CHAR Craft Steaks at Grand View Lodge

Wow is all I have to say. This restaurant is amazing, the food pretty much pure perfection from the cook on the steaks, seasoning, presentation, char has moved into my top 5 restaurants I've visited. The lobster and avocado toast was a great start, highly recommend. The boursin Mac and cheese is to die for. Steaks and prime rib were cooked perfectly, my ribeye was butter knife tender. They were even nice enough to give my dad and his wife a dessert platter for their wedding which we had earlier in the day at the chapel at the lodge. What a great weekend to spend celebrating!

My wife and I had our anniversary here on January 31. It was our first time here. We made reservations in advance and was seated right away. I had the crusted cranberry walleye with sweet potatoes as my side. The food was prepared above my standards. The chef did an excellent job with the walleye! It may be spendy to some. But it is worth every penny to try. My wife and I were very pleased with the service and the amazing food. I would recommend this place to anyone. Especially fish lovers.

One of the best dining experiences we have had in a LONG time! The food was incredible. The ambiance was wonderful. And the staff was fantastic (including the Chef who was a delight to talk to)!

Incredible dining experience. 5 frickin stars (they are better than regular stars). Service was attentive and accommodating. Food came out hot and in a timely manner. We had the bone in ribeye, filet/lobster and prime rib. All cooked to perfection. Desserts came on a share platter that were moist and delicious. All of us have been talking about this meal for weeks. We personally thanked the chef afterwards. Kudos Char! You are killing it.

If you're reading reviews just post COVID you'll hear a mix of things. You should be aware that in the months of re-opening things are often up-in-the-air for how it'll go down. Note, not all restaurants are open to capacity and even with openings many have half or limited staffing to support all the patrons.

Here's my take on much of it along with our experience at CHAR.

(Any negative experiences that might occur while dining out usually leads to the rest of the expectations to deteriorate.)

While on vacation we decided to find a good steak joint. Found CHAR on google and decided to make reservations. Shortly thereafter we arrived at Grand View and made our way to the Main Lodge where CHAR is located (took us awhile to figure that out lol). When inside, we did wait a short while for the host to arrive but were seated promptly once the host appeared.

Upon sitting we noticed they were quite busy and during the time of others around us were being served we had already decided on everything we wanted (drinks and food). After about 8 minutes we were finally greeted by Jenny, whom apologized for the wait. She took our drink and food orders and headed off. We received our drinks about 10 minutes later after seeing several other tables receive their food - this was due to fewer than normal staff members and the overwhelming number of guests.

Not long after, however, we received our amazing meals; Whole Roast Prime Rib, Lobster pasta, 7oz Filet of Beef, Salmon Special, and the Seared Ahi Tuna Salad. For sides we got the Minn Wild Rice Pilaf, Boursin Mac & Cheese, and the Wild Mushrooms. I personally had the Filet, all the sides and tried the Seared Ahi Tuna Salad. When it comes to the food, I have to say it was AMAZING! The ahi salad dressing was on the spicy side for those who don't like the heat, it may be too much, but I thought it was delicious. The filet, though, was by far the best steak I've had since eating at Delmonico's in NYC. To eat a steak that's to be compared to Delmonico's is saying a lot - go ahead and read about Delmonico's, you'll see.

After the main course we ordered deserts. One was the Tres Laches, another a chocolate brownie/cake (more like a fudge) and the Tiramisu, all of which I tried. They were all good but in my opinion, the best by far was the Tiramisu. As I write this now I crave another piece! - I should mention that the chocolate brownie/cake was actually gifted to us by our sever Jenny because of the amount of time she felt we were left waiting - we didn't really feel that way due to the circumstances but we weren't going pass up on a free dessert either.

Overall, the experience was great. Really the delay from being seated to having our orders taken was a bit longer than normal and the wait for our drinks after placing our order was longer than we'd have liked… yet after that we had zero service issues or time delays. Beyond those two minor things, everyone I was with was more than joyed we selected CHAR as the restaurant to attend. The service is good and the food is EXCELLENT! We will definitely be returning in the future and we hope to see you there!

10/10 overall experience.

Iryna was an amazing server by recommending a wonderful bottle of wine, was very attentive, and personable. She checked with the chef on all dishes regarding our peanut allergy.

Food was delicious, steak cooked to perfection.

Overall, the experience was second to none. Would highly recommend.

Made reservations for a pod. Had a great time with the help of the bartender and our server Gary.

Wow, just wow. We had such a great experience here. Jenny was our server and she was so friendly and genuine. Her recommendations were fantastic. We ordered crab cakes, prime rib, and walleye. We had enough leftovers for dinner the next night. We asked for the name of the chef on duty so we could complement him. Brentley, the food was amazing. Best dinner we've had in a long time.

We went back for the breakfast buffet and that was so good too!

The best walleye I've had, very friendly server;Josh was awesome! Exceptional ambiance inside the main lodge at Grand View...thank you!

Thanksgiving Day Buffet. Excellent food and service! Loved it!

Best steaks 🥩 and service in the Brainerd Lakes area!

I was astonished reading such poor service reviews of this restaurant. I had the complete opposite experience. Besides impeccable food, the service was above and beyond. When our food was running behind in the kitchen, the staff offered us a free appetizer, which we declined. At the end of our meal, they surprised us with a dessert plate to compensate for the extra wait. Then to top it off, our waiter brought us to-go cups of coffee and tea without being asked. The service experience made the night even more memorable.

We heard the new Char was very good and we found it to be excellent! We enjoyed a wonderful evening with delicious food. The Cote Walleye, the Prime Rib and the Pork Chop were perfect. The Wild Mushroom Soup was so smooth with an amazing flavor! We also loved the walleye cake app!
Iryna, our darling waitress, was so gracious and her excellent recommendations were appreciated. Thank you.

We had the prime rib and walleye it was amazing, done perfectly last night. Au gratins and bread were excellent and our server Jenny topped off our perfect dining experience last night. The dining room is amazing.

Great steaks. Awesome french onion soup.

Quite possibly the best dining experience we have ever had. Every single thing we ordered was perfect and our waitress was attentive and professional. A+++ place for a special occasion!

Steaks were fantastic and cooked perfectly. The staff is attentive and friendly. The property in summer is stunning, lovely flowers and comforting atmosphere. Worth the visit to the chocolate ox after for chocolates.

Awesome food and service!!
A bit pricy but worth it!!

Overall very good. The pork belly app was very tasty. Steaks were a bit overcooked but still tender enough.

Lovely place. It's like its own little town, just needs a pharmacy or grocery store! Clever serving of guests with buffets and gf, df and vegetarian options. Beautiful and serene, off the beaten path.