max was the bartender who served us and when I asked about a new salmon dish he highly recommended it. All I can say is WOW!!! I love salmon. I order fish out all the time since I rarely cook it at home. The Chart house has wonderful fish, truly! I can't say enough because I've tried them all, but this was sooooo extraordinary! I feel like you can not go wrong with any fish you try there. The ahi tuna, the encrusted mahi, oysters, shrimp, scallops, but this new pesto Salmon was a great surprise! Steak lovers know what to expect from the Chart House but fish lovers rejoice! Thanks for another wonderful dinning experience.
(5)Oscar D.
This review covers my last two visits during June and July 2015. I'll begin with saying the food was very good on both occasions and on food alone, I'd give a score of 5 stars. However my reason for the 3 star score is for the service. On both occasions, our servers have been forgetful. In June, the waiter forgot that we had ordered soup and boasted that he could make this "Out of the World" tartar sauce which somehow never arrived either. In July our waitress stated that if we wanted their signature Lava Cake, we'd have to order it 20 to 30 minutes prior to getting it. So we asked for the cake when ordering our meal to later find out that she forgot to place the order. Somehow she scrambled and got us one that was cold and not very good. For the caliber of restaurant and amount of money they charge, the quality of wait staff is far less than I would expect. Sadly, I don't see myself returning anytime soon. There are too many other good restaurants which are not as pricey and am sure don't hire a wait staff with dementia.
(3)Natures Parables S.
Excellent!!! Went here for my birthday dinner and the food and service was great! Jerry was our server and treated us great! We had grouper and salad bar...fabulous! A birthday surprise came at the end. We highly recommend this restaurant!
(5)simon d.
After eating at the chart house for many years and many meals I am afraid to say the last few visits have been extremely disappointing. it's just not the old Chart House. It starts out with a friendly greeting by our valet and then it slowly goes downhill from there with an extremely snobby staff that meet you at the front desk, the attention to detail that once made the Chart House famous is disappearing and the food by no means is the same as it once was, the food seems to be pre packaged or frozen and then Dr'ed up, the other problem is the quantity of food for the price. I do not mind spending extra for quality and a good quality but the Chart House has lost both quantity and quality. We had an anniversary dinner there my wife and I and the prime rib tasted like it was from the night before. I would bet a thousand dollars that it was. We brought this to the attention of the restaurant and the folks that own the Chart House with absolutely no response. it is very unfortunate and I hope things get better but it just doesn't look real good. 4 positive stars for a very good salad bar.
(1)Lisa E.
I visited this restaurant for the first time over Labor Day weekend. I made a reservation and requested a water view table. They did not accommodate this request. Not a huge deal. On the other hand, the service was a huge headache. Our waiter seemed annoyed that she was working on a holiday weekend (complained right to me about the place being too busy) but worse, seemed to have no clue how to interact with the elder company in my dinner party. She was not attentive to their needs and was condescending at times. Overall, the service was just completely awkward and I couldn't get out of her company fast enough. Thankfully, the food was good and fresh. The salad bar was nice and had a lot of options. The place is pretty pricey but the portions were a good size. The views are nice, just try for a water view. At the end of the meal, the waiter tried to have us sign up for some points club, was pretty insistent on this even though it costs $25 to join. She seemed annoyed when we declined. Shocker. I might go back at some point and try this place out again. The service really ruined it for me.
(3)M M.
Only been for the Happy Hour, but it's Fantastic!!! The price is right and food and drinks are great! You can sit outside or inside depending on the weather. But get there early because it does fill up for Happy Hour.
(4)Mark S.
Excellent waterfront view and service. Fine food with surf and turf menu. The salad bar is the best around, including caviar or a made to order Caesar. The prices are top end in this town, so we usually only visit on special occasions. Very good bar.
(4)Audrey W.
Always dolphins in the waterway.
(5)Tammy R.
My girlfriends and I came here for happy hour. Cocktails and appetizers in the bar area. Our waiter was very rude to us from the time we sat down. He acted as if it was an imposition to bring us our food we ordered things. We witnessed him being rude to other patrons. We also witnessed him eating directly from the salad bar with his hands. The appetizer food was good. The cocktails were okay. Don't eat in the bar when Donny us the waiter. My girlfriend was here the previous week when a nice young lady was tending the bar area and she said she was very personable. I was contacted by the management after posting this review. He was very apologetic about our negative experience and offered compensation at a future visit.
(2)Joanne B.
Let me say that I know I am a food snob, but this place must hate food because they have no idea how to prepare anything good. First, we walked in and the place smelled like a port o potty, so now I refer to it as the "Fart House". No place should smell like that and there is clearly a sewage issue somewhere. Please fix it and please update your outdated decor. It was hurting my eyes! Don't waste your time at the salad bar, the one at my office cafeteria is better and anyone can open a can of olives and throw it in a bowl and who cares about bad caviar, just because it's caviar. My favorite line of the night was when the hostess seated our party of four and said, "oh crap, I forgot to bring the other two menus." I got annoyed at paying $30.00 an entree for the quality of the food that was received. Thank goodness for the good company we where in, the view, and our very nice and well humored waiter.
(1)Janeen K.
Food always very good, salad bar is fantastic, service is super, view is beautiful...highly recommend! My meal was Salmon, ginger rice, broccoli, also in the past tried the Prime Rib which is very good, perpared to perfection, all meals have a good presentation. Price maybe on the high end. If you feel the service is slow..well it's really well worth the wait! Janeen K
(5)Mike M.
The view of the river is definitely breathtaking. Though I've always thought the inside of this place needed some sort of makeover. Maybe paint or new tables. I can't put my finger on it, but when you go in take a look around at the cheesy floral prints. The wait staff is very appeasing. If a crumb falls on the table you can bet your bottom dollar to find them chasing after it with crumb comb. The salad bar is overrated. It's def eye catching as you walk in but don't let the nice presentation fool you into paying 8-15$ on it just because it has caviar and bright colored fruit. Really it's just and average salad bar. Every entre that I've ordered always looks and taste amazing. I've never had a compliant about the food but believe that the price is a little high for the area.
(4)M. O.
My review is based only on the drinks and an appetizer. I don't even remember which one we had that night. The only reason we keep going to the Chart House is the blueberry Mojitos. Myself and a friend are attempting to try Mojitos from all the establishments that serve them in the Melbourne/Beachside areas. So far the best one we've had (out of about 30 so far) are the blueberry Mojitos from Chart House. They currently rank number 1. We've never had the food, except for that appetizer, which I remember was really good. I think it was cheese stuffed shrimp? Oh yes, and we also tried a banana creme brulee. That was fabulous. We'd like to try the food here at some point but based on these reviews I am a little discouraged already. All but one time that we've gone for the Mojitos we've sat outside. The service wasn't outstanding but it wasn't terrible either. The day we tried the app was the day we sat at the bar and the bartender was brilliant. Watching him make the Mojito was artful. It's got a fancy feel to it and fancy prices to match but those blueberry Mojitos are worth the check.
(4)Denny C.
We had a party of 7 and once seated, the noise level got increasingly louder than the bar we had just left. The food was absolutely horrible. Chart House used to be a good place back in the day to go for good savory food and a wonderful dining experience. Now, it's just like a cafeteria. The service was mediocre at best. We were celebrating a friends birthday and they printed a menu with a "happy birthday for turning 69" . He just turned 62. Sloppy and inattention to detail. Never is a long time, but I'll NEVER go back. If I want to blow $200 again, I'll open my car window and throw the money out. That's what we felt like last weekend.
(2)Francis M.
If you're looking for a quiet dinner for 2 on a Friday night this is not the place. The one star rating is a bit unfair because we did not stay for dinner. We were early for our reservation so I had a $9 Kettle and tonic at the bar. It was fine. Unfortunately the restaurant noise level reminded us of a high school cafeteria. The louder it got the louder people talked. It wasn't any better when we were seated so we politely let our waiter know that we were looking for a more subdued atmosphere and wouldn't be staying. He understood and attempted to find a "quiet" booth but, we were probably fortunate, and nothing was available.
(1)C H.
Had reservations for 8:30 on Valentine's night. The waiting area was packed. We checked in. Our reservations were for the deck which was a concern due to the drizzling rain. We were assured that it would fine, they had it covered and heated. We were also told at 8:30 that we were next to be seated on the deck. We waited and waited. Asked the hostess several times to check on our table. She told us on 3 occasions that she would go see what was available. TO BE FAIR: the power flickered on and off twice during our wait which was messing with their computer systems. We started hearing people complaining that they wouldn't accept cash payments because the staff didn't know how to handle the money without a computer. Are you kidding me?? What has happened that we can't even take care of customers if there is a power blink? Other guests were slowly being seated. Even those with later reservation times. We once again questioned the hostess and she finally took us to our table at 9:30. One hour after our reservation. There were still many many people waiting to be seated. As we were walked towards the deck we see lots of empty tables. Clean, set, ready for guests. No one seated there. When we arrive on the deck there were 9 TABLES WITH NO GUESTS SEATED AT THEM!! Why in the world were we (and everyone else) forced to wait for an hour when there were tables available. We sat down and it really made us angry that they thought so little of their customers to make us wait an hour. Decided to get up and leave. Goodness only knows how long our food would have taken! As we left my husband told the hostess why we decided to not dine with them. Her response was that maybe ALL OF THOSE CUSTOMERS we at the salad bar. Ummm. No. There were ZERO customers at the salad bar. She was just desperate for some excuse. We will not go back. I prefer establishments that truly care about their customer service.
(1)T. B.
Beautiful location, but I usually feel like I'm getting my money's worth in most Chart Houses. Not so this one. It's a bit more cramped than the ones I've gone to (five or six on both East and West Coasts) and definitely a lot more noisy. I'm not a fan of places that have loud music and horrible sound muffling; loud does not equal hip. Parking appears to be only valet. I love valet when it's convenient; I hate it when I don't have a choice. I had the seared ahi and even the outside was cold; just a tad too much sauce and the saffron risotto was also chilled. I've had better, so I won't be back here unless the boss is paying.
(2)Pat K.
Food, service and ambiance were excellent. The salad bar and mud pie are a must. The only negative was the piped in music, it was intrusive.
(5)Ressa K.
For what you pay, it's not very good. everyone complained about their side dishes... which for the price you pay should be awesome. We were there for a family birthday and it's nice they put the name of the birthday person on the menu but it wasn't up to the price you pay for food. Blech. so sorry. it's been better in the past.
(2)MOna J.
To be clear I understand it was Thanksgiving, but, that is no excuse for the service I received. I'm pretty sure our server hated me upon arrival, at a table with 9 people 4 of us having a drink I was the only person carded. I ordered a salad she just didn't bring it. We had to point out the missing salad After my entree arrived my salad plate sat there the entire meal. I wouldn't be as irritated had anyone else in my party had the same experience, but, she was extremely attentive with everyone else. I don't think having a tip included in the check is a good reason to be a bad server. It was busy, and maybe she should have prepared herself for it being a busy day a little better. I've worked in the service industry both FOH and BOH, there is no excuse. Perhaps she should have rested a little more knowing it was a holiday. Otherwise the food was delicious the only complaint would be gravy on everything. It could have been on the menu that way.
(2)Jessica M.
The restaurant has a beautiful view of the ocean. If you look long enough, you'll even spot a dolphin. The service is excellent and the food is breathtaking. We have eaten there the past two days for work engagements. The first night I got the Seared Mahi and the second night I got their blue cheese filet. In addition, on both nights I got the salad bar and shared their famous lava cake. The food was amazing. Extremely tasty and very filling.
(4)Tee L.
we went here last nite, because we are staying in the melbourne area and looking for a good place to get great drinks and good meals and service and found the yelp reviews ,pretty mixed.. It has been a long time,since I went to any ChartHouse.. I must say the bartender Jeff, knows how to make a tasty great drink and some of the apertizers,tasty too.. The service was excellent, maybe because we sat in the bar for an hour(we were waiting on a couple of friends),so we had our cocktail time. The sear ahi, was my favorite lite bite. And the lava cake was totally chocolately delicious. I had the macadamia crusted mahi-mahi,,but I should of gotten red meat,as the fish was on the sweet side,but good.. No it is not a place for a romantic dinner,as it is pretty well lit and little noisy.. But I think,being tuesday, our service was better than some other busier evening..
(4)Jeff C.
Second trip. Great service. Surf & Turf pasta OK, little less spinach. Mrs. liked the chicken romano! Patrick was our server. He was great!
(4)Adrian G.
Not an upscale restaurant!!! First off, tried to make reservations for seating that was romantic/overlooking the water and was only offered first come first serve seating and my reservations were on a Wednesday night. When we got there, there were two young ladies working at the front and neither one of them greeted us and acted to busy to ask us if we had reservations. After about 10 minutes of just standing there my interrupted on of the ladies and told her we had reservations and if she could check us in. She told us to be seated and we waited another 10 minutes and we were seated. For an "upscale" restaurant, the seating was too close together and I have never been to an "upscale" restaurant with a salad bar. The waiter was ok, not good but not extremely bad. He was too pushy with trying to get us to order the lava cake that takes 30 minutes to cook. I don't remember exactly what my wife ordered but I ordered the chicken and it was nothing to write home about. It was tender but it didn't have any flavor. My wife stated that her fish didn't have any flavor as well. After receiving the bill, we were extremely disappointed that we spent so much for a lack luster meal. The only positive note is that the water/scenery is beautiful. We walked around hand-in-hand, looked at the boats and enjoyed each other's company. We are both very upbeat and happy people who try to make the best of every situation but we are growing tired of receiving unsatisfactory service.
(1)Angela S.
The food was okay. They try hard, you can tell. I've had better but I've had way worse. I'd give it another try. Hopefully next time the temperature inside the building will be better regulated. It was so hot.
(3)Carly L.
Caviar at the salad bar? YES PLEASE. My family took me there on my last night of visiting them in FL, and I was impressed. Great appetizers, attentive service, and a great meal. why not 5 stars? The only WA wine on the wine list was 14 Hands. The wine "snob" in me found that very sad.
(4)Amanda P.
This is always a good fall back for a good meal. Great views of the water. The service and the food are consistant. I love going for happy hour and they have some appetizers priced lower than during normal hours. I love the macadamia crusted fish and the salad bar is to die for.
(4)Nelson L.
Great views in this upscale restaruant. The service was excellent and food was well prepared. It wasn't the best steak I ever had, but it was good. However, sides and appetizers (stuffed mushrooms) were very good. This place won't break the bankk, but be prepared to spend some $$$...
(4)JJ P.
Note that Chart House is part of very large corporation. That being said, Chart House can be very bland and formulaic. I have had mixed experiences there from superb to downright dull. I recently attended a private function at the Chart House and was really impressed by the attentive service, quality of food, cleanliness of the building and professional staff. The location and view are superb. Is the greatest food in Melbourne? No its not, but it definitely is a good destination restaurant.
(4)Kim S.
Dreadful experience...I'd leave it at that, but I feel compelled to warn anyone with intentions of eating here to please rethink that choice. In my opinion, the only reason this place keeps its doors open is because there is almost nothing else to choose from in this area. To start our experience, there was a detour and we were totally confused as to where this place even was...ok, not their fault and we're not completely familiar with Melbourne. Well, we found it. We walked in and the decor looked old, washed out, and a little like a pumpkin spiced latte got sick everywhere. The music was loud and obnoxious, not what you'd expect from fine dining ambiance. The snooty toddlers at the hostess station asked my husband if he had a reservation and he said that he did. We were then directed to the seating area 3 feet away from them, where we remained for 15-20 minutes. People without reservations were seated before us and the people with reservations 15 minutes after ours were seated before us...but we tried to remain positive...even though the dizzying and dirty looking hotel carpet and salad bar's mere existence kept begging us to walk out. Are salad bars gross to you? They are to me...and nothing about them says upscale. But I digress as I often do. Ok, so we finally got seated after another ridiculous debacle that I'll spare you having to read about. Our server promptly came over and was super friendly. We ordered the lobster and shrimp spring rolls and a couple of drinks. Don't get the moscato sangria. It was cloyingly sweet, we sent it back. The lobster rolls a.k.a. cabbage rolls were ok, huge and awkward to eat but certainly not the worst thing either of us had ever tasted. Worth $13? ummm no. We ordered the seared mahi and the coconut shrimp for our entrees and went ahead and ordered dessert, the chocolate lava cake, since we were told it would take 30 minutes to prepare. As we waited, we tried to pinpoint exactly what this restaurant's decor and vibe was trying to say. We decided it was tragically confused and stopped thinking about it before our brains exploded. We were happy to see our food arrive and were excited to dig in, as we were starving (skipped lunch). The coconut shrimp was overcooked and my hubby could barely even cut through most of his shrimp. This is not something you'd expect from a $30 entree. However, a few of the shrimp were actually edible and tasted ok but the sweet chili sauce they paired them with was a strange choice, not complementary at all. The shrimp was also served with the worst thing either of us had ever tasted, crab fried rice. How do you mess up fried rice, you say? I don't know but this stuff tasted rancid. It was just bad. Soooo, onto my food, "seared" mahi, which was not seared at all, it looked totally poached and had some of their nasty crab on top. The fish was cooked well I guess but was probably one of the blandest pieces of fish anyone ever put on a plate. Poor fish, it deserved better than to be drowned in butter and tastelessness. I did eat my broccoli. It was steamed, can't really mess that up. So, needless to say, we sent the food back and declined their offers of ordering something else. When that famous cake got to the table, we were cautiously optimistic about its quality but were happy that it tasted like chocolate and cake so we devoured the whole thing. Though, I'm not certain what the fluff was about needing 30 minutes to prepare since parts of it were cold, so it obviously was not baked fresh. The manager came over and comped our entrees. Thanks manager lady but we will never ever ever return. It's over between us. Upon driving away my hubby said, "well, at least now I have a place to recommend to people I don't like." We drove off into the night and hit our favorite sushi restaurant. The End.
(1)Ron J.
Just got home from here and, as usual, I don't feel well. This has happened the last few tomes I've dined here. I have no known allergies and just received a very clean bill of health not more that three weeks ago from my physician. So, I logically believe that these ill feelings are the result of food consumed here, as it just started shortly after I left ths restaurant. The drinks took an unusually long time to be served, although the bar was busy. Still. We had 7 o'clock reservations and were seated promptly; however, our cocktails arrived closer to 7:30. Our server sort of disappeared for a while after we were seated, too. That seemed a bit unusual. After our drinks, and our server, appeared we ordered two appetizers to accompany our drinks. The Stuffed Mushrooms and the Muscles were both very good. Then the salad arroved. I ordered the Cescer Salad, a departur from my usual Spinach Salad. The Cescer Salad was mediocre at best. I was truly disappointed, if that's even possible, to be disappointed by a salad, but I was. It lacked flavor and was devoid of any seasoning whatsoever - very unusual for a Cescer Salad, don't you think? They did redeem themselves when the entrees were served. The Sordfish, Grouper, Snapper and the Filet Megnon were all prepared well. Everyone at the table enjoyed their meals and the view of the river. We were treated to an awesome Florida afternoon thunderstorm with amazing lightning. All in all, it was not a horrible experience, and everyone seemed to leave the table happy. Typically, Chart House provides attentive service and with a party of eight (six adults, one teen and one child) I was not expecting a server to be dedicated to our table and nothing else. I will be back, but this is not one of my favorite weekend dining establishments - I much prefer the less busy weekday evenings.
(3)Jason H.
Whenever I return 'home' to visit my parents we go here and it never disappoints. I've been to a few other Chart House locations in the US and this one is by far the best. Great river view, friendly service, nice salad bar (and I like the Caesar with anchovies). My wife eats a gluten- and dairy-restricted diet and the head chef came out to go over the menu with her to discuss her options and how he could accomodate--very nice. One drawback on my most recent visit was the drinks. Our cocktails seemed to be lacking the flare, flavour, and quantity I'm used to (and I'm a straight-up gin martini guy, so nothing fancy).
(4)Terry G.
Catching up on older reviews... The setting was a large business dinner at The Chart House scheduled by a vendor. The location was very nice along the mainland side of the inter-coastal waterway with nice views of the water. We arrived near sunset so the the light was very nice. The service throughout the meal was very good, especially considering that we had about 12 people involved. Good meal, but the notable item was the mushrooms, oh my just about the best I have ever had,. Nice wine selection, although our host opted for an economical option, but still one that was nice. Good outing.
(4)Jim S.
The view looking out on the Indian River is impressive and our overall dining experience was quite satisfactory. My salmon was fresh and well prepared and my guests reported that their food (some seafood, some steak) was very good. We chose a hearty red wine to complement our meals but somehow I do not recall the name of the wine. As they say, "The mind's the first thing to go." This Chart House is probably a 4-star restaurant but I knocked 1 star off as the service was quite slow. Mind you our server performed admirably and exhibited a nice manner, however, the poor fellow was very overworked and madly dashing all around the floor area. I suspect he was covering for an absent staff member (or two). I am happy to return soon and give this another go.
(3)Cheri B.
My husband & I have been to the Chart House in Melbourne several times and let me tell ya....it only gets better. We actually can't wait for a 'special' occasion to arise (i.e., company, birthday, holiday), just we can make plans to go there. Excellant atmosphere, food, and staff. It is pricey but well worth it. Again, not an everyday place, but for those special occasions, you can't beat it. Cheri B.
(5)Tom W.
One of the most upscale in Melbourne. Very nice views, and excellent location in Melbourne Harbor. We are regulars here, because of the location. Small friendly bar, but gets over-crowded quickly by patrons waiting to be seated. Staff (current) are great, and service is quite good. Food can be variable in quality, and is a bit pricey for its quality, but overall acceptable.
(4)Wendy F.
Have eaten here twice and both times the food and service was excellent! My husband loves the prime rib and I recommend the Paneed Chicken...chocolate lava cake was also very good! We love sitting by the window and watching the dolphins swim in and out of the bay. Great place!
(5)Dina V.
Finally sitting down to review our "go-to" restaurant of choice. Let's just say it was my first date with my husband when it was still the 1980's decor, and we enjoy it even more with all the new updates. My husband loves a good steak and it has always been consistent. I will say we eat here at least 2 to 4 times a month. We have enjoyed holidays, special celebrations, Sunday brunch, Happy Hour, even bring our kids and always bring out-of town visitors here. The staff is welcoming, attentive and helpful and the food is consistently good. The valet guys know my husband on a first name basis...On only one occasion in the past 7 years can I recall a steak that was not as tasty, and they immediately replaced it with a new one when I mentioned it. On another occasion a waiter threw out my left-overs by mistake and the manager brought me an entire new meal to take home! Now that's nice service! My husband is part of the Loyalty rewards program (highly recommend this), and you earn points for your meals that convert to cash toward your next visit. Pretty cool. Last night it was so busy (Yah!) we could not get a table in the bar area at 8pm, so we decided to eat at the bar (we did this one new years eve at the last minute too) and it is a nice bar area. Yes, it is a little noisier since the wall was torn down, but we enjoy the activity and people watching. Max was the bartender who served us and when I asked about a new salmon dish he highly recommended it. All I can say is WOW!!! I love salmon. I order fish out all the time since I rarely cook it at home. The Chart house has wonderful fish, truly! I can't say enough because I've tried them all, but this was sooooo extraordinary! I feel like you can not go wrong with any fish you try there. The ahi tuna, the encrusted mahi, oysters, shrimp, scallops, but this new pesto Salmon was a great surprise! Steak lovers know what to expect from the Chart House but fish lovers rejoice! Thanks for another wonderful dinning experience.
(5)Oscar D.
This review covers my last two visits during June and July 2015. I'll begin with saying the food was very good on both occasions and on food alone, I'd give a score of 5 stars. However my reason for the 3 star score is for the service. On both occasions, our servers have been forgetful. In June, the waiter forgot that we had ordered soup and boasted that he could make this "Out of the World" tartar sauce which somehow never arrived either. In July our waitress stated that if we wanted their signature Lava Cake, we'd have to order it 20 to 30 minutes prior to getting it. So we asked for the cake when ordering our meal to later find out that she forgot to place the order. Somehow she scrambled and got us one that was cold and not very good. For the caliber of restaurant and amount of money they charge, the quality of wait staff is far less than I would expect. Sadly, I don't see myself returning anytime soon. There are too many other good restaurants which are not as pricey and am sure don't hire a wait staff with dementia.
(3)Sheller K.
Exceptional customer service! I was in town on business and my parents drove over two hours to join me for dinner. We arrived before the dinner hour and sat in the bar area and had a couple of drinks and appetizers. We moved over to the dining area and had a fantastic view of the water. The manager helped me sign up for their rewards program since I was unsuccessful on my iPad. I travel for work so this will be very nice. We all ordered salmon, one Parmesan crusted, one grilled, one blackened. All were delicious. Too full to eat the lava cake we ordered, they boxed it up for my parents to take home and the ice cream went to the hotel with me. The waiter Johnny was very attentive and wish I would have gotten the manager's name since he stopped by a couple of times to check on us. Our overall experience was delicious food and exceptional service - the kind of service that creates brand loyalty. If I'm in Melbourne again, I will be back.
(5)Jonathan M.
My fiancée offered the Chart House as a dinner suggestion tonight and it reminded me of why I love her so much. This place was absolutely perfect. Beautiful nighttime view of the water (along with fireworks and an approaching lightning storm). I loved everything. The crab stuffed tilapia was amazing. And yes, save room for the chocolate lava cake. It was great! We will be coming back here for every visit to MLB.
(5)Mark M.
I've frequented many of the high-end steak houses over the years around the country - this one (Melbourne, FL) now ranks at the bottom of my extensive list. I cannot begin to express my disappointment in virtually every aspect of our meal during my visit to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We were seated very quickly with a water view that was nice, and the waiter was extremely courteous and attentive, if maybe somewhat pushy on quick ordering. Although polite, his recommendations/knowledge were not communicated in a manner conducive to helping our food choice. Chart House's Salad Bar is suppose to be legendary - however, their premade Caesar salad was floating in liquid that ultimately wilted the salad and the rest of the salad bar was not much better than what you would see at a Ruby Tuesdays (gasp!). My spouse's Grouper entree with potatoes was obviously not very fresh and was laying in a non-imaginative type of salsa - quite frankly, yuck. My entree of scallops and braised short ribs had a whole 2 scallops (really - a whole two) and the shrts ribs had virtually no taste. All-in-all, an completely unimaginative meal with exhorbant prices for very little food. The appetizer of seared tuna and tuna tataki with coleslaw was probably the most edible food of the evening, it's a shame that it didn't carry over into anything else. We were afraid to oder anything else. In the end, I would have rather spent my $140 on Meg O'Malleys downtown, or maybe at Matt's Casbah - we would have received much higher quality food at half the price, and those places actually have an enjoyable atmosphere with top-notch service. Bottom line, Old school restaurant, old school food, ridiculous prices - Yellow Dog Cafe is a much better alternative if you want to spend $$$ money.
(1)Chad D.
My family and I were in town for the weekend and decided to eat here. Beautiful water views where dolphins made their presence known. Our waiter (Todd) was fantastic and was able to help us pick a great meal keeping everyone in my family's taste in mind. If I ever make it back to Melbourne I will make sure I make it back to the Chart House.
(5)Lisa E.
I visited this restaurant for the first time over Labor Day weekend. I made a reservation and requested a water view table. They did not accommodate this request. Not a huge deal. On the other hand, the service was a huge headache. Our waiter seemed annoyed that she was working on a holiday weekend (complained right to me about the place being too busy) but worse, seemed to have no clue how to interact with the elder company in my dinner party. She was not attentive to their needs and was condescending at times. Overall, the service was just completely awkward and I couldn't get out of her company fast enough. Thankfully, the food was good and fresh. The salad bar was nice and had a lot of options. The place is pretty pricey but the portions were a good size. The views are nice, just try for a water view. At the end of the meal, the waiter tried to have us sign up for some points club, was pretty insistent on this even though it costs $25 to join. She seemed annoyed when we declined. Shocker. I might go back at some point and try this place out again. The service really ruined it for me.
(3)M M.
Only been for the Happy Hour, but it's Fantastic!!! The price is right and food and drinks are great! You can sit outside or inside depending on the weather. But get there early because it does fill up for Happy Hour.
(4)Mark S.
Excellent waterfront view and service. Fine food with surf and turf menu. The salad bar is the best around, including caviar or a made to order Caesar. The prices are top end in this town, so we usually only visit on special occasions. Very good bar.
(4)Audrey W.
Always dolphins in the waterway.
(5)Tammy R.
My girlfriends and I came here for happy hour. Cocktails and appetizers in the bar area. Our waiter was very rude to us from the time we sat down. He acted as if it was an imposition to bring us our food we ordered things. We witnessed him being rude to other patrons. We also witnessed him eating directly from the salad bar with his hands. The appetizer food was good. The cocktails were okay. Don't eat in the bar when Donny us the waiter. My girlfriend was here the previous week when a nice young lady was tending the bar area and she said she was very personable. I was contacted by the management after posting this review. He was very apologetic about our negative experience and offered compensation at a future visit.
(2)Richard M.
Fabulous entree and delicious dessert make for a very filling dinner! Had a great time here, food turned out great! Drinks were made to perfection, and don't get me started on the dessert. We were all very full, then someone ordered dessert. It arrived, and was devoured in record time :-) great views of the intercoastal, the sun was setting over tall palm trees in the distance, and cranes and pelicans could be seen by the water. very nice place!
(5)Kayelee U.
My husband and I went here to celebrate our engagement when we were in Florida. We absolutely loved it. The atmosphere was perfect with a romantic view. We had outstanding food and service and will most definitely go back if we are ever back in the area.
(5)Eileen D.
Had reservations for Christmas eve dinner after a 4:00 church service. We were seated next to a table which 7 children, about ages 4-9. There were also 4 adults. The children ruined our dinner, by yelling, running around, bashing into our table and making so much noise we could not even hear each other talk, let alone, hear what the waiter was saying. I glared at them numerous times, and said " please don't do that" to one of the kids that bashing into me, but to no avail, the parents were all visiting at one end of the table, and basically totality ignored their children. I complained to our waiter, the person who brought our bread, the person who brought our salads, as well as the manager, ( 4 employees total) but no one would say a word to the offending table. We spent 140 dollars on the meal, and even after complaining to the greasy haired manager, he simply did not comp us anything, and said "sorry, try us again". I thought of personally saying something to the dad of some of the children, , but he seemed to be totally tuned out to how the children were robbing us of our good time. This was the worse dining experience of our life,and the manager should be fired. We will not be back! I might expect this at a Mcdonalds, but not at a restaurant where our entrees were 36 dollars each, and the salads, were 9 dollars each!
(1)Nicole B.
Can always count on the Chart house for a good meal when traveling. They have never let us down. Must try the fried asparagus! Don't go near the peppercorn steak medallions!!! For some reason the chef at this Chart House has the recipe for the sauce wrong or something because it was really bad. Other then that, great service, kind of snotty crowd being in the vicinity of the yacht club.
(3)Ron J.
Just got home from here and, as usual, I don't feel well. This has happened the last few tomes I've dined here. I have no known allergies and just received a very clean bill of health not more that three weeks ago from my physician. So, I logically believe that these ill feelings are the result of food consumed here, as it just started shortly after I left ths restaurant. The drinks took an unusually long time to be served, although the bar was busy. Still. We had 7 o'clock reservations and were seated promptly; however, our cocktails arrived closer to 7:30. Our server sort of disappeared for a while after we were seated, too. That seemed a bit unusual. After our drinks, and our server, appeared we ordered two appetizers to accompany our drinks. The Stuffed Mushrooms and the Muscles were both very good. Then the salad arroved. I ordered the Cescer Salad, a departur from my usual Spinach Salad. The Cescer Salad was mediocre at best. I was truly disappointed, if that's even possible, to be disappointed by a salad, but I was. It lacked flavor and was devoid of any seasoning whatsoever - very unusual for a Cescer Salad, don't you think? They did redeem themselves when the entrees were served. The Sordfish, Grouper, Snapper and the Filet Megnon were all prepared well. Everyone at the table enjoyed their meals and the view of the river. We were treated to an awesome Florida afternoon thunderstorm with amazing lightning. All in all, it was not a horrible experience, and everyone seemed to leave the table happy. Typically, Chart House provides attentive service and with a party of eight (six adults, one teen and one child) I was not expecting a server to be dedicated to our table and nothing else. I will be back, but this is not one of my favorite weekend dining establishments - I much prefer the less busy weekday evenings.
(3)Vivian H.
We went to the chart house to celebrate our friends anniversary . All six of us had wonderful meals, and the waiter was great. We chose the Chart House because of its outstanding cuisine , and beautiful view. it's a good thing we had a view to contemplate and delicious food to eat because the noise level was so high we could not carry on a conversation. The noise was all due to one table with four very obnoxious middle aged women who behaved as though they were at a frat party.the manager said he would not and could not do anything about it. I ask myself why four people get to dominate the whole section and no one working there was willing to say anything to them. Other diners were aggravated by their behavior. My friend asked them to lower the volume and they got louder and sang. The staff did nothing. the message was very clear, we don't care how you feel, we do support drunkards. I did not realize that Chart house supported this kind of behavior.
(3)Joanne S.
Special occasion place pricewise but they have a good happy hour drink and food specials in the lounge from 4-6.
(3)Peggy R.
We came here to clebrate a friends birthday and it was his choice. I think the best part of the meal was the clam chouder, it was great! Service was good and one of our party had the lobster bisque and she loves it (she had been here before). We ordered crab cakes (good), the 3 shrimp dinner (meh), grouper (very good) and scallops (very good). Kind of a mixed bag but for the price I expect ore quality with the food. The shrimp were disappointing at best. It was an expensive lesson and I wouldn't go back. We were at a table on the water and did enjoy that so if you decide to go ask for a table with a view of the water.
(2)Cameron O.
Our party of eight dined at the Chart House in Melbourne Florida this past Saturday evening and had one after another disappointment throughout the night. It started with my wine being served in a totally dirty glass. Soups and salads were all delivered at widely varying times. I had to asdk the waiter for my salad after most of the others had already finished theirs. While clearing the salad plates, the waited dropped a dirty fork down my back and other than saying "oops, I'm sorry" did nothing to offer personally wipe off my shirt or to pick up a dry cleaning tab. My wifes meal arrived incomplete and we had to ask a second time for het a la carte baked potato. The last straw came when my sister-in-law bit into her Tilapia dinner only to crunch down on a piece of glass. Very very poor. I regret buying my Landry's Club card as I doubt we will ever return to this location.
(1)Mary R.
Be prepared to pay, but it is one of the best restaurants in the Cocoa area. Every drink is perfect and they The one exception is Happy hour and that is just as lovely as the regular menu. If you are on a budget their happy hour is still going to beat the pants off other area restaurants. My favorite things: Fried Asparagus ap, Spiced Yellow fin (rare), and Macadamia nut Cheescake. I'm not usually a fan of cheesecake, but their's is an unbelievable special treat as are all of the drinks!
(4)Adrian G.
Not an upscale restaurant!!! First off, tried to make reservations for seating that was romantic/overlooking the water and was only offered first come first serve seating and my reservations were on a Wednesday night. When we got there, there were two young ladies working at the front and neither one of them greeted us and acted to busy to ask us if we had reservations. After about 10 minutes of just standing there my interrupted on of the ladies and told her we had reservations and if she could check us in. She told us to be seated and we waited another 10 minutes and we were seated. For an "upscale" restaurant, the seating was too close together and I have never been to an "upscale" restaurant with a salad bar. The waiter was ok, not good but not extremely bad. He was too pushy with trying to get us to order the lava cake that takes 30 minutes to cook. I don't remember exactly what my wife ordered but I ordered the chicken and it was nothing to write home about. It was tender but it didn't have any flavor. My wife stated that her fish didn't have any flavor as well. After receiving the bill, we were extremely disappointed that we spent so much for a lack luster meal. The only positive note is that the water/scenery is beautiful. We walked around hand-in-hand, looked at the boats and enjoyed each other's company. We are both very upbeat and happy people who try to make the best of every situation but we are growing tired of receiving unsatisfactory service.
(1)Angela S.
The food was okay. They try hard, you can tell. I've had better but I've had way worse. I'd give it another try. Hopefully next time the temperature inside the building will be better regulated. It was so hot.
(3)Carly L.
Caviar at the salad bar? YES PLEASE. My family took me there on my last night of visiting them in FL, and I was impressed. Great appetizers, attentive service, and a great meal. why not 5 stars? The only WA wine on the wine list was 14 Hands. The wine "snob" in me found that very sad.
(4)Jason H.
Whenever I return 'home' to visit my parents we go here and it never disappoints. I've been to a few other Chart House locations in the US and this one is by far the best. Great river view, friendly service, nice salad bar (and I like the Caesar with anchovies). My wife eats a gluten- and dairy-restricted diet and the head chef came out to go over the menu with her to discuss her options and how he could accomodate--very nice. One drawback on my most recent visit was the drinks. Our cocktails seemed to be lacking the flare, flavour, and quantity I'm used to (and I'm a straight-up gin martini guy, so nothing fancy).
(4)Terry G.
Catching up on older reviews... The setting was a large business dinner at The Chart House scheduled by a vendor. The location was very nice along the mainland side of the inter-coastal waterway with nice views of the water. We arrived near sunset so the the light was very nice. The service throughout the meal was very good, especially considering that we had about 12 people involved. Good meal, but the notable item was the mushrooms, oh my just about the best I have ever had,. Nice wine selection, although our host opted for an economical option, but still one that was nice. Good outing.
(4)Mike M.
The view of the river is definitely breathtaking. Though I've always thought the inside of this place needed some sort of makeover. Maybe paint or new tables. I can't put my finger on it, but when you go in take a look around at the cheesy floral prints. The wait staff is very appeasing. If a crumb falls on the table you can bet your bottom dollar to find them chasing after it with crumb comb. The salad bar is overrated. It's def eye catching as you walk in but don't let the nice presentation fool you into paying 8-15$ on it just because it has caviar and bright colored fruit. Really it's just and average salad bar. Every entre that I've ordered always looks and taste amazing. I've never had a compliant about the food but believe that the price is a little high for the area.
(4)M. O.
My review is based only on the drinks and an appetizer. I don't even remember which one we had that night. The only reason we keep going to the Chart House is the blueberry Mojitos. Myself and a friend are attempting to try Mojitos from all the establishments that serve them in the Melbourne/Beachside areas. So far the best one we've had (out of about 30 so far) are the blueberry Mojitos from Chart House. They currently rank number 1. We've never had the food, except for that appetizer, which I remember was really good. I think it was cheese stuffed shrimp? Oh yes, and we also tried a banana creme brulee. That was fabulous. We'd like to try the food here at some point but based on these reviews I am a little discouraged already. All but one time that we've gone for the Mojitos we've sat outside. The service wasn't outstanding but it wasn't terrible either. The day we tried the app was the day we sat at the bar and the bartender was brilliant. Watching him make the Mojito was artful. It's got a fancy feel to it and fancy prices to match but those blueberry Mojitos are worth the check.
(4)Kim S.
Dreadful experience...I'd leave it at that, but I feel compelled to warn anyone with intentions of eating here to please rethink that choice. In my opinion, the only reason this place keeps its doors open is because there is almost nothing else to choose from in this area. To start our experience, there was a detour and we were totally confused as to where this place even was...ok, not their fault and we're not completely familiar with Melbourne. Well, we found it. We walked in and the decor looked old, washed out, and a little like a pumpkin spiced latte got sick everywhere. The music was loud and obnoxious, not what you'd expect from fine dining ambiance. The snooty toddlers at the hostess station asked my husband if he had a reservation and he said that he did. We were then directed to the seating area 3 feet away from them, where we remained for 15-20 minutes. People without reservations were seated before us and the people with reservations 15 minutes after ours were seated before us...but we tried to remain positive...even though the dizzying and dirty looking hotel carpet and salad bar's mere existence kept begging us to walk out. Are salad bars gross to you? They are to me...and nothing about them says upscale. But I digress as I often do. Ok, so we finally got seated after another ridiculous debacle that I'll spare you having to read about. Our server promptly came over and was super friendly. We ordered the lobster and shrimp spring rolls and a couple of drinks. Don't get the moscato sangria. It was cloyingly sweet, we sent it back. The lobster rolls a.k.a. cabbage rolls were ok, huge and awkward to eat but certainly not the worst thing either of us had ever tasted. Worth $13? ummm no. We ordered the seared mahi and the coconut shrimp for our entrees and went ahead and ordered dessert, the chocolate lava cake, since we were told it would take 30 minutes to prepare. As we waited, we tried to pinpoint exactly what this restaurant's decor and vibe was trying to say. We decided it was tragically confused and stopped thinking about it before our brains exploded. We were happy to see our food arrive and were excited to dig in, as we were starving (skipped lunch). The coconut shrimp was overcooked and my hubby could barely even cut through most of his shrimp. This is not something you'd expect from a $30 entree. However, a few of the shrimp were actually edible and tasted ok but the sweet chili sauce they paired them with was a strange choice, not complementary at all. The shrimp was also served with the worst thing either of us had ever tasted, crab fried rice. How do you mess up fried rice, you say? I don't know but this stuff tasted rancid. It was just bad. Soooo, onto my food, "seared" mahi, which was not seared at all, it looked totally poached and had some of their nasty crab on top. The fish was cooked well I guess but was probably one of the blandest pieces of fish anyone ever put on a plate. Poor fish, it deserved better than to be drowned in butter and tastelessness. I did eat my broccoli. It was steamed, can't really mess that up. So, needless to say, we sent the food back and declined their offers of ordering something else. When that famous cake got to the table, we were cautiously optimistic about its quality but were happy that it tasted like chocolate and cake so we devoured the whole thing. Though, I'm not certain what the fluff was about needing 30 minutes to prepare since parts of it were cold, so it obviously was not baked fresh. The manager came over and comped our entrees. Thanks manager lady but we will never ever ever return. It's over between us. Upon driving away my hubby said, "well, at least now I have a place to recommend to people I don't like." We drove off into the night and hit our favorite sushi restaurant. The End.
(1)Denny C.
We had a party of 7 and once seated, the noise level got increasingly louder than the bar we had just left. The food was absolutely horrible. Chart House used to be a good place back in the day to go for good savory food and a wonderful dining experience. Now, it's just like a cafeteria. The service was mediocre at best. We were celebrating a friends birthday and they printed a menu with a "happy birthday for turning 69" . He just turned 62. Sloppy and inattention to detail. Never is a long time, but I'll NEVER go back. If I want to blow $200 again, I'll open my car window and throw the money out. That's what we felt like last weekend.
(2)Francis M.
If you're looking for a quiet dinner for 2 on a Friday night this is not the place. The one star rating is a bit unfair because we did not stay for dinner. We were early for our reservation so I had a $9 Kettle and tonic at the bar. It was fine. Unfortunately the restaurant noise level reminded us of a high school cafeteria. The louder it got the louder people talked. It wasn't any better when we were seated so we politely let our waiter know that we were looking for a more subdued atmosphere and wouldn't be staying. He understood and attempted to find a "quiet" booth but, we were probably fortunate, and nothing was available.
(1)C H.
Had reservations for 8:30 on Valentine's night. The waiting area was packed. We checked in. Our reservations were for the deck which was a concern due to the drizzling rain. We were assured that it would fine, they had it covered and heated. We were also told at 8:30 that we were next to be seated on the deck. We waited and waited. Asked the hostess several times to check on our table. She told us on 3 occasions that she would go see what was available. TO BE FAIR: the power flickered on and off twice during our wait which was messing with their computer systems. We started hearing people complaining that they wouldn't accept cash payments because the staff didn't know how to handle the money without a computer. Are you kidding me?? What has happened that we can't even take care of customers if there is a power blink? Other guests were slowly being seated. Even those with later reservation times. We once again questioned the hostess and she finally took us to our table at 9:30. One hour after our reservation. There were still many many people waiting to be seated. As we were walked towards the deck we see lots of empty tables. Clean, set, ready for guests. No one seated there. When we arrive on the deck there were 9 TABLES WITH NO GUESTS SEATED AT THEM!! Why in the world were we (and everyone else) forced to wait for an hour when there were tables available. We sat down and it really made us angry that they thought so little of their customers to make us wait an hour. Decided to get up and leave. Goodness only knows how long our food would have taken! As we left my husband told the hostess why we decided to not dine with them. Her response was that maybe ALL OF THOSE CUSTOMERS we at the salad bar. Ummm. No. There were ZERO customers at the salad bar. She was just desperate for some excuse. We will not go back. I prefer establishments that truly care about their customer service.
(1)T. B.
Beautiful location, but I usually feel like I'm getting my money's worth in most Chart Houses. Not so this one. It's a bit more cramped than the ones I've gone to (five or six on both East and West Coasts) and definitely a lot more noisy. I'm not a fan of places that have loud music and horrible sound muffling; loud does not equal hip. Parking appears to be only valet. I love valet when it's convenient; I hate it when I don't have a choice. I had the seared ahi and even the outside was cold; just a tad too much sauce and the saffron risotto was also chilled. I've had better, so I won't be back here unless the boss is paying.
(2)Pat K.
Food, service and ambiance were excellent. The salad bar and mud pie are a must. The only negative was the piped in music, it was intrusive.
(5)Ressa K.
For what you pay, it's not very good. everyone complained about their side dishes... which for the price you pay should be awesome. We were there for a family birthday and it's nice they put the name of the birthday person on the menu but it wasn't up to the price you pay for food. Blech. so sorry. it's been better in the past.
(2)Joanne B.
Let me say that I know I am a food snob, but this place must hate food because they have no idea how to prepare anything good. First, we walked in and the place smelled like a port o potty, so now I refer to it as the "Fart House". No place should smell like that and there is clearly a sewage issue somewhere. Please fix it and please update your outdated decor. It was hurting my eyes! Don't waste your time at the salad bar, the one at my office cafeteria is better and anyone can open a can of olives and throw it in a bowl and who cares about bad caviar, just because it's caviar. My favorite line of the night was when the hostess seated our party of four and said, "oh crap, I forgot to bring the other two menus." I got annoyed at paying $30.00 an entree for the quality of the food that was received. Thank goodness for the good company we where in, the view, and our very nice and well humored waiter.
(1)Janeen K.
Food always very good, salad bar is fantastic, service is super, view is beautiful...highly recommend! My meal was Salmon, ginger rice, broccoli, also in the past tried the Prime Rib which is very good, perpared to perfection, all meals have a good presentation. Price maybe on the high end. If you feel the service is slow..well it's really well worth the wait! Janeen K
(5)Stephanie K.
We decided to celebrate our engagement with both sets of parents here and had one of the worst dining experiences ever. The service was terrible and the waitstaff was inattentive. It took over an hour between our appetizers and entrees. My mother's entree was brought to her cold, and after eating a shrimp and sending the dish back, the server returned with the exact same plate which had clearly been reheated. Any other restaurant would make a new dish. The food overall was decent and the restaurant itself is pretty with a nice view, but this experience was not worth going back. We even declined a discount on a return visit after my mother called to complain.
(2)MOna J.
To be clear I understand it was Thanksgiving, but, that is no excuse for the service I received. I'm pretty sure our server hated me upon arrival, at a table with 9 people 4 of us having a drink I was the only person carded. I ordered a salad she just didn't bring it. We had to point out the missing salad After my entree arrived my salad plate sat there the entire meal. I wouldn't be as irritated had anyone else in my party had the same experience, but, she was extremely attentive with everyone else. I don't think having a tip included in the check is a good reason to be a bad server. It was busy, and maybe she should have prepared herself for it being a busy day a little better. I've worked in the service industry both FOH and BOH, there is no excuse. Perhaps she should have rested a little more knowing it was a holiday. Otherwise the food was delicious the only complaint would be gravy on everything. It could have been on the menu that way.
(2)Jessica M.
The restaurant has a beautiful view of the ocean. If you look long enough, you'll even spot a dolphin. The service is excellent and the food is breathtaking. We have eaten there the past two days for work engagements. The first night I got the Seared Mahi and the second night I got their blue cheese filet. In addition, on both nights I got the salad bar and shared their famous lava cake. The food was amazing. Extremely tasty and very filling.
(4)Tee L.
we went here last nite, because we are staying in the melbourne area and looking for a good place to get great drinks and good meals and service and found the yelp reviews ,pretty mixed.. It has been a long time,since I went to any ChartHouse.. I must say the bartender Jeff, knows how to make a tasty great drink and some of the apertizers,tasty too.. The service was excellent, maybe because we sat in the bar for an hour(we were waiting on a couple of friends),so we had our cocktail time. The sear ahi, was my favorite lite bite. And the lava cake was totally chocolately delicious. I had the macadamia crusted mahi-mahi,,but I should of gotten red meat,as the fish was on the sweet side,but good.. No it is not a place for a romantic dinner,as it is pretty well lit and little noisy.. But I think,being tuesday, our service was better than some other busier evening..
(4)Jeff C.
Second trip. Great service. Surf & Turf pasta OK, little less spinach. Mrs. liked the chicken romano! Patrick was our server. He was great!
(4)Craig B.
My first trip to Chart House several years ago was decent, but this trip was pretty awful. My wife's "medium-well" filet was significantly overcooked while my "medium" Ahi steak was just plain raw. Furthermore, a third of the tuna was inedible due to a large amount of connective tissue running through the steak. Both meals were very plain and unsophisticated. My wife's filet was paired with a baked potato and my Ahi was served with steamed broccoli and rice. The service was merely average and the atmosphere in the lounge section of restaurant left something to be desired. Overall, unacceptable for a $100 meal.
(2)Heather H.
We went here for our anniversary and they printed us special anniversary menus! Service was great, food was great.
(4)Eileen B.
Food: The food is average for Chart House. As for fine dining, this is the first fine dining restaurant I've been to in Melbourne, FL. Hubby had a nice steak and the portion was as described. The salad bar variety is average, but could do with more frequent cleaning. I ordered a steak as well, as I wasn't into the fish choices of the day, which rarely happens. My steak was a little rarer than I like, but definitely edible and tender. Ambiance: It wasn't as romantic as most other Chart House. The restaurant was a little loud. Service: The service was pleasant, not over bearing, but at times difficult to locate my server. Overall: It lives up to a Chart House, but a little snooty and the service and food isn't as extensive as other Chart Houses around the country. The one star off is for the valet parking only, and the service. Update 3/31/08 - 2nd trip there: Arrived 10 mins before time and was told it will be closer to reservation time. Reservation time came and went, we went up to ask, and was told, they are running a little behind, no apologies. When seated 15 mins after reservation time, waiter didn't show up with drinks or welcome for a good 10 mins and even then only after we flagged down the manager who offered to comp us drinks and appetizers, we negotiated for the lava cake instead with no heath crunch. We got the appetizer with heath crunch and our cappuchino showed up after we are almost done with the lava cake. Overall, the service was a great disappointment. I don't think I will go there again unless someone else invites me there. Stars are dropping fast. With a high end restaurant, my service expectation has to be better than Olive Garden. I get greeted and profuse apologies when seated at an olive garden! Chart House made me feel like, if I wasn't there, they didn't have to work that hard!
(3)Alan S.
This place was great. I was there with a big group for an important business meeting and they fed us well. I saw the bill... OMG... but thankfully the other company was the one paying! I had the fillet and the lava cake... and before the meal they had a bunch of appetizers. The crab cakes were amazing. The fillet was really good... and the lava cake was to die for. On top of it all there was a nice view of the water. I would defiantly go again should I ever happen to be in Melbourne.
(4)Amanda P.
This is always a good fall back for a good meal. Great views of the water. The service and the food are consistant. I love going for happy hour and they have some appetizers priced lower than during normal hours. I love the macadamia crusted fish and the salad bar is to die for.
(4)Nelson L.
Great views in this upscale restaruant. The service was excellent and food was well prepared. It wasn't the best steak I ever had, but it was good. However, sides and appetizers (stuffed mushrooms) were very good. This place won't break the bankk, but be prepared to spend some $$$...
(4)JJ P.
Note that Chart House is part of very large corporation. That being said, Chart House can be very bland and formulaic. I have had mixed experiences there from superb to downright dull. I recently attended a private function at the Chart House and was really impressed by the attentive service, quality of food, cleanliness of the building and professional staff. The location and view are superb. Is the greatest food in Melbourne? No its not, but it definitely is a good destination restaurant.
(4)Karen H.
This restaurant definitely has great food but it is just a little out of our price range for anything other than a special occassion, so I am reviewing their happy hour. Most people would not think to go to Chart House for the weekly Friday after work event, but it's actually pretty great. The view is beautiful, sitting out over the river and marina and they have a special HH food and alcohol menu. The have items for as little as $4 and everything we've tried has been super.
(4)Jim S.
The view looking out on the Indian River is impressive and our overall dining experience was quite satisfactory. My salmon was fresh and well prepared and my guests reported that their food (some seafood, some steak) was very good. We chose a hearty red wine to complement our meals but somehow I do not recall the name of the wine. As they say, "The mind's the first thing to go." This Chart House is probably a 4-star restaurant but I knocked 1 star off as the service was quite slow. Mind you our server performed admirably and exhibited a nice manner, however, the poor fellow was very overworked and madly dashing all around the floor area. I suspect he was covering for an absent staff member (or two). I am happy to return soon and give this another go.
(3)Cheri B.
My husband & I have been to the Chart House in Melbourne several times and let me tell ya....it only gets better. We actually can't wait for a 'special' occasion to arise (i.e., company, birthday, holiday), just we can make plans to go there. Excellant atmosphere, food, and staff. It is pricey but well worth it. Again, not an everyday place, but for those special occasions, you can't beat it. Cheri B.
(5)Tom W.
One of the most upscale in Melbourne. Very nice views, and excellent location in Melbourne Harbor. We are regulars here, because of the location. Small friendly bar, but gets over-crowded quickly by patrons waiting to be seated. Staff (current) are great, and service is quite good. Food can be variable in quality, and is a bit pricey for its quality, but overall acceptable.
(4)Darlene T.
We definitely made the right choice in dining here. The food was superb and the service was fantastic. Totally what I would expect from a restaurant like this. But the most impressive thing was the spectacular view of the bay, which added to the ambience. On the recommendation of the server, I chose the Key West Spiced Grouper. The dish was cooked to perfection and the habanero sauce had a slight kick but wasn't too spicy. We also order the King Salmon which included the summer vegetables....also cooked to perfection. Just make sure you save room for their signature Hot Lava Cake...which was rich and decadent. Will definitely make it back again the next time I'm in town.
(5)Schylone T.
I made a reservation for a Saturday evening at 7:30 with a request for outside or window but we arrived there at 7. They sat us immediately outside at the table of our choosing. Perfect view of the sunset as boats were returning to dock. Our waitress was very knowledgeable and friendly to us. The Lobster Bisque was creamy with nice sized chucks of lobster. The sizzling mushrooms were ordered as an appetizer and delicious! The main dishes were the Prime Rib and Filet Mignon. Both were cooked to our request. The desert was the raspberry sorbet. So light and pallet cleansing. We had a relaxing, romantic dinner and I would definitely go back.
(4)Alex M.
Overpriced place, ok food (nothing special), ok service, never again. Nice view. Good location. Thats all this restaurant has.
(2)Chriscoral A.
This was our first visit since they took out the devider between the bar and reastaurant. They gained 20 seats at the bar but the noise was horrible!!! The food I must say is still excellent! Prime rib that melts in your mouth and the best salad bar around.
(4)L J.
Go for the happy hour! 4-6 it's such a good deal, but space is limited so get there early!
(5)Mary L.
We were displaced Thanksgiving day guests and decided to give the Chart House a try. Let's just start with it was a holiday and it was busy. This was actually my first Thanksgiving where I went out for dinner and I must say I felt a little guilty about going because I hate that people have to work that day. Everyone we encountered from the bartender to the servers were very nice and professional and seemed to be okay with working that day. The Chart House has been remodeled and it appears that it is pretty much complete. The bar that once was hidden is now wide open and I hear a 60 inch television is going against the wall. While it looks great it does increase the noise level in the place. It also allows for wide open views to the river. We had drinks at the bar while we waited for our table. The bartender John was friendly and fast! Our table was ready about 15 minutes after our reservation but it was so busy they were doing the best we could. The tables are close together so if you plan on having a private conversation this is not the place. However if you want to ask for a divorce and want to make sure that your soon to be ex won't scream at you this is a great place. We started off our meal with Coconut Crunchy Shrimp. They were good not fantastic. You have to try really hard to screw up fried shrimp. We both had the salad bar. For an additional $8.25 with a meal you are allowed access to the salad bar. It's a good salad bar. The cesear salad station was my favorite and that is probably because I love anchovies and croutons. The server manning the salad bar was working hard all night. Be careful when you pull a salad plate because a few of them were dirty but I am sure it was because the place was jam packed last night. For dinner I had the filet with mashed potatoes. The filet was perfectly cooked and the mashed potatoes were tasty. My boyfriend had the Hemingway Snapper which was a very big piece of fish with crab meat on top. It was cooked perfectly. For desert we had the Hot Chocolate Lava Cake. I am not a huge dessert fan but it was good. My boyfriend loved it. They have a pretty good wine selection and a bunch of speciality drinks. The Chart House is good restaurant. It's not at the same level as Yellow Dog Cafe or Crush Eleven but they are a solid restaurant. I am not sure why the Chart House is getting slammed on Yelp! On a side note they have a great happy hour if you want to just go sample a few things and have some cocktails.
(4)Andrew R.
Made a reservation, Restaurant seemed to forgotten about it. No sorrys given, they pretty much acted as if it was business at normal. Would not eat here again.
(1)JM R.
We celebrated a wonderful wedding anniversary at the Charthouse Melbourne. Superb! They have recently renovated and it is lovely. The service was spectacular! Our server definitely made this a special event. The salad bar is always great. From salad, to fruit, to cavier! Hello! I had the Snapper Hemingway for my entrée but seriously considered the Key West Spiced Grouper...maybe next time. Snapper was delicious. My husband had the Filet, cooked to perfection. Dessert at the Charthouse has always been Mud Pie for us, a tradition. Wonderful as always. I hadn't realized they have Sunday Brunch, a must add for our next FLA trip. Renovated space is a little loud, however the manager stopped by and said they were "working on that". It's a beautiful spot, not to be missed!
(5)Audra K.
Celebrating our anniversary and we were treated wonderfully. Our server Rachel was so friendly and the right amount of attentive. The food was delicious and the view was amazing. I highly recommend the bronzed swordfish & the lava cake - it's well worth the wait!
(5)Michael M.
This restaurant is great. They have valet service. You are warmly greated when you arrive. I have never waited more than a few minutes for a table. The view from our riverview table is stunning. Drink orders are made promptly and delivered in reasonable time. Cocktails here are very good. Today I ordered oysters on the half shell, lobster bisque, and alaskan king crab legs. The oysters are very nice and served with cocktail sauce and horderadish. The lobster bisque was so tasty and served at just the right temperature. The king crab is to die for and it comes with a baked potato dressed any way you want. For dessert I had the raspberry sorbet. It tasted fresh made which is a big plus. I also sampled the key lime pie, the cheesecake, and the creme brulle. All were excellent. The service here was very good and our server was very helpful and attentive. Consistency is the secret to this restaurants success as well as being able to maintain an atmosphere of charm and elegance. Definitely a great place for a night out with someone special.
(5)Colin C.
Went there in Christmas Eve with the family. It was packed. The reservation time was honored. The service and food were outstanding. The limited menus had all the best items from the regular menu. We had several appetizers, entree's and desserts and all were very good. A must is the mango mojito.
(5)simon d.
After eating at the chart house for many years and many meals I am afraid to say the last few visits have been extremely disappointing. it's just not the old Chart House. It starts out with a friendly greeting by our valet and then it slowly goes downhill from there with an extremely snobby staff that meet you at the front desk, the attention to detail that once made the Chart House famous is disappearing and the food by no means is the same as it once was, the food seems to be pre packaged or frozen and then Dr'ed up, the other problem is the quantity of food for the price. I do not mind spending extra for quality and a good quality but the Chart House has lost both quantity and quality. We had an anniversary dinner there my wife and I and the prime rib tasted like it was from the night before. I would bet a thousand dollars that it was. We brought this to the attention of the restaurant and the folks that own the Chart House with absolutely no response. it is very unfortunate and I hope things get better but it just doesn't look real good. 4 positive stars for a very good salad bar.
(1)Natures Parables S.
Excellent!!! Went here for my birthday dinner and the food and service was great! Jerry was our server and treated us great! We had grouper and salad bar...fabulous! A birthday surprise came at the end. We highly recommend this restaurant!
(5)Mark M.
I've frequented many of the high-end steak houses over the years around the country - this one (Melbourne, FL) now ranks at the bottom of my extensive list. I cannot begin to express my disappointment in virtually every aspect of our meal during my visit to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We were seated very quickly with a water view that was nice, and the waiter was extremely courteous and attentive, if maybe somewhat pushy on quick ordering. Although polite, his recommendations/knowledge were not communicated in a manner conducive to helping our food choice. Chart House's Salad Bar is suppose to be legendary - however, their premade Caesar salad was floating in liquid that ultimately wilted the salad and the rest of the salad bar was not much better than what you would see at a Ruby Tuesdays (gasp!). My spouse's Grouper entree with potatoes was obviously not very fresh and was laying in a non-imaginative type of salsa - quite frankly, yuck. My entree of scallops and braised short ribs had a whole 2 scallops (really - a whole two) and the shrts ribs had virtually no taste. All-in-all, an completely unimaginative meal with exhorbant prices for very little food. The appetizer of seared tuna and tuna tataki with coleslaw was probably the most edible food of the evening, it's a shame that it didn't carry over into anything else. We were afraid to oder anything else. In the end, I would have rather spent my $140 on Meg O'Malleys downtown, or maybe at Matt's Casbah - we would have received much higher quality food at half the price, and those places actually have an enjoyable atmosphere with top-notch service. Bottom line, Old school restaurant, old school food, ridiculous prices - Yellow Dog Cafe is a much better alternative if you want to spend $$$ money.
(1)Chad D.
My family and I were in town for the weekend and decided to eat here. Beautiful water views where dolphins made their presence known. Our waiter (Todd) was fantastic and was able to help us pick a great meal keeping everyone in my family's taste in mind. If I ever make it back to Melbourne I will make sure I make it back to the Chart House.
(5)Vivian H.
We went to the chart house to celebrate our friends anniversary . All six of us had wonderful meals, and the waiter was great. We chose the Chart House because of its outstanding cuisine , and beautiful view. it's a good thing we had a view to contemplate and delicious food to eat because the noise level was so high we could not carry on a conversation. The noise was all due to one table with four very obnoxious middle aged women who behaved as though they were at a frat party.the manager said he would not and could not do anything about it. I ask myself why four people get to dominate the whole section and no one working there was willing to say anything to them. Other diners were aggravated by their behavior. My friend asked them to lower the volume and they got louder and sang. The staff did nothing. the message was very clear, we don't care how you feel, we do support drunkards. I did not realize that Chart house supported this kind of behavior.
(3)Joanne S.
Special occasion place pricewise but they have a good happy hour drink and food specials in the lounge from 4-6.
(3)Jonathan M.
My fiancée offered the Chart House as a dinner suggestion tonight and it reminded me of why I love her so much. This place was absolutely perfect. Beautiful nighttime view of the water (along with fireworks and an approaching lightning storm). I loved everything. The crab stuffed tilapia was amazing. And yes, save room for the chocolate lava cake. It was great! We will be coming back here for every visit to MLB.
(5)Colin C.
Went there in Christmas Eve with the family. It was packed. The reservation time was honored. The service and food were outstanding. The limited menus had all the best items from the regular menu. We had several appetizers, entree's and desserts and all were very good. A must is the mango mojito.
(5)JM R.
We celebrated a wonderful wedding anniversary at the Charthouse Melbourne. Superb! They have recently renovated and it is lovely. The service was spectacular! Our server definitely made this a special event. The salad bar is always great. From salad, to fruit, to cavier! Hello! I had the Snapper Hemingway for my entrée but seriously considered the Key West Spiced Grouper...maybe next time. Snapper was delicious. My husband had the Filet, cooked to perfection. Dessert at the Charthouse has always been Mud Pie for us, a tradition. Wonderful as always. I hadn't realized they have Sunday Brunch, a must add for our next FLA trip. Renovated space is a little loud, however the manager stopped by and said they were "working on that". It's a beautiful spot, not to be missed!
(5)Schylone T.
I made a reservation for a Saturday evening at 7:30 with a request for outside or window but we arrived there at 7. They sat us immediately outside at the table of our choosing. Perfect view of the sunset as boats were returning to dock. Our waitress was very knowledgeable and friendly to us. The Lobster Bisque was creamy with nice sized chucks of lobster. The sizzling mushrooms were ordered as an appetizer and delicious! The main dishes were the Prime Rib and Filet Mignon. Both were cooked to our request. The desert was the raspberry sorbet. So light and pallet cleansing. We had a relaxing, romantic dinner and I would definitely go back.
(4)Alex M.
Overpriced place, ok food (nothing special), ok service, never again. Nice view. Good location. Thats all this restaurant has.
(2)Darlene T.
We definitely made the right choice in dining here. The food was superb and the service was fantastic. Totally what I would expect from a restaurant like this. But the most impressive thing was the spectacular view of the bay, which added to the ambience. On the recommendation of the server, I chose the Key West Spiced Grouper. The dish was cooked to perfection and the habanero sauce had a slight kick but wasn't too spicy. We also order the King Salmon which included the summer vegetables....also cooked to perfection. Just make sure you save room for their signature Hot Lava Cake...which was rich and decadent. Will definitely make it back again the next time I'm in town.
(5)Audra K.
Celebrating our anniversary and we were treated wonderfully. Our server Rachel was so friendly and the right amount of attentive. The food was delicious and the view was amazing. I highly recommend the bronzed swordfish & the lava cake - it's well worth the wait!
(5)Chriscoral A.
This was our first visit since they took out the devider between the bar and reastaurant. They gained 20 seats at the bar but the noise was horrible!!! The food I must say is still excellent! Prime rib that melts in your mouth and the best salad bar around.
(4)L J.
Go for the happy hour! 4-6 it's such a good deal, but space is limited so get there early!
(5)Michael M.
This restaurant is great. They have valet service. You are warmly greated when you arrive. I have never waited more than a few minutes for a table. The view from our riverview table is stunning. Drink orders are made promptly and delivered in reasonable time. Cocktails here are very good. Today I ordered oysters on the half shell, lobster bisque, and alaskan king crab legs. The oysters are very nice and served with cocktail sauce and horderadish. The lobster bisque was so tasty and served at just the right temperature. The king crab is to die for and it comes with a baked potato dressed any way you want. For dessert I had the raspberry sorbet. It tasted fresh made which is a big plus. I also sampled the key lime pie, the cheesecake, and the creme brulle. All were excellent. The service here was very good and our server was very helpful and attentive. Consistency is the secret to this restaurants success as well as being able to maintain an atmosphere of charm and elegance. Definitely a great place for a night out with someone special.
(5)Mary L.
We were displaced Thanksgiving day guests and decided to give the Chart House a try. Let's just start with it was a holiday and it was busy. This was actually my first Thanksgiving where I went out for dinner and I must say I felt a little guilty about going because I hate that people have to work that day. Everyone we encountered from the bartender to the servers were very nice and professional and seemed to be okay with working that day. The Chart House has been remodeled and it appears that it is pretty much complete. The bar that once was hidden is now wide open and I hear a 60 inch television is going against the wall. While it looks great it does increase the noise level in the place. It also allows for wide open views to the river. We had drinks at the bar while we waited for our table. The bartender John was friendly and fast! Our table was ready about 15 minutes after our reservation but it was so busy they were doing the best we could. The tables are close together so if you plan on having a private conversation this is not the place. However if you want to ask for a divorce and want to make sure that your soon to be ex won't scream at you this is a great place. We started off our meal with Coconut Crunchy Shrimp. They were good not fantastic. You have to try really hard to screw up fried shrimp. We both had the salad bar. For an additional $8.25 with a meal you are allowed access to the salad bar. It's a good salad bar. The cesear salad station was my favorite and that is probably because I love anchovies and croutons. The server manning the salad bar was working hard all night. Be careful when you pull a salad plate because a few of them were dirty but I am sure it was because the place was jam packed last night. For dinner I had the filet with mashed potatoes. The filet was perfectly cooked and the mashed potatoes were tasty. My boyfriend had the Hemingway Snapper which was a very big piece of fish with crab meat on top. It was cooked perfectly. For desert we had the Hot Chocolate Lava Cake. I am not a huge dessert fan but it was good. My boyfriend loved it. They have a pretty good wine selection and a bunch of speciality drinks. The Chart House is good restaurant. It's not at the same level as Yellow Dog Cafe or Crush Eleven but they are a solid restaurant. I am not sure why the Chart House is getting slammed on Yelp! On a side note they have a great happy hour if you want to just go sample a few things and have some cocktails.
(4)Peggy R.
We came here to clebrate a friends birthday and it was his choice. I think the best part of the meal was the clam chouder, it was great! Service was good and one of our party had the lobster bisque and she loves it (she had been here before). We ordered crab cakes (good), the 3 shrimp dinner (meh), grouper (very good) and scallops (very good). Kind of a mixed bag but for the price I expect ore quality with the food. The shrimp were disappointing at best. It was an expensive lesson and I wouldn't go back. We were at a table on the water and did enjoy that so if you decide to go ask for a table with a view of the water.
(2)Dina V.
Finally sitting down to review our "go-to" restaurant of choice. Let's just say it was my first date with my husband when it was still the 1980's decor, and we enjoy it even more with all the new updates. My husband loves a good steak and it has always been consistent. I will say we eat here at least 2 to 4 times a month. We have enjoyed holidays, special celebrations, Sunday brunch, Happy Hour, even bring our kids and always bring out-of town visitors here. The staff is welcoming, attentive and helpful and the food is consistently good. The valet guys know my husband on a first name basis...On only one occasion in the past 7 years can I recall a steak that was not as tasty, and they immediately replaced it with a new one when I mentioned it. On another occasion a waiter threw out my left-overs by mistake and the manager brought me an entire new meal to take home! Now that's nice service! My husband is part of the Loyalty rewards program (highly recommend this), and you earn points for your meals that convert to cash toward your next visit. Pretty cool. Last night it was so busy (Yah!) we could not get a table in the bar area at 8pm, so we decided to eat at the bar (we did this one new years eve at the last minute too) and it is a nice bar area. Yes, it is a little noisier since the wall was torn down, but we enjoy the activity and people watching. Max was the bartender who served us and when I asked about a new salmon dish he highly recommended it. All I can say is WOW!!! I love salmon. I order fish out all the time since I rarely cook it at home. The Chart house has wonderful fish, truly! I can't say enough because I've tried them all, but this was sooooo extraordinary! I feel like you can not go wrong with any fish you try there. The ahi tuna, the encrusted mahi, oysters, shrimp, scallops, but this new pesto Salmon was a great surprise! Steak lovers know what to expect from the Chart House but fish lovers rejoice! Thanks for another wonderful dinning experience.
(5)Oscar D.
This review covers my last two visits during June and July 2015. I'll begin with saying the food was very good on both occasions and on food alone, I'd give a score of 5 stars. However my reason for the 3 star score is for the service. On both occasions, our servers have been forgetful. In June, the waiter forgot that we had ordered soup and boasted that he could make this "Out of the World" tartar sauce which somehow never arrived either. In July our waitress stated that if we wanted their signature Lava Cake, we'd have to order it 20 to 30 minutes prior to getting it. So we asked for the cake when ordering our meal to later find out that she forgot to place the order. Somehow she scrambled and got us one that was cold and not very good. For the caliber of restaurant and amount of money they charge, the quality of wait staff is far less than I would expect. Sadly, I don't see myself returning anytime soon. There are too many other good restaurants which are not as pricey and am sure don't hire a wait staff with dementia.
(3)Natures Parables S.
Excellent!!! Went here for my birthday dinner and the food and service was great! Jerry was our server and treated us great! We had grouper and salad bar...fabulous! A birthday surprise came at the end. We highly recommend this restaurant!
(5)simon d.
After eating at the chart house for many years and many meals I am afraid to say the last few visits have been extremely disappointing. it's just not the old Chart House. It starts out with a friendly greeting by our valet and then it slowly goes downhill from there with an extremely snobby staff that meet you at the front desk, the attention to detail that once made the Chart House famous is disappearing and the food by no means is the same as it once was, the food seems to be pre packaged or frozen and then Dr'ed up, the other problem is the quantity of food for the price. I do not mind spending extra for quality and a good quality but the Chart House has lost both quantity and quality. We had an anniversary dinner there my wife and I and the prime rib tasted like it was from the night before. I would bet a thousand dollars that it was. We brought this to the attention of the restaurant and the folks that own the Chart House with absolutely no response. it is very unfortunate and I hope things get better but it just doesn't look real good. 4 positive stars for a very good salad bar.
(1)Lisa E.
I visited this restaurant for the first time over Labor Day weekend. I made a reservation and requested a water view table. They did not accommodate this request. Not a huge deal. On the other hand, the service was a huge headache. Our waiter seemed annoyed that she was working on a holiday weekend (complained right to me about the place being too busy) but worse, seemed to have no clue how to interact with the elder company in my dinner party. She was not attentive to their needs and was condescending at times. Overall, the service was just completely awkward and I couldn't get out of her company fast enough. Thankfully, the food was good and fresh. The salad bar was nice and had a lot of options. The place is pretty pricey but the portions were a good size. The views are nice, just try for a water view. At the end of the meal, the waiter tried to have us sign up for some points club, was pretty insistent on this even though it costs $25 to join. She seemed annoyed when we declined. Shocker. I might go back at some point and try this place out again. The service really ruined it for me.
(3)M M.
Only been for the Happy Hour, but it's Fantastic!!! The price is right and food and drinks are great! You can sit outside or inside depending on the weather. But get there early because it does fill up for Happy Hour.
(4)Mark S.
Excellent waterfront view and service. Fine food with surf and turf menu. The salad bar is the best around, including caviar or a made to order Caesar. The prices are top end in this town, so we usually only visit on special occasions. Very good bar.
(4)Audrey W.
Always dolphins in the waterway.
(5)Tammy R.
My girlfriends and I came here for happy hour. Cocktails and appetizers in the bar area. Our waiter was very rude to us from the time we sat down. He acted as if it was an imposition to bring us our food we ordered things. We witnessed him being rude to other patrons. We also witnessed him eating directly from the salad bar with his hands. The appetizer food was good. The cocktails were okay. Don't eat in the bar when Donny us the waiter. My girlfriend was here the previous week when a nice young lady was tending the bar area and she said she was very personable. I was contacted by the management after posting this review. He was very apologetic about our negative experience and offered compensation at a future visit.
(2)Richard M.
Fabulous entree and delicious dessert make for a very filling dinner! Had a great time here, food turned out great! Drinks were made to perfection, and don't get me started on the dessert. We were all very full, then someone ordered dessert. It arrived, and was devoured in record time :-) great views of the intercoastal, the sun was setting over tall palm trees in the distance, and cranes and pelicans could be seen by the water. very nice place!
(5)Kayelee U.
My husband and I went here to celebrate our engagement when we were in Florida. We absolutely loved it. The atmosphere was perfect with a romantic view. We had outstanding food and service and will most definitely go back if we are ever back in the area.
(5)Andrew R.
Made a reservation, Restaurant seemed to forgotten about it. No sorrys given, they pretty much acted as if it was business at normal. Would not eat here again.
(1)Wendy F.
Have eaten here twice and both times the food and service was excellent! My husband loves the prime rib and I recommend the Paneed Chicken...chocolate lava cake was also very good! We love sitting by the window and watching the dolphins swim in and out of the bay. Great place!
(5)Sheller K.
Exceptional customer service! I was in town on business and my parents drove over two hours to join me for dinner. We arrived before the dinner hour and sat in the bar area and had a couple of drinks and appetizers. We moved over to the dining area and had a fantastic view of the water. The manager helped me sign up for their rewards program since I was unsuccessful on my iPad. I travel for work so this will be very nice. We all ordered salmon, one Parmesan crusted, one grilled, one blackened. All were delicious. Too full to eat the lava cake we ordered, they boxed it up for my parents to take home and the ice cream went to the hotel with me. The waiter Johnny was very attentive and wish I would have gotten the manager's name since he stopped by a couple of times to check on us. Our overall experience was delicious food and exceptional service - the kind of service that creates brand loyalty. If I'm in Melbourne again, I will be back.
(5)Cameron O.
Our party of eight dined at the Chart House in Melbourne Florida this past Saturday evening and had one after another disappointment throughout the night. It started with my wine being served in a totally dirty glass. Soups and salads were all delivered at widely varying times. I had to asdk the waiter for my salad after most of the others had already finished theirs. While clearing the salad plates, the waited dropped a dirty fork down my back and other than saying "oops, I'm sorry" did nothing to offer personally wipe off my shirt or to pick up a dry cleaning tab. My wifes meal arrived incomplete and we had to ask a second time for het a la carte baked potato. The last straw came when my sister-in-law bit into her Tilapia dinner only to crunch down on a piece of glass. Very very poor. I regret buying my Landry's Club card as I doubt we will ever return to this location.
(1)Mary R.
Be prepared to pay, but it is one of the best restaurants in the Cocoa area. Every drink is perfect and they The one exception is Happy hour and that is just as lovely as the regular menu. If you are on a budget their happy hour is still going to beat the pants off other area restaurants. My favorite things: Fried Asparagus ap, Spiced Yellow fin (rare), and Macadamia nut Cheescake. I'm not usually a fan of cheesecake, but their's is an unbelievable special treat as are all of the drinks!
(4)Eileen D.
Had reservations for Christmas eve dinner after a 4:00 church service. We were seated next to a table which 7 children, about ages 4-9. There were also 4 adults. The children ruined our dinner, by yelling, running around, bashing into our table and making so much noise we could not even hear each other talk, let alone, hear what the waiter was saying. I glared at them numerous times, and said " please don't do that" to one of the kids that bashing into me, but to no avail, the parents were all visiting at one end of the table, and basically totality ignored their children. I complained to our waiter, the person who brought our bread, the person who brought our salads, as well as the manager, ( 4 employees total) but no one would say a word to the offending table. We spent 140 dollars on the meal, and even after complaining to the greasy haired manager, he simply did not comp us anything, and said "sorry, try us again". I thought of personally saying something to the dad of some of the children, , but he seemed to be totally tuned out to how the children were robbing us of our good time. This was the worse dining experience of our life,and the manager should be fired. We will not be back! I might expect this at a Mcdonalds, but not at a restaurant where our entrees were 36 dollars each, and the salads, were 9 dollars each!
(1)Nicole B.
Can always count on the Chart house for a good meal when traveling. They have never let us down. Must try the fried asparagus! Don't go near the peppercorn steak medallions!!! For some reason the chef at this Chart House has the recipe for the sauce wrong or something because it was really bad. Other then that, great service, kind of snotty crowd being in the vicinity of the yacht club.
(3)Ron J.
Just got home from here and, as usual, I don't feel well. This has happened the last few tomes I've dined here. I have no known allergies and just received a very clean bill of health not more that three weeks ago from my physician. So, I logically believe that these ill feelings are the result of food consumed here, as it just started shortly after I left ths restaurant. The drinks took an unusually long time to be served, although the bar was busy. Still. We had 7 o'clock reservations and were seated promptly; however, our cocktails arrived closer to 7:30. Our server sort of disappeared for a while after we were seated, too. That seemed a bit unusual. After our drinks, and our server, appeared we ordered two appetizers to accompany our drinks. The Stuffed Mushrooms and the Muscles were both very good. Then the salad arroved. I ordered the Cescer Salad, a departur from my usual Spinach Salad. The Cescer Salad was mediocre at best. I was truly disappointed, if that's even possible, to be disappointed by a salad, but I was. It lacked flavor and was devoid of any seasoning whatsoever - very unusual for a Cescer Salad, don't you think? They did redeem themselves when the entrees were served. The Sordfish, Grouper, Snapper and the Filet Megnon were all prepared well. Everyone at the table enjoyed their meals and the view of the river. We were treated to an awesome Florida afternoon thunderstorm with amazing lightning. All in all, it was not a horrible experience, and everyone seemed to leave the table happy. Typically, Chart House provides attentive service and with a party of eight (six adults, one teen and one child) I was not expecting a server to be dedicated to our table and nothing else. I will be back, but this is not one of my favorite weekend dining establishments - I much prefer the less busy weekday evenings.
(3)Jason H.
Whenever I return 'home' to visit my parents we go here and it never disappoints. I've been to a few other Chart House locations in the US and this one is by far the best. Great river view, friendly service, nice salad bar (and I like the Caesar with anchovies). My wife eats a gluten- and dairy-restricted diet and the head chef came out to go over the menu with her to discuss her options and how he could accomodate--very nice. One drawback on my most recent visit was the drinks. Our cocktails seemed to be lacking the flare, flavour, and quantity I'm used to (and I'm a straight-up gin martini guy, so nothing fancy).
(4)Terry G.
Catching up on older reviews... The setting was a large business dinner at The Chart House scheduled by a vendor. The location was very nice along the mainland side of the inter-coastal waterway with nice views of the water. We arrived near sunset so the the light was very nice. The service throughout the meal was very good, especially considering that we had about 12 people involved. Good meal, but the notable item was the mushrooms, oh my just about the best I have ever had,. Nice wine selection, although our host opted for an economical option, but still one that was nice. Good outing.
(4)Adrian G.
Not an upscale restaurant!!! First off, tried to make reservations for seating that was romantic/overlooking the water and was only offered first come first serve seating and my reservations were on a Wednesday night. When we got there, there were two young ladies working at the front and neither one of them greeted us and acted to busy to ask us if we had reservations. After about 10 minutes of just standing there my interrupted on of the ladies and told her we had reservations and if she could check us in. She told us to be seated and we waited another 10 minutes and we were seated. For an "upscale" restaurant, the seating was too close together and I have never been to an "upscale" restaurant with a salad bar. The waiter was ok, not good but not extremely bad. He was too pushy with trying to get us to order the lava cake that takes 30 minutes to cook. I don't remember exactly what my wife ordered but I ordered the chicken and it was nothing to write home about. It was tender but it didn't have any flavor. My wife stated that her fish didn't have any flavor as well. After receiving the bill, we were extremely disappointed that we spent so much for a lack luster meal. The only positive note is that the water/scenery is beautiful. We walked around hand-in-hand, looked at the boats and enjoyed each other's company. We are both very upbeat and happy people who try to make the best of every situation but we are growing tired of receiving unsatisfactory service.
(1)Angela S.
The food was okay. They try hard, you can tell. I've had better but I've had way worse. I'd give it another try. Hopefully next time the temperature inside the building will be better regulated. It was so hot.
(3)Carly L.
Caviar at the salad bar? YES PLEASE. My family took me there on my last night of visiting them in FL, and I was impressed. Great appetizers, attentive service, and a great meal. why not 5 stars? The only WA wine on the wine list was 14 Hands. The wine "snob" in me found that very sad.
(4)Amanda P.
This is always a good fall back for a good meal. Great views of the water. The service and the food are consistant. I love going for happy hour and they have some appetizers priced lower than during normal hours. I love the macadamia crusted fish and the salad bar is to die for.
(4)Nelson L.
Great views in this upscale restaruant. The service was excellent and food was well prepared. It wasn't the best steak I ever had, but it was good. However, sides and appetizers (stuffed mushrooms) were very good. This place won't break the bankk, but be prepared to spend some $$$...
(4)JJ P.
Note that Chart House is part of very large corporation. That being said, Chart House can be very bland and formulaic. I have had mixed experiences there from superb to downright dull. I recently attended a private function at the Chart House and was really impressed by the attentive service, quality of food, cleanliness of the building and professional staff. The location and view are superb. Is the greatest food in Melbourne? No its not, but it definitely is a good destination restaurant.
(4)T. B.
Beautiful location, but I usually feel like I'm getting my money's worth in most Chart Houses. Not so this one. It's a bit more cramped than the ones I've gone to (five or six on both East and West Coasts) and definitely a lot more noisy. I'm not a fan of places that have loud music and horrible sound muffling; loud does not equal hip. Parking appears to be only valet. I love valet when it's convenient; I hate it when I don't have a choice. I had the seared ahi and even the outside was cold; just a tad too much sauce and the saffron risotto was also chilled. I've had better, so I won't be back here unless the boss is paying.
(2)Pat K.
Food, service and ambiance were excellent. The salad bar and mud pie are a must. The only negative was the piped in music, it was intrusive.
(5)Ressa K.
For what you pay, it's not very good. everyone complained about their side dishes... which for the price you pay should be awesome. We were there for a family birthday and it's nice they put the name of the birthday person on the menu but it wasn't up to the price you pay for food. Blech. so sorry. it's been better in the past.
(2)Joanne B.
Let me say that I know I am a food snob, but this place must hate food because they have no idea how to prepare anything good. First, we walked in and the place smelled like a port o potty, so now I refer to it as the "Fart House". No place should smell like that and there is clearly a sewage issue somewhere. Please fix it and please update your outdated decor. It was hurting my eyes! Don't waste your time at the salad bar, the one at my office cafeteria is better and anyone can open a can of olives and throw it in a bowl and who cares about bad caviar, just because it's caviar. My favorite line of the night was when the hostess seated our party of four and said, "oh crap, I forgot to bring the other two menus." I got annoyed at paying $30.00 an entree for the quality of the food that was received. Thank goodness for the good company we where in, the view, and our very nice and well humored waiter.
(1)Janeen K.
Food always very good, salad bar is fantastic, service is super, view is beautiful...highly recommend! My meal was Salmon, ginger rice, broccoli, also in the past tried the Prime Rib which is very good, perpared to perfection, all meals have a good presentation. Price maybe on the high end. If you feel the service is slow..well it's really well worth the wait! Janeen K
(5)Eileen B.
Food: The food is average for Chart House. As for fine dining, this is the first fine dining restaurant I've been to in Melbourne, FL. Hubby had a nice steak and the portion was as described. The salad bar variety is average, but could do with more frequent cleaning. I ordered a steak as well, as I wasn't into the fish choices of the day, which rarely happens. My steak was a little rarer than I like, but definitely edible and tender. Ambiance: It wasn't as romantic as most other Chart House. The restaurant was a little loud. Service: The service was pleasant, not over bearing, but at times difficult to locate my server. Overall: It lives up to a Chart House, but a little snooty and the service and food isn't as extensive as other Chart Houses around the country. The one star off is for the valet parking only, and the service. Update 3/31/08 - 2nd trip there: Arrived 10 mins before time and was told it will be closer to reservation time. Reservation time came and went, we went up to ask, and was told, they are running a little behind, no apologies. When seated 15 mins after reservation time, waiter didn't show up with drinks or welcome for a good 10 mins and even then only after we flagged down the manager who offered to comp us drinks and appetizers, we negotiated for the lava cake instead with no heath crunch. We got the appetizer with heath crunch and our cappuchino showed up after we are almost done with the lava cake. Overall, the service was a great disappointment. I don't think I will go there again unless someone else invites me there. Stars are dropping fast. With a high end restaurant, my service expectation has to be better than Olive Garden. I get greeted and profuse apologies when seated at an olive garden! Chart House made me feel like, if I wasn't there, they didn't have to work that hard!
(3)Alan S.
This place was great. I was there with a big group for an important business meeting and they fed us well. I saw the bill... OMG... but thankfully the other company was the one paying! I had the fillet and the lava cake... and before the meal they had a bunch of appetizers. The crab cakes were amazing. The fillet was really good... and the lava cake was to die for. On top of it all there was a nice view of the water. I would defiantly go again should I ever happen to be in Melbourne.
(4)Craig B.
My first trip to Chart House several years ago was decent, but this trip was pretty awful. My wife's "medium-well" filet was significantly overcooked while my "medium" Ahi steak was just plain raw. Furthermore, a third of the tuna was inedible due to a large amount of connective tissue running through the steak. Both meals were very plain and unsophisticated. My wife's filet was paired with a baked potato and my Ahi was served with steamed broccoli and rice. The service was merely average and the atmosphere in the lounge section of restaurant left something to be desired. Overall, unacceptable for a $100 meal.
(2)Heather H.
We went here for our anniversary and they printed us special anniversary menus! Service was great, food was great.
(4)Kim S.
Dreadful experience...I'd leave it at that, but I feel compelled to warn anyone with intentions of eating here to please rethink that choice. In my opinion, the only reason this place keeps its doors open is because there is almost nothing else to choose from in this area. To start our experience, there was a detour and we were totally confused as to where this place even was...ok, not their fault and we're not completely familiar with Melbourne. Well, we found it. We walked in and the decor looked old, washed out, and a little like a pumpkin spiced latte got sick everywhere. The music was loud and obnoxious, not what you'd expect from fine dining ambiance. The snooty toddlers at the hostess station asked my husband if he had a reservation and he said that he did. We were then directed to the seating area 3 feet away from them, where we remained for 15-20 minutes. People without reservations were seated before us and the people with reservations 15 minutes after ours were seated before us...but we tried to remain positive...even though the dizzying and dirty looking hotel carpet and salad bar's mere existence kept begging us to walk out. Are salad bars gross to you? They are to me...and nothing about them says upscale. But I digress as I often do. Ok, so we finally got seated after another ridiculous debacle that I'll spare you having to read about. Our server promptly came over and was super friendly. We ordered the lobster and shrimp spring rolls and a couple of drinks. Don't get the moscato sangria. It was cloyingly sweet, we sent it back. The lobster rolls a.k.a. cabbage rolls were ok, huge and awkward to eat but certainly not the worst thing either of us had ever tasted. Worth $13? ummm no. We ordered the seared mahi and the coconut shrimp for our entrees and went ahead and ordered dessert, the chocolate lava cake, since we were told it would take 30 minutes to prepare. As we waited, we tried to pinpoint exactly what this restaurant's decor and vibe was trying to say. We decided it was tragically confused and stopped thinking about it before our brains exploded. We were happy to see our food arrive and were excited to dig in, as we were starving (skipped lunch). The coconut shrimp was overcooked and my hubby could barely even cut through most of his shrimp. This is not something you'd expect from a $30 entree. However, a few of the shrimp were actually edible and tasted ok but the sweet chili sauce they paired them with was a strange choice, not complementary at all. The shrimp was also served with the worst thing either of us had ever tasted, crab fried rice. How do you mess up fried rice, you say? I don't know but this stuff tasted rancid. It was just bad. Soooo, onto my food, "seared" mahi, which was not seared at all, it looked totally poached and had some of their nasty crab on top. The fish was cooked well I guess but was probably one of the blandest pieces of fish anyone ever put on a plate. Poor fish, it deserved better than to be drowned in butter and tastelessness. I did eat my broccoli. It was steamed, can't really mess that up. So, needless to say, we sent the food back and declined their offers of ordering something else. When that famous cake got to the table, we were cautiously optimistic about its quality but were happy that it tasted like chocolate and cake so we devoured the whole thing. Though, I'm not certain what the fluff was about needing 30 minutes to prepare since parts of it were cold, so it obviously was not baked fresh. The manager came over and comped our entrees. Thanks manager lady but we will never ever ever return. It's over between us. Upon driving away my hubby said, "well, at least now I have a place to recommend to people I don't like." We drove off into the night and hit our favorite sushi restaurant. The End.
(1)Mike M.
The view of the river is definitely breathtaking. Though I've always thought the inside of this place needed some sort of makeover. Maybe paint or new tables. I can't put my finger on it, but when you go in take a look around at the cheesy floral prints. The wait staff is very appeasing. If a crumb falls on the table you can bet your bottom dollar to find them chasing after it with crumb comb. The salad bar is overrated. It's def eye catching as you walk in but don't let the nice presentation fool you into paying 8-15$ on it just because it has caviar and bright colored fruit. Really it's just and average salad bar. Every entre that I've ordered always looks and taste amazing. I've never had a compliant about the food but believe that the price is a little high for the area.
(4)Karen H.
This restaurant definitely has great food but it is just a little out of our price range for anything other than a special occassion, so I am reviewing their happy hour. Most people would not think to go to Chart House for the weekly Friday after work event, but it's actually pretty great. The view is beautiful, sitting out over the river and marina and they have a special HH food and alcohol menu. The have items for as little as $4 and everything we've tried has been super.
(4)Jim S.
The view looking out on the Indian River is impressive and our overall dining experience was quite satisfactory. My salmon was fresh and well prepared and my guests reported that their food (some seafood, some steak) was very good. We chose a hearty red wine to complement our meals but somehow I do not recall the name of the wine. As they say, "The mind's the first thing to go." This Chart House is probably a 4-star restaurant but I knocked 1 star off as the service was quite slow. Mind you our server performed admirably and exhibited a nice manner, however, the poor fellow was very overworked and madly dashing all around the floor area. I suspect he was covering for an absent staff member (or two). I am happy to return soon and give this another go.
(3)Cheri B.
My husband & I have been to the Chart House in Melbourne several times and let me tell ya....it only gets better. We actually can't wait for a 'special' occasion to arise (i.e., company, birthday, holiday), just we can make plans to go there. Excellant atmosphere, food, and staff. It is pricey but well worth it. Again, not an everyday place, but for those special occasions, you can't beat it. Cheri B.
(5)Tom W.
One of the most upscale in Melbourne. Very nice views, and excellent location in Melbourne Harbor. We are regulars here, because of the location. Small friendly bar, but gets over-crowded quickly by patrons waiting to be seated. Staff (current) are great, and service is quite good. Food can be variable in quality, and is a bit pricey for its quality, but overall acceptable.
(4)M. O.
My review is based only on the drinks and an appetizer. I don't even remember which one we had that night. The only reason we keep going to the Chart House is the blueberry Mojitos. Myself and a friend are attempting to try Mojitos from all the establishments that serve them in the Melbourne/Beachside areas. So far the best one we've had (out of about 30 so far) are the blueberry Mojitos from Chart House. They currently rank number 1. We've never had the food, except for that appetizer, which I remember was really good. I think it was cheese stuffed shrimp? Oh yes, and we also tried a banana creme brulee. That was fabulous. We'd like to try the food here at some point but based on these reviews I am a little discouraged already. All but one time that we've gone for the Mojitos we've sat outside. The service wasn't outstanding but it wasn't terrible either. The day we tried the app was the day we sat at the bar and the bartender was brilliant. Watching him make the Mojito was artful. It's got a fancy feel to it and fancy prices to match but those blueberry Mojitos are worth the check.
(4)Denny C.
We had a party of 7 and once seated, the noise level got increasingly louder than the bar we had just left. The food was absolutely horrible. Chart House used to be a good place back in the day to go for good savory food and a wonderful dining experience. Now, it's just like a cafeteria. The service was mediocre at best. We were celebrating a friends birthday and they printed a menu with a "happy birthday for turning 69" . He just turned 62. Sloppy and inattention to detail. Never is a long time, but I'll NEVER go back. If I want to blow $200 again, I'll open my car window and throw the money out. That's what we felt like last weekend.
(2)Francis M.
If you're looking for a quiet dinner for 2 on a Friday night this is not the place. The one star rating is a bit unfair because we did not stay for dinner. We were early for our reservation so I had a $9 Kettle and tonic at the bar. It was fine. Unfortunately the restaurant noise level reminded us of a high school cafeteria. The louder it got the louder people talked. It wasn't any better when we were seated so we politely let our waiter know that we were looking for a more subdued atmosphere and wouldn't be staying. He understood and attempted to find a "quiet" booth but, we were probably fortunate, and nothing was available.
(1)C H.
Had reservations for 8:30 on Valentine's night. The waiting area was packed. We checked in. Our reservations were for the deck which was a concern due to the drizzling rain. We were assured that it would fine, they had it covered and heated. We were also told at 8:30 that we were next to be seated on the deck. We waited and waited. Asked the hostess several times to check on our table. She told us on 3 occasions that she would go see what was available. TO BE FAIR: the power flickered on and off twice during our wait which was messing with their computer systems. We started hearing people complaining that they wouldn't accept cash payments because the staff didn't know how to handle the money without a computer. Are you kidding me?? What has happened that we can't even take care of customers if there is a power blink? Other guests were slowly being seated. Even those with later reservation times. We once again questioned the hostess and she finally took us to our table at 9:30. One hour after our reservation. There were still many many people waiting to be seated. As we were walked towards the deck we see lots of empty tables. Clean, set, ready for guests. No one seated there. When we arrive on the deck there were 9 TABLES WITH NO GUESTS SEATED AT THEM!! Why in the world were we (and everyone else) forced to wait for an hour when there were tables available. We sat down and it really made us angry that they thought so little of their customers to make us wait an hour. Decided to get up and leave. Goodness only knows how long our food would have taken! As we left my husband told the hostess why we decided to not dine with them. Her response was that maybe ALL OF THOSE CUSTOMERS we at the salad bar. Ummm. No. There were ZERO customers at the salad bar. She was just desperate for some excuse. We will not go back. I prefer establishments that truly care about their customer service.
(1)Stephanie K.
We decided to celebrate our engagement with both sets of parents here and had one of the worst dining experiences ever. The service was terrible and the waitstaff was inattentive. It took over an hour between our appetizers and entrees. My mother's entree was brought to her cold, and after eating a shrimp and sending the dish back, the server returned with the exact same plate which had clearly been reheated. Any other restaurant would make a new dish. The food overall was decent and the restaurant itself is pretty with a nice view, but this experience was not worth going back. We even declined a discount on a return visit after my mother called to complain.
(2)MOna J.
To be clear I understand it was Thanksgiving, but, that is no excuse for the service I received. I'm pretty sure our server hated me upon arrival, at a table with 9 people 4 of us having a drink I was the only person carded. I ordered a salad she just didn't bring it. We had to point out the missing salad After my entree arrived my salad plate sat there the entire meal. I wouldn't be as irritated had anyone else in my party had the same experience, but, she was extremely attentive with everyone else. I don't think having a tip included in the check is a good reason to be a bad server. It was busy, and maybe she should have prepared herself for it being a busy day a little better. I've worked in the service industry both FOH and BOH, there is no excuse. Perhaps she should have rested a little more knowing it was a holiday. Otherwise the food was delicious the only complaint would be gravy on everything. It could have been on the menu that way.
(2)Jessica M.
The restaurant has a beautiful view of the ocean. If you look long enough, you'll even spot a dolphin. The service is excellent and the food is breathtaking. We have eaten there the past two days for work engagements. The first night I got the Seared Mahi and the second night I got their blue cheese filet. In addition, on both nights I got the salad bar and shared their famous lava cake. The food was amazing. Extremely tasty and very filling.
(4)Tee L.
we went here last nite, because we are staying in the melbourne area and looking for a good place to get great drinks and good meals and service and found the yelp reviews ,pretty mixed.. It has been a long time,since I went to any ChartHouse.. I must say the bartender Jeff, knows how to make a tasty great drink and some of the apertizers,tasty too.. The service was excellent, maybe because we sat in the bar for an hour(we were waiting on a couple of friends),so we had our cocktail time. The sear ahi, was my favorite lite bite. And the lava cake was totally chocolately delicious. I had the macadamia crusted mahi-mahi,,but I should of gotten red meat,as the fish was on the sweet side,but good.. No it is not a place for a romantic dinner,as it is pretty well lit and little noisy.. But I think,being tuesday, our service was better than some other busier evening..
(4)Jeff C.
Second trip. Great service. Surf & Turf pasta OK, little less spinach. Mrs. liked the chicken romano! Patrick was our server. He was great!
(4)