The Penguin Drive-In

We visited today and were blown away. We travel extensively, trying the best burgers we can find everywhere we go. Black Tap in NYC just got bumped to 2nd place via unanimous vote. The Penguin seriously makes the very best burgers we've ever had. Everything we had here was off the charts good. New Undisputed Burger Champion of the World!

Daniel

3 months ago en

Nothing to write home about... I was a huge fan of the original penguin and this new location is far off from the bar set by the original.The bang bang shrimp had no spice whatsoever. The avocado served with it was the absolute best avocado I've ever been served in a restaurant... It was amazing. But the shrimp left much to be desired. The fried pickles were sliced so thin that you couldn't taste any actual pickle flavor in them just pure coating.i had the Philly and other than receiving a few awfully cordy, tough pieces it was decent. And for the shrimp po boy the sauce that it has on it was so spicy that my wife couldn't eat it. Disappointed with the management for the fact that my wife sat there with her entire sandwich in front of her for the duration of the meal and not one employee noticed and inquired as to if her sandwich was ok or not. The sole server was nice as could be but was definitely in the weeds. The manager really needed to step up in my opinion.

Joe

3 months ago en

Walked in ordered Louisiana Hot chicken sandwich. Never got drinks got ghosted. We finely dot drinks after we was done eating. Then when came time to pay got ghosted again.

Dwayne

3 months ago en

This restaurant/dive has a cool vibe with dining area and a bar section. The food is amazing definitely order the fried pickles as your app and going from there you can’t go wrong. Can’t wait to go back!!!

Tara

3 months ago en

Local place with great food. The menu is simple but great. On this visit we had a Shrimp and Avocado Salad along with some wine and craft cocktail. Recommend.

Chris

11 months ago en

We really liked our experience here. We had a burger and the philly cheesesteak. Their fries and potato chips were also very good.

Charlie

11 months ago en

It was an okay restaurant, but it was cold outside and the inside was in for renovation. I ordered a turkey-bacon avocado club, but they put a sauce and carrots on it without putting that information in the menu. The fries were good though. The menu was also fairly small and had little choices. Overall, there was a few things that impacted my stay but I still enjoyed being here with my family.

Collin

11 months ago en

Soooo good! The burgers and fries were amazing! Service was fast and awesome! Well sized portions, and a nice atmosphere! Thank you we'll definitely be back!

Matt

11 months ago en

The reincarnation of The Penguin is definitely different from the original. The food is still solid albeit a little more refined and $$. The bar inside is large with multiple TVs to catch a game.We’ve made a few visits to the new Penguin at various times and we’ve walked away happy. The apps are good and they have great fried pickles and chicken strips. However, the burgers are what people come for and they have massive selections like Tommy Boy and More Cowbell. We also tried a “hike the ball nut job” which is a Thai shrimp poboy and the “Big Fish” which is fried cod and slaw. That was my favorite dish on all our visits. It’s fried crisp with light breading and not overly heavy. For brunch, the Nutella Crepes and Fried Green Tomato stack were hits.Decent beer selection to go along with the food. Service is good albeit a little slow at peak times. The outside patio is nice and clean and allows dogs. Parking in the adjacent lot is east.Overall, I miss the old Penguin and the late night shenanigans but times changes (certainly in Charlotte) and the new version, while different, is still a solid addition to Dilworth.

John

11 months ago en

The Nashville tenders, the tommy boy and our server destiny were all amazing!! Glad to have found this place. Deff will be back

Nathaly

1 year ago en

Great service and food. We went during the week and lunch time so it was not busy. The Tommy Burger was really good including the fried bacon!

J.

1 year ago en

Great food for price point delivered beyond expectations. Service questionable… but still good I think 😀…(On second thought)I read the reviews and it was clearly a problem with the service aspect of here and I will say expect good food just not good service this one bartender clearly annoyed she had us even though she had like 2 other tables slammed our drinks at us and as I can recall only checked up on us 2 times and the food was exceptionally good she just made the food taste bitter. First experience here not ideal but I won’t return unless there is a change in service level.

Giovanni

1 year ago en

Great Vibe in this cool old place. The interior reminds you of another era from the 1950's and 60's with the big booths and table set ups. The outside seating area is just marvelous (weather permitting). We had the hot dog - which by the way is huge so come hungry or be prepared to take some home. Full bar and incredible Dilworth location.

Randy

1 year ago en