Carlos' & Charlie's

I found this place when i moved to austin a couple years ago. Since then I go in for happy hour and lunch sometimes. Never had a problem with the food, the cheeseburgers are my favorite in town. B.S. with the bar staff and the day manager often. forget the oasis I will never go back, This is the place for me to relax! Pros: view and happy workers Cons: not actually in mexico more

Went to Carlos & Charlies to meet friends & had a great time! Enjoyed the food, party atmosphere & the band! (newcomer to country music Brian Winfield & band put on quite a show) Lots of fun people (all ages) were there. Service was good, nice waitress, & friendly staff. Want to Pros: Love Lake Travis Cons: Laid back so don't be in a hurry! more

We live by the lake and I have noticed lake people move on a different schedule. So do not go to CNC (Carlos and Charlies) if you are in a hurry, the food is not fast but drink service is great. I have found every waiter or waitress there to be very nice, fix things that were wrong, they are just moving at a lake (slow) pace. Stick to beer and wine as I agree with other reviews that the drinks are weak and a little on the expensive side. They do not have good wine, but its drinkable. Order an appetizer the moment you are seated. Frog dig with chips is good and comes fast. Have low expectations on the food and you will be happy. While I saw some reviews saying the food was expensive, its actually reasonably priced food for a lake place. If you want great food on the lake at a reasonable price with lake views, go to Iguana Grill. But it doesn't have the party atmosphere of CNC although it does have good live music. If you want fantastic views, go to the Oasis (where drinks are overpriced and food is too and so so food). fun, but because there isn't lake access its a different sort of dressed up place, you wouldn't show up here after a day of partying on the lake without cleaning up first. It is also full of tourists as it is famous for its sunsets. If you want good food and are willing to pay more cafe blue is really good, but it is a more calm atmosphere and I have never seen live music here. you can drive up with your boat and look kind of messy and still fit in. All these places are family friendly, but don't sit at the bar area with your kids and expect it to be family friendly, we take our kids to all these places. I enjoy CNC but my expectations are exactly right on what to expect. Pros: fun place at a different pace Cons: expensive, so so food if you dont order right, lake pace more

The only thing i like about this place was leaving. yeah the deck is kinda cool but between the price of the crappy food and the average service i was less than impressed. I have worked in the service industry pretty much all my life and this is far from the 2nd best place in austin more

I recently moved here from out of state and was told I had to go out to Carlos n Charlie's... I was not let down, even though it was really cold we had a great time! Our waitress was great and spent time with us, giving us tips on other austiny things to do. She recommended we try their Chicken Changatas, I was surprised, she didn't suggest the most expensive items, she suggested what was good!!!! The dipping sauce was the bomb too! Pros: Great Views, Staff, and Atmosphere Cons: Far away from Downtown more

With all the advertisements, we expected this place to be GREAT but it wasn't. We had the Frog Dip appetizer, which we liked. My husband and I are so used to generous-sized portions that we always share one entree. We ordered the Ranchero Chicken Breast dinner. We found the portions here are smaller than most places and the food is mediocre. Our service was on the slow-side as well. We were very disappointed. To us, the best thing about this place is the view. We had our first visit and doubt we'll go back. Pros: The lake view Cons: Everything else more

One star is too much to give this dump. I will never eat there again. Not even if it was free. Cons: Parking, Hard to read signs, it was hard to find. more

So ok, we just got back from CNC in Cancun, we found out that there was a CNC in Austin, and since we had such a wonderful time in CNC in Cancun we figured we try it out even though the reviews were not so good. So first of all, the place was not very clean, we went on a sunday afternoon not lunch time and not dinner time in between, the service was horrible, the waiters did not want to be there and it came through, NOTHING like CNC cancun. They serve you water in plastic throw away cups, cheese, the drinks were very lame, don't even think they had any alchol but they did charge for it. The food, was not so good either, I had the fajitas, the pieces of meet were sliced so big I had to ask for a knife to slice my on pieces, the tortillas were cold even though it was over 100 degrees outside. Flies were everywhere, could not eat our food without flies landing on our meal. What else can i say this place was just horrible, nothing like the CNC in cancun. This was our first time to CNC austin and will be our last one. Pros: by the lake Cons: cold food, flies everywhere, lame drinks, and terrible service more

As many others have mentioned, the food is less than stellar and tends to be rather pricier than what many of their competitors charge around the lake. However, there is one very good reason to go to Carlos' N Charlie's at least once per year: the fireworks around July 4th. The show is never on the Fourth, typically taking place on either the day before or after, but it is well worth the trip. C'nC's orders the same amount of fireworks as the Austin Symphony does for downtown Austin, but they are shot in half the time. The sky is never dark during the show. It's also possible to see the show from the lake on a boat, but the best view is from the deck at C'nC's. Pros: Fireworks! Very energetic and entertaining show every year during July 4th weekend. Cons: Almost everything else... more

A group of friends and I visited C & C Friday night, October5. I ordered a Mexican martini to share with a girlfriend. We received our drink with two cups (plastic, squatty). When pouring the martini out of the shaker, there was not enough liquid to fill the two small glasses. The shaker was basically full of ice. Considering the outrageous price of the beverage, I asked to speak to the manager (to determine if this is common practice or an anomoly). more

Some buddies and I drove down from Ft. Hood over Labor Day Weekend and we needed some chill time. Nate and Corey were our bartenders and we had an awesome time. Great drinks, great service, hot chicks, what else could you ask for? I don't understand some of the other reviews that are listed for this place..it was a great time. Definately will be back and tellin all my buds to come down with me. more

The food is awful - even the chips and salsa were bad. Waitstaff were nice, but a little slow and forgetful. Drinks were weak. Yes, it is on the lake but the view is not worth putting up with the bad food. If you are looking for good food, drinks and a lake view go to Hula Hut instead and don't waste your time here. more

I went to CnC nad had the best time!! The staff was great and the food was really impressive. I have been in the summer and agree that the service can be slow but with that many people there to eat and party you hae to expect a little pause in your party. I cannot wait for the Summer!! Pros: Drinks, The Ladies , Great Time more

We were visiting this place for the first time and were dissapointed with rude and obnoxious wait staff. The glasses with drinks half full were snached by the wait staff, so we had to get the fresh ones. This happened twice! When we tryed to speak with the manager about it, we were ignored. After that the evening was spoiled and we did not care for music or dancing anymore. Pros: outdoors Cons: service, staff, ambience more

Went for a stressless night at the lake, give the worst table on the deck. Watch 3 others groups seated in the good table that were open when we were seated. When the 4 group was seated and waited on after 20 min and we were still waiting for someone to serve us we left. They didn't even care. Will never go back. more

went there for the first time, the service was slow and lousy once the food came it was gross.we ordered 6 different plates and could not eat anything we ordered the food was real bad. we did not eat the food and told managment but we still got charged $80.00. the worse resturant i have been to in austin. Pros: view Cons: food, service, managment more

Docks to park your boat, Fast seating, drinks to knock your socks off, fast and friendly service, wonderful place to watch the sun set, boat rental place next door @ Just for Fun. Lots of parking but if you get there late there will be a walk. Concerts in the spring and summer, great local acts. you do pay for the service and the service we got was wonderful for a large party that we had ( 30 ) set on the patio and had 2 waiters and we wanted for nothing. Keep up the good work Carlos n Charlies. We will be back. Pros: fun crowd, great drinks, not real expensive Cons: nothing all is good, long walk if late, all is good more

We've been to CnC several times. This last time we came very early to get a seat outside for the concert. We ordered drinks and food. While we were eating we were told we had to leave...seats were for the bands family. We stayed to finish our meal and were then told to leave again...seats were for the radio station. No signs anywhere!! The whole 9 hrs. we were there the seats were never filled while they were being guarded. Management was so rude and told us to leave if we didn't like it. Our friends and us will not be back. Over priced drinks and food and bad management...go to the Oasis for a better view, nice staff or anywhere else but CnC. Cons: RUDE Management, Overpriced food, Overpriced drinks more

Service was not good, and the place was not full either. Overpriced food and beer. Burger was gross, tuna was dried out the point of rubber, mexican stuff was ok, but not for 12-15 bucks a plate. The view is average, go to Hula or Oasis if you want a view. Cons: parking, food, $$$$$ more

on our first visit to CNC, we were expecting a wild time-just like the one in Cancun. It was very disappointing. The atmosphere was nice, but not exciting. The staff was overly rude. Managers were even worse. The food was very bland and taseless. Prices were outrageous!!! A very small Patron shot costed almost $10.00!!! The Poison Margarita was way overpriced and extremely week (about $10 also). After about 5 drinks or shot of their top shelf drinks, you could have bought a bottle of Patron tequila. I would not recommend this place to visit unless you want to get ripped off. Pros: great view, funny t-shirts, worldwide reputation Cons: poor parking, rude staff and mgt, overpriced/weak drink more