Charters Towers - MERMAID BEACH

We had two extra days due to a diving trip, so we decided to drive 1.5 hours west from Townsville to Charters Towers. The people were incredibly friendly, from the tourist office to the hotel to the steakhouse. There were many well-maintained old buildings in the center of town. During the day, the town was bustling and lovely.

A group of four couples decided to go to "a nice restaurant" on Saturday night for a special occasion.Three of us ordered the fish as a main meal and were told they had run out so two changed to the "special" steak meal and once again was told they had run out.Then two people ordered sides of sprouts and once again was told they had run out. There was only a few customers in the restaurant and it was 7pm.After not being able to get what we ordered, three of us ordered the $65 steak.Two of the steaks had so much fat on them they were uneatable.The other major problem with the restaurant was the noise.There was a rock band playing in a separate area and the sound was so loud we had difficulty talking to each other.We paid for a nice quite classy restaurant and got a noisy Coles cafeteria. DO NOT GO TO THE CHARTERS TOWER ROOM.

We were extremely pleased with the service at Charters. Our server, Sarah Jane, was friendly and professional. Although we enjoyed our meal, we would prefer the previous menu. We hope to see the return of the duck dishes as they were delicious.

The food at the restaurant was delicious and the service was impeccable, but unfortunately, the experience was ruined by the loud music coming from the bar downstairs. It felt more like dining in a nightclub than a fine dining establishment. We arrived at 6.30pm and had to raise our voices just to have a conversation. Despite the fantastic food, the noise from the bar was too disruptive. We don't think this restaurant can be considered fine dining anymore. As much as we enjoyed the food, we probably won't be returning.

I have been a fan of Charters simplicity for the last year or do and was looking forward to seeing a new direction, but was very disappointed.The menu has a few entree, a few mains and about 7 types of steak from various suppliers.The dishes sounded elaborate, complex and unless you really love red meat - this menu has few other options.My party ordered beef carpaccio with polenta, which looked nice, tasted nice but lacked seasoning.My husband - a chef, ordered his steak blue, and was told the chef would not comply, but they would cook it med-rare to med.The main steaks came plain on a slate (hate steak served on slate! Not pleasant to eat off or listen to, plus you couldn't really see the meat.)Any sauce or side was bought separately, which I don't mind - you can customise it.The MR steak was awful - a cheap cut of wagyu. Tough and chewy.The sauces were non-descript and sides tasted like re-heated leftovers. My snapper fillet was so over-cooked - it was dry, tough and unpleasant to eat, I left it and explained it was unedible.The service was great - the front of house staff seemed embarrassed by the food, and explained it was only 1 week into the new menu and they were still learning the dishes.The saving grace of the experience was the service and desserts. The chocolate fondant was perfect, and the meringue with sour cherry sorbet was refreshing.Beautiful presentation with desserts. Won't go back any time soon.