Penguin, Charlotte

we had seen the place on food network , and so we looked it up and wanted to go.It was NOT at all what we expected.WAY over charged food , and was too small portions for the over charge of it.I was as if they took our hotdogs out of the microwave.Plus the music was SO loud we could harldy hear each other from across the table. Also on- line the menu say u get a suvenior cup when you order a meal,but a stirofoam cup is not a suvenior..I orded a hot dog that was supposed to come with cheese and onion rings, but it only was a tad bit of cheese and a half a onion ring, for 7 dollars, please it was worth about four bucks for the whole meal.We will never go there again.

I have been dining here for a number of years and have always highly recommended it. The food, service, and atmosphere has always been amazing. I was very disappointed when I read that it will be closing on Oct 24th 2010. After it reopens I will not set foot in the building again. Charlotte is loosing another historic landmark due to corporate greed and I refuse to support the new owners.

This is my neighborhood hangout. I don't buy into all this "boycott"nonsense, I will keep going there, (as long as they serve the same, awesome greasy food). Sorry, hipsters, stay home and stop trying to hurt charlotte business!

Do not go there. The owners, from the past 10 years, of the Penguin have been forced out and the place is no longer what it used to be. Greed at it's worst.

I set out to visit places I have seen on tv . So while in Charlotte I had to stop here . I have to say it was one of the best hamburgers I ever had . I drove from NJ and had to have the fried pickels and the cheese burger southern style. The fried pickles are ok . But the cheese burger was worth the trip . I think the people who complain are former employees who have an axe to grind .

DONT GO...NEVER HAD WORSE FOOD IN MY LIEF....AND THE SERVICE WAS AWFUL.

I came here because I saw the Penguin on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and the fried pickles called out to me. They are awesome good! I literally came to Charlotte just to go to the Penguin Drive-in and I was not disappointed at all. If you time it correctly, there is hardly any wait. The service is fast. The restaurant is not fancy but the food is why you're there, not for any fancy decor. It smells like good fried food when you walk in the door, so you know you're in for a treat. I'm going back next year and I can hardly wait!

This place smelled like burnt grease. We saw this on the internet and it had so many good reviews that when we went to the Nascar race in Charlotte N.C. in Oct.2008 from Michigan, we had to check it out. What a dissapointment! We had a drink and left. The smell almost made me sick. I dont know how they got all the good reviews, I think it must be employees writing them. One review also said Guy Feiri,from Drive-ins diners and Dives was there. I seached his site, and could find no info on The Penquin. Very Dissapointed, and all I can say is, WHAT A DIVE !!!!

I have mixed feeling about this place. It's a popular restaurant, I admitted that cause everytime I go to Penguin, we wait about 20-30 minutes outside to get a table (I don't drink and so does my friends) and it'll take another 15 minutes to place an order ...It's such a long process for a burger joint. Granted, the fried pickles plate is different, but I have been at Easy Eddies in Huntersville and they are just as good. I guess you would want to go there once to say that you've been in Penguin but it's going to take a lot more than that to get me to become a loyal customer.

Best burger ever! When I have visitors from out of town it's a must we go to the Penguin. Amazing black bean hummus, fried pickles, onion rings etc. The price is cheap for the flavor you get. Please note I have read through the reviews, this is not a fancy place by any means. I saw a lot of comments about not being seated without your whole party there, that is true. The reason they have that set in place is because it is only a 10 top and there have been times I have waited for almost 2 hours to get seated and eat. Let me tell you it is worth the wait, this is not a place during prime time to just eat and hang out at the table while there are other people waiting to get seated. The staff is not there to chit chat they are normally SLAMMED and I can say they do work in great teams to get you in and out. I have seen run in's as well with the owner / manager but I can tell you he can afford to not have your business because there is always a wait and steady stream of ppl coming and going. Not sure if they still have the Uptown location but that might be a better option for those of you that were not happy with the original location.