CLT Eats – A Charlotte Restaurant Review

Well, if you go to a place for lunch that survives on nightlife revenue I guess it’s foolish to expect that you’ll have a stellar lunch. Sir Edmond Halley’s is a pretty cool little pub hidden on the back side of Park Road Shopping Center and has been there for quite some time. You can get to it from the front if you have a keen eye though since there’s a break in between shops that allows you to slip through. It’s easier to drive around behind the shopping center past the loading docks until you come to a foot bridge that runs above between the shopping center and an old apartment building. Parking is more readily available back there and the walk to the door is shorter.

When you walk in you find a slightly scuzzy, old school, euro pub atmosphere with a dysfunctional layout and dearth of natural lighting. It’s somewhat interesting in there but very basement-like. During lunch the place is pretty dead so rarely would you have to be concerned about having to wait to be seated. Evenings are typically far busier. There’s a large seating area outside that does well in warmer months with a grand view of the previously mentioned foot bridge.

After we sat down and ordered drinks, the friends I was dining with had a couple of questions that were almost all answered with brief “No”. No explanation, apology or suggested alternative. Just “No”. For example, a friend queried “Do you have any Splenda?”. “No” replied the uncaring waiter. “Do you have any Equal?” my friend then asked. “No” he replied again and then paused, seeing that his passive-aggressive approach was merely prolonging the encounter and not helping his prospects for a tip. He then replied “We do have Sweet and Low”. It wasn’t a particularly rude delivery but he certainly wasn’t attempting to be very helpful. As our visit progressed we saw very little of our waiter and our drinks remained dry throughout most of the meal. The place wasn’t exactly brimming with patrons so I can only speculate that this is someone not particularly in love with their chosen career. It’s not that he’s new since he waited on me at my last visit which was several months ago with a similar level of gusto. In all fairness, I probably wouldn’t be “Mr. Chipper” if I were locked in this dungeon all day either.

I’ve been a few times now and my initial desire to come back was for the fish and chips. These are not the best fish and chips I’ve had but they’re fairly decent. The breading is thick and chewy which I like but it doesn’t seem like the fish is getting cooked as thoroughly as it could since it tends to turn out a hair slimy. It’s still very edible and fairly good but I could do without the extra sliminess. Maybe this is just how they do it across the pond. The fries are average. The tartar sauce is of the typical bottled variety and not particularly noteworthy either. Malt vinegar is readily available for those that want to keep it traditional. I occasionally go this route but having grown up around fish camps I’m partial to tartar sauce.

I’m not much for the bar scene but I suspect this is quite the enjoyable pub at night. If you’re looking for lunch though you could do much better. If you’re in the mood it may be just the thing that hits the spot, which it can do on occasion, but don’t go if you’re in a rush and don’t go if you’re running low on patience.

Pros

• Decent Food
• A Cool Pub Hide-A-Way

Cons

• Merely Decent Food
• Bad Service

Rating: Not Recommended