Charcoal's Gourmet Burger Bar - Irish Channel - New Orleans, LA

The first thing I noticed walking into Charcoal's Gourmet Burger Bar is that the restaurant is separated into two parts: downstairs for counter pickup and upstairs for full service dining. 

The decor of the restaurant is very rustic and embodied what one would expect a burger bar to be (woods, metals and a huge bar). I would also envision it as the perfect place to watch a game but there really wasn't enough TVs and the one that they did have were oddly placed.

Our server was nice or at least she tried to be. Some of the other reviews I read about the restaurant had complaints about the service being extremely slow but I did not encounter that. After ordering, there was maybe a 20 minute wait for the food but it tasted fresh so commonsense in my mind is that does it takes some time to cook to food.

With various burger choices from veggie to elk to bison, my boyfriend (the safe eater) selected the House Burger made of beef. This is obviously not a unique choice but he still exclaimed that is was one of the best burgers he has had in a while.

He paired the burger with Onion Rings. I would never order onion rings but I liked these. The batter was light yet crunchy.

I wasn't very adventurous in my burger choice either but the sprouts, basil aioli, jalapenos, red onion, guacamole, Abita caramelized onions, and white cheddar cheese on the Turkey Burger sold me. Turkey can be dry and bland, but this was spicy, flavorful, juiciness!

I had my burger with Sweet Potato Tater Tots that were top two I have ever had. My boyfriend doesn't like sweet potatoes fries or anything of that nature and liked these a lot.

My boyfriend also got a Chocolate Milkshake and he liked it. It was the thick kind that you need two straws drink but not so thick you need a spoon and definitely not the gross watery kind.

I wanted my sweet finish too and ordered an Ice Cream Sandwich but it was a huge disappointment. The cookies were so hard that it took me sometime struggling with it before I could even get a bite. I was going to give up but finally I broke through. The cookies tasted stale and the ice cream was the icy kind that I do not like. I took about two bites and didn't finish the rest.

Besides the disappointment in the dessert, overall we were happy with the food. Seeing bison and elk burgers on the menu, I would come back and try something a little more adventurous and at the end of the day this is a burger bar and they make good burgers.


Charcoal's Gourmet Burger Bar

2200 Magazine St New Orleans, LA 70130 (504) 644-4311 www.charcoalgourmetburgerbar.com