Charlie’s Up North

I was in the area visiting my sister and it was one of few open on a Sunday. I walked into a ghost town town of a eatery; I walked into the bar area and found the staff all gathered in the back of the bar. As soon as I asked if they were open, one of the staff replied, «yes they are open». I got my menu and was told to seat anywhere. The waitress came and chatted with me. I put my order in for a blt with no mayo. I usually substitute avocado for mayo, but they didn’t have avocado. So a blt with no mayo it was. It did come with fries or for a $ 1 more you could get soup instead of fries. A few minutes later the waitress came out with my food. I got my food within 5 minutes. It was a good sized sandwich and delicious fries. A few minutes later I got my bill. And I was done.
Overall very friendly staff, food (bacon, bread, and fries,) were only Luke warm like they just threw it in the microwave for a minute. Bread wasn’t toasted. I wasn’t asked about how I wanted it done. Floppy blt. Food was bleh, but friendly staff.

My wife kids and myself ate here on Valentine’s Day. Ordered the kids grilled cheese and fries and they were great. Wife and I ordered prime rib special… not good. 60% of the cut was fat and they both came out cold! Both dinners were cold to the touch and the au jus was the same way. Told the waitress and they were brought to the kitchen to be «reheated». No apologies from the waitress and finally the food came back «reheated» and the waitress forgot butter and sour cream for my wife. That finally came back after 5 minutes after the baked potato was cold and the sour cream packet was old and separated. We forced down a few more bites of the overly fatty meat and each left about 3 quarters. The waitress asked if we needed a box and I said «I’ve had enough». She grabbed the plates and came back with our bill. We were surprised there was not a discount or any apology of how our food was. We will never be back unfortunately and we plan to come to come to Leech Lake several times again and like to go out to lunch and dinner. I would not order anything except fried bar food. They can’t handle prime rib. So glad we did not order the surf and turf for $ 35! Very overpriced.

On the way to Walker, shortly after you pass Nisswa, you’ll start seeing the signs for Charlie’s. Once you arrive in Walker and take a left, start looking on your left, don’t go to fast or you’ll pass it. We had lunch here. I got a philly sandwich that was delicious. I sampled some waffle fries. Believe it or not, I’m not the french fry type. These are perfection and next time I will always order them. A good size restaurant that has a bar area division. Service was very good as well.

We ate on a weeknight while on vacation in the area. We ordered ribs & chicken. The salad dressings (blue cheese & French — very yummy) were the high point of the meal. It went rapidly downhill. The ribs were cold (they were reheated, stone cold in the center). The broasted chicken was greasy.
We complained; we decided to let the kitchen take a 2^nd try. The replacement was a little better, but we waited about 20 minutes. Our server was not helpful; ill-​equipped for her duties. We decided to eat the food and move on. I spoke with the manager who apologized & took care of the meal.
There’s plenty of room for improvement in food & service based on this experience.

Quick stop here on our way up to Zipples Bay. I had the BLT and it was huge and so good! Husband had the steak and it was also huge and cooked to perfection.
Overall huge portions and very good food. Fast service as well!

Ribs where good but not excellent and service was friendly but slow. I got the impression it was because it was a pretty busy night but they ran out of food. We waited almost 35 – 40 minutes for our food after we had or soup with not much of an explanation

The food is pretty good but the service is bizarre. Heard a lot of F-​Bombs coming from the kitchen. especially while we were waiting for our silverware. When our salads were served and the waitress told us she was going to ‘search’ for some – she wasn’t kidding. Finally we got some silverware but wow that was wild… apparently they had been ‘slammed’ prior to our arrival.
Anyway on to the food. I had the broasted chicken and it was juicy and very tasty! A wonderful surprise after the other hijinx. My husband and daughter had the Philly sandwich. The sandwich was piled high with an amazing roast beef, the bread was great and super filling. The French fries were perfect. Not too soft and not too overdone. Just right.
My other daughter had Fish & Chips. The breeding on the fish was light and so so good. Very happy with her meal!
When our check came another waitress brought it to us and didn’t divide it up. Seemed like some unusual power play. We asked for it to be re-​divided up and our original waitress came back with the correct bills. Bizarre.
When it was all said and done our experience was super-​strange but our food was great! Will we be back??? hmm I think they need some help with their management.

Go here alllllllll the time when I’m at the cabin, and my parents are personal friends of Charlie himself. They run a pretty good establishment… nice place, great food and great prices.
Casual, family-​friendly and cozy atmosphere. The walls are adorned with animal skins, fish, deer heads, you name it. Darts and shuffleboard for the kids.
Summer is great when they open the boat bar. Sometimes they’ll have a DJ and Karaōke. We’ve had some fun times there.
If you’re staying in the area you really can’t leave without visiting Charlie’s. It’s the best spot in Walker for a good time, and super convenient if you’re planning to hop over to the casino after a good meal!
I recommend the buffalo wings, the ribs, the steaks, the chicken cordon bleu sandwich, and the breakfast buffet! Yum!