The Charter Oak

Didn’t know raw vegetables basket can offer so many pleasant surprises as the taste is so crisp and distinct. They have a way with fire, after the meal I felt like I have smoked a nice cigar. Different from all the smoky or food with fire I have tried before. The steak was def the best I had in these recent years.

Wonderful restaurant in Saint Helena. Quite cosy, crowd of all ages, exquisite wine choices, and the food is very good overall. There was only one appetizer that disappointed us, however, the beef ribs were to die for. Highly recommended. Outside there is also a cool fireplace which we sat next to for a while and it was beautiful.

The decoration and space is amazing, but you didn't come here because of that, but because of the food. We start with this Brie and chips, and it was amazing. The chips maybe a little bit salty, but the brie was amazing! Then we ask for a steak and a chicken sandwich. The sandwich looks simple, but the equilibrium on it was perfect. The same with the meat, was very smoky, but I felt it lack something. In my opinion it deserves an 4.25, but since I can't give it that, it has to be 4.

My husband and I came here on Sunday, February 18th and made reservations at 7:30pm. We arrived a couple minutes late, but the hostess said our table wasn’t ready. We sat in the lounge chairs for 30 minutes and they didn’t offer us anything. Not water, a drink, or appetizer - nothing - as we waited until 8pm to be seated. They said we could be seated at the long communal table, or wait longer to be seated at a private table. We were hungry and didn’t want to wait for another half hour longer to get our own table. So we sat at the end of the long communal table thankfully not right next to another couple or party. It was cool to view the kitchen and the open barbecue, and see how dishes were expedited. We ordered pretty quickly and our waitress was kind. Only a couple minutes after we got the wings, and were clearly still eating the wings and not ready for the next course, they brought all of the other dishes - all at once. They didn’t space out the dishes properly. we were not enjoying our dinner and trying to just stuff our faces so that our main entrees wouldn’t get cold. We felt super rushed to eat since they brought all the food out all at once. I think we realized also that this place is better for groups of four. Since it’s more of a family style place, you could try more things and not be rushed to finish it all. After we had finished the food, my husband and I were asking each other if we wanted dessert. We both said we didn’t need dessert since we felt overly full trying to finish the food before it got cold. However, even though we didn’t plan to get dessert - we weren’t even offered the dessert menu to see what was on the menu. The waitress just gave us our check. What if we wanted dessert? Yes, check please. We were disappointed with the service and not sure if we’ll come back. They already include a 20% gratuity charge on the check no matter what. We definitely wouldn’t have given them 20%. Starter: The Charter Oak Bread and cultured butter was really good. Yummy crunchy crust and good sourdough goodness. Small: - Wings: $18. The wings were amazing. Our favorite thing we ate that night. They were piping hot and finger licking delicious. Salad: - Little Gem Salad: $22. This was good too, wish it had more acid or a squeeze of lemon to it to balance out the albacore and herbed cream. This was also no little gem salad. It was pretty big. Main: - Beef Short Rib with Beets. $28. This was good, super meaty and very hearty. Had that smokiness to it and was nicely roasted over the fire. - Trout. $24. This was good, cooked well and greens were tasty too. Dessert: - None. We weren’t even offered the dessert menu.

Great lunch spot. All the food is well prepared. Definitely get the bread with the local butter. Also, a great and different app is potato tostones. Very good service.