Charcoal Pit

Been passing this place for sometime now, finally had the opportunity to stop. Boy and I glad I did. My son and I both had burgers and fries, and a milkshake for the road. Burgers were cooked perfect and had that nice charcoal flavor to them. Although the burgers were frozen patties, they were of high quality. Fires were cooked perfect as well. I will be back for sure on my next trip to the beach.

Nostalgia at its best! Simple American classics with creamy dreamy ice cream confections. I would keep food options to the classics such as burgers & fries but dessert is where charcoal pit really stands out. I used to frequent more often when the Newark & Pike Creek locations were still open but I still go out of my way to get what was prevalent in my childhood/​adolescence. Sometimes the simplest things truly are the best.

THE original high school hangout! At least back in the 50s/​60s! Charcoal Pit remains a staple of my time living in Wimington, Delaware. The burgers, the fries, the hot dogs, the cheese fries, the shakes, the ice cream sundaes… all vivid memories of my time ordering at this unforgettable place!
Sure, there were times growing up where lines would be out the door when my parents and I would go and of course during the height of Winter, which resulted in us ending up going elsewhere because my parents didn’t want to wait in the freezing cold… but on those rare occasions where we’d end up actually eating there… pure heaven.
My last time eating there was back in July of 2010 when I came back East for my birthday. It was somewhat bittersweet of a time because hardly any of my friends were around to hang out with so by the pure kindness of my former across-​the-​street neighbors who I just happened to be near at the right place/​right time, they offered to treat me to dinner while I was in town there.
Brought back lots of good memories.
I’m hoping to go there again when my soon-​to-​be-​wife and I go to Delaware as part of our honeymoon so I can show her where I grew up and all the fantastic hot spots I frequented when I was younger!

The food is great and the ice cream and milkshakes are even better! Bring the whole gang if you want to try the «kitchen sink.» It’s something like 22 scoops of ice cream I think.

The food isn’t impressive by any means (I had the Grilled Chicken Southwest Sandwich and my husband had a regular cheese burger) but the ice cream/​sundaes are AMAZING!!! The ice cream is so smooth and thick. We got the hot fudge sundae and it is big enough for two! Food gets a 2.5−3÷5 but the ice cream gets a ⁵⁄₅ in my book.

This restaurant is everything a burger restaurant should be! The service is incredibly fast, the prices are inexpensive, and the food is delicious! You need to order a milkshake to accompany your entre.

The Charcoal Pit on the Concord Pike in North Wilmington is celebrating its 60^th birthday this year. It looks to me as I would imagine a restaurant in the 1950’s might have looked. But the Charcoal Pit isn’t retro… it’s the real deal. And it’s still seems as popular in its older age as it must have been in its younger days. There’s nothing gourmet about the food here but I can’t complain that what I got wasn’t decent value for money. Obviously the emphasis is on grilled meats with ice cream deserts as an additional specialty. What I liked the best was their salad… and the waitress who served me named Jessica who seemed to be on roller skates and multi-​tasked her way to efficient service with a smile. If you want to experience a visit back into the 50’s era in an authentic way, check out the Charcoal Pit on a visit to Wilmington.

I have patronized and enjoyed the Charcoal Pit for 40 years. But last night gave me serious pause. I took my mother. We ordered hamburgers, a Pit staple. The young waitress came across as indifferent (I observed that the older waitresses were friendlier to their customers). It took a long time to bring our orders. We asked that the burgers be medium rate, but they were well done. I was willing to shrug it off, but my mother asked them to take it back and make one medium rare. They returned with another well done one.
But the real problem was the quality of the meat itself. The Pit used to serve meaty burgers. These were flat patties with filler, tasteless and no better than one would find at a drive-​through chain. Very disappointment development. I will try the Pit again at some point to see if this was a fluke, but with the degradation of burger quality I am not optimistic.

A family favorite for 50 years or more. Good greasy food, great ice cream, and friendly service.
The Pit was a staple of my father and aunts’ youth. It became part of mine, and a special place for me and my grandmother (RIP). I cannot wait to take Captain Adorable there.
I have had many different things on the menu, and all are good. I prefer the hamburgers, Char Dog Special, cheesesteaks, and Ruben. On the ice cream side, I love the special sundaes and root beer floats.
Service is friendly, but can be slow.
I try to get to the Pit a few times a year, at least.

You can’t go in expecting the food to be great, because it isn’t. But I can’t say I’ve ever had anything here be nasty.
Milkshakes are the best thing to get here though.

I hadn’t been to the Charcoal Pit in years, so stopped in tonight for dinner. I was really pleasantly surprised. My turkey burger was great. It was juicy and was a surprisingly large patty. It was topped with fresh tomato, lettuce, and lots of pickles. The fries were really good also — I think they changed the kind they serve, and they are much better than they used to be. The chicken tenders were large and well cooked, and the coleslaw was fresh and delicious. The people having burgers said they were tasty as well. We ordered a milk shake that was so thick. It came with the metal mixing container and a separate glass. It was the best one I’ve tasted in a while.
It still looks the same after all of these years!

This restaurant has been around seemingly forever, yet I didn’t get around to trying it until today. Yes, both from the outside and inside, this restaurant truly looks like your grandfather could’ve gone there. Maybe even your grandfather’s father. It’s an original from the 50s and they kept that classic feel up to today. The parking lot seemed rather congested too but that could be because it is shared with the Dunkin Donuts next door. Space inside the restaurant is a bit cramped though, so I doubt they can accommodate more people, even if there was more parking.
A quick browser through the menu didn’t turn up anything particularly unique though. (There’s a 20-​scoop sundae, in case you’re looking for a challenge.) It’s mostly just simple diner or grill style food. I picked the turkey burger since it was one of the items on the printed sheets and may not be offered later. I thought service was good, even though the server seemed rather busy.

Meh. Our server this most recent visit was lousy. We had to repeat our order a number of times and it still arrived wrong. The fries and onion rings were undercooked and the guy plopping them on plates doesn’t use gloves. And my burger that was ordered rare came out well-​done. But that’s all that was well done this meal.

How you say, «All kinds of yes!»
I was soooo hungry and willing to settle for anything other than a burger so I ordered the grilled chicken with BBQ sauce ($ 10) with mushrooms (add $ 2) and grilled onions. It came with fries. When I received the food, I was so shocked to see how tasty it looked !
Every bite of charbroiled chicken had a fork full of grilled mushrooms and onions and it was plain delicious. There was zero time to try to look cute eating this goodness. When the chicken was gone, the leftover grilled mushrooms and onions went just as well with the fries. I ate everything and will certainly have it again in the future!

Overall very good good diner food at a landmark in Delaware. Service is always very good and it feels like a family place here. There milkshakes are amazing and their burgers are good too. French fries are nice, crunchy and tasty. Very good place to come for lunch.

The milkshakes are amazing! I crave their milkshakes because they use fresh ingredients. You will find chunks of strawberries in your strawberry milkshake which I love! The rest of their food is decent for the price they charge. Everything is very inexpensive and good quality. It’s not gourmet but it’s good. The service is always very nice. Everybody is very friendly and you will always see families just having a good time. Great local spot it grab a quick bite. We will definitely be back.

Here in Wilmington since 1956, this is as much of a local landmark as you can get. This is a classic eating establishment. And when I asked for Wilmington foods in the talk thread, this was one of the places that was suggested.
The menu gets into salads and chicken and all sorts of stuff, but you’ll want to skip all of that and just focus on what they’re good at. «The Pit Special» is available in 4 ounce and 8 ounce patties. It’s a burger and if you’re doing it right, it becomes a cheeseburger and fries.
And let me tell you, it was great. Nice and juicy. And best of all, inexpensive. This is probably the cheapest meal I’ve had in Wilmington.
I’m only disappointed that the drink options are limited to sodas and milkshakes. This burger would have been better with a good beer.

Decided to take a trip down with the family for lunch. It’s just one of those places that always intrigued me.
This menu is as basic as it gets. The wife and I both got burgers. We sampled some onion rings, and got a grilled cheese with applesauce and milk for my boy.
The food quality here is good. Neither of us complained about the burgers. The onion rings were solid. My son ate his grilled cheese with no issues. It’s a very good burger.
I’d say though at the same time nothing was special. It isn’t anything I would drive down from Delco for in the future. The food overall was good diner quality. Although the milkshakes looked tasty, I didn’t partake.
It’s a solid family joint. I can see why it would be popular locally. It’s worth a try.

The Charcoal Pit is a dining institution in Delaware. The Pit has been around since 1956. I worked in Delaware for over 7 years and this would be an every once in awhile lunch spot but even more so often a destination to grab a black and white milkshake on a hot summer day.
I am not going to start off with a ringing endorsement about their food. The CP offers your standard fare and the food is most likely not going to blow you away. The ice cream sundae menu is larger than entrees section. Their sundaes and named after the sports team names of the surrounding high schools. They also have a sundae called the Kitchen Sink, go ahead, I dare you!
Burgers and fries are the norm here. Cheeseburgers come equipped with a thick slice of yellow American cheese. The Pit Special comes with fresh lettuce and tomato. The Soup is always on, and the «Soup of the Day» is also a popular option. During my last visit their Chunky Tomato soup was featured. If you want to splurge, you can select the Porterhouse steak for $ 18.95, a buck cheaper than the aforementioned Kitchen Sink sundae.
People come here for the atmosphere and/​or because it is probably a family tradition. As soon as you pull off the 202 Boardwalk and into the parking lot you enter reverse time travel. From the outside to the inside of the Pit this place is a throwback. The external neon pink illuminated signage will catch your eye. Once inside you notice the booth style seating with many of the tables having a personal juke box (not actively working). Each table also has a bottle of Heinz 57 as well as spicy mustard. The far end of the restaurant is the Pit’s ice cream parlor section.
For as long as I can remember, service has always been good here. The waiters and waitresses use the old fashioned check pads. When it is time to pay the bill, you pay at the front of the restaurant from a solo register station. There is also velvet roping attached to stanchions that keep the wait line in check.
Again, the food isn’t going to have you singing their praises. The ice cream sundaes and milkshakes, maybe. This is a great place to take the family and/​or friends to sit back, relax and enjoy the setting. This is the place chains like Ruby Diner aspire to be, only this is the real thing!

My review is based on ice cream only. We went in, craving milkshakes. We (the four in my party) ended up each ordering sundaes.
Our waitress was very polite. She graciously went over the ice cream flavors they had more than once as some of us were not paying attention. She didn’t seem at all as if we were inconveniencing her.
The sundaes were quite plentiful! I ordered a hot fudge nut sundae with salted caramel pretzel chocolate ice cream. There is no such thing as too much ice cream and I ate the entire thing!
My only complaint is having to wait 5+ minutes for someone to ring us up at the register. Three waitresses were sitting at the bar, talking to other customers, but def looked up directly at us.