Papa Charlie - Greenwich

Incredibly terrible. spaghetti carbonara was the worst and my fish was burned. the service was very casual.

We were in for an early evening dinner. Location is on the High Street. Layout is busy but not congested. Greeting was warm and friendly, we chose our own table. Menu is lite but more than acceptable for other than the most discerning diner. Service...was efficient and friendly our first time in but treated like a regular. Food was well presented, cooked and decent quantity. Price was perhaps a little on the high side.

First impressions seemed good, a large busy establishment with very few tables free. The staff were welcoming and sat us down quickly. Unfortunately the table was quite dirty and we had to ask for it to be cleaned and other tables where people had finished...their meal weren't cleaned away for a while. We ordered drinks, starters and mains. The drinks came quickly, followed by the starters Hummus and olives with bread. Was a great light starter for us both, full of flavour and wasn't too small nor too large. We then waited minutes for our main. It was obvious that the staff were very short in the kitchen, on the floor) for a busy and sunny Sunday, and couldn't cope with the amount of people in the restaurant. I saw the young of the waitresses clean a wet spot on a table wiht a napkin, and then leave it there for the next customers, with the knife and fork laid atop of it. Once the food had arrived, it was bland, small sized portions and wasn't very fresh. We were not the only ones with this issue with several other tables waiting very long for food only to have something a bit dreary laid in front of them. Someone had spaghetti bolognese, and it was clear the pasta wasn't drained properly but the way it was all swimming. Another lady had a lamb and rice dish, with the rice looking very plain and boring and every so small portions. The menu had no real identity taking food from a wide array of cultures. There was a man wandering in and out of the establishment, who I presume is the owner by his audacious attire, who obviously had no clue what was going on in the kitchen and lives in a fairy land. The staff are undertrained and clueless (one waitresses was on her third day and had no idea of what drinks were on offer or if dishes were in stock), the hygeine is questionable and the food was poor. I would stay clear of this place and search for a different restaurant, or at the weekends visit the food market across the road.

Papa Charlie was lovely, right in middle of Greenwich. The hosts were so friendly and always laughing. We had a table in window and visited with friends from Australia. Whilst we did not have a full meal, what we had was absolutely delicious and well...presented. True value for money. And we were all had a lollipop at end of meal which caused a great deal of laughter. Beer and wine great. If you are visiting Greenwich then I can recommend this restaurant whether for snacks or full meal. I was suprised to read the negative comments but every day is different. I can only say how it was on our visit. Our visitors were pleased and so were we.

Waitress took our order, then delivered it to the table next to us. They complained the order was wrong, but were told they were wrong. Our order was wrong, but waitress said, no, it's correct So we ate Tika Masala chicken and fish and chips,...while the next table ate Piri-Piri chicken and grilled sea bass. Denied the mistake to the end.