Location: 5th Street and Church Street
After attempting lunch on a Saturday afternoon at four different places, we settled on 5Church, a place visited once before. At our last visit, the restaurant served up an expensive and yet somewhat unmemorable meal. On our second visit, our lunch turned into a brunch, but was overall a better dining experience. 5church is another restaurant owned by a conglomerate in Charlotte, with Nan and Byron’s in the group as well; there is another 5Church location in Charleston and a third on its way in Atlanta, the restaurant is already getting that corporate feel of which I am not very fond. That said, there were definitely highlights from our last visit…
The Good: As soon as I walked in 5Church, I was admittedly impressed with the décor. The art on the walls was very nice, as was the writing on the ceiling (which is actually the Art of War, by Sun Tzu). The bar was impressive, contributing to an overall fantastic first impression. Adding to the atmosphere was a well-chosen selection of music; I am always in a more relaxed state when Sam Cooke is playing, it was a nice addition to my meal…
Service was a bit slow, but overall very friendly and attentive. For brunch they served us a complimentary banana bread, which was also very tasty.
An additional plus to our brunch, were the drink specials; at $2.50 a drink for both sangria and mimosas’ it was a great value. Overall, with tip, I walked out of there paying around $35.
While the food had its ups and downs, my brunch omelette was pretty good, as were the crispy potatoes that decorated the plate.
The Bad: As mentioned, the meal for brunch had mixed reviews, with one of the omelettes not seasoned properly (see also, not at all seasoned). The result was a somewhat bland meal for my companion (which I tasted and confirmed). While overall the meal was good, and I would not shun the opportunity to return for brunch, it is not something I would rave about either. My dinner experience was far more forgettable, and in my opinion, there are better options uptown; with steaks priced close to$60, I feel I can get better for the price at competing establishments.
To me, 5Church insists it is a higher caliber restaurant than it is; whereas, fine dining uptown is a dime a dozen, and if I am going to drop close to $150 on a meal for two – I’ll do it at an established steakhouse, like Sullivan’s or BLT Steak. Although many of their competitors may have multi-locations, they do not have the same corporate feel as 5Church.
The Ugly: Given its location, parking can be extremely difficult. To be fair, the restaurant does claim on their website to have free valet parking. Of course I always tip the valet, which further adds to the cost of the event/meal, but for brunch, I do not believe valet parking is an option, or at least it was not while I was on location. There is a parking deck across the street, but it is an added expense. Moreover, the lot can get crowded and almost claustrophobic at times…
The Verdict Dinner 5 out of 10, Brunch 6 out of 10: To me, there is no compelling reason to go 5Church for dinner. It is more expensive than most places and the food is a bit boring. The whole dinner experience was average and unmemorable. Brunch offers a better value, and while there were more than a few missteps, overall I enjoyed the meal. That said, I will likely keep it in the rotation for a brunch option…if I find myself uptown.