The Penguin Drive-In is back baby! And we’ve got everything from decadent burgers and the Best Salads in Town like our Kale & Quinoa Salad to our Award-Winning Philly Cheesesteak and Turkey Club. Come for the food and fall in love with our Craft Cocktails and Draft Beer selection.
Join us in our dining room, full-service Bar or on our covered and dog-friendly patio. Yes, the business started in 1954. No, we don’t have a drive-in.
The Food is Amazing. We hear it over and over, and it’s not enough, we’d like to hear it more. So come here, where Everybody’s a Winner!
Based on 233 reviews, the restaurant has received a rating of 4.1 stars. Price $$
✔️ Dine-in ✔️ Takeout ✔️ No-contact delivery
Address:
1531 East Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28203
Phone: (704) 444-0603
Social Profile: 
Hours
| Wednesday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Thursday | 11 AM–9:30 PM |
| Friday | 11 AM–10 PM |
| Saturday | 11 AM–10 PM |
| Sunday | 11 AM–8 PM |
| Monday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Tuesday | 11 AM–9 PM |
Menu
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Menu Photos
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Reviews
Jennifer S
We tried The Penguin for the first time during Charlotte Restaurant Week (Queen’s Feast). Our service wasn’t terrible when we visited, but you could tell the team was a bit stressed and dishes were coming out at odd times (for example, our salads were served last and we saw another table confused as they received their desserts before their full meal had been served). Our waitress was flustered and apologetic about the ‘backed up kitchen’. We extend a bit of grace during Restaurant Week (this was the first weekend) as we know it’s not the standard menu, and every guest is ordering more dishes than would be typical. For drinks we had the Blackberry Mule and the Strawberry Fields. Both were excellent. I don’t typically care for Mules but am glad to have tried this one. For starters, we had the Nashville Hot Tenders and the Fried Pickles. The chicken was tender, but hot chicken is not my thing so I can’t say if it was good or bad. The pickles were very good with a light breading. Next was to be salads- the Shrimp and Avocado Salad was delicious and I was surprised at how good the shrimp tasted. For the main, I had the ‘Hike the Ball Nutjob’ and my date had the ‘Tommy Boy’. Both burgers were amazing. We ended up taking the desserts to go, so I won’t cover those here. Overall the food was very good, and we are excited to visit again and try something different and from the regular menu.
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Nicole
Decide to try The Penguin for restaurant week, I’m so glad we did! My 4 course meal consisted of Nashville Hot Chicken Tenders, Kale and quinoa salad, trio burger sliders and ended with a chocolate mousse cake. The food was amazing and it was enough to take some home! The services was a little slow but overall it didn’t ruin the experience. I will definitely be going back!
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Brian Leech
It’s not the old Penguin, but it’s worth visiting. Definitely different vibes, but Charlotte is changing.
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Diana Smith
Top Tier. Our server made our experience great. At first we just thought another burger joint. Fooled us. Those were the most flavorful burger i had in a extremely long time. Please don’t hesitate extremely roomy.
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Vivien W
Very friendly staff, the host was great – very nice and attentive even tho it was busy.
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Carese Niezgoda
Ana amazing little place to relax and eat an amazing meal in Charlotte. Our waitress was incredibly friendly and fun, the food was delicious, atmosphere was a dream. Being gluten free, they were so accommodating and had breads and buns, as well as many other options for me! If you’re gluten free, this is a great choice. Couldn’t recommend more. Also there were dogs, and they were well taken care of by staff.
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Tianna “Ty June” Storey
My first time going here. This place is really cute and quaint. They have tub chairs which are comfy. Started with fired pickl I had the pan sheared shrimp ramen and loved every bit. There was no broth left . I also had the blackberry ginger beer mocktail. It was lovely as well.
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Brian Conlon
First time at the new location. Completely different! Don’t expect the dive bar atmosphere serving PBR and cheap burgers. It is now more of an old fashioned and fancy burger place. And the space is ten times bigger with ample park king.
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Karla Zuniga
It’s so cute and fancy looking! They have brunch, ramen and burgers! Lux contemporary style w/ fun color and greenery and actual penguin statues! Very comfy and fancy atmosphere, food was even better than I expected! Staff also very helpful w/menu Q’s and such. I will be back to try more of the menu and the rest of the bar!
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John K
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.
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