Charlottes Place
our comments
Charlotte’s Place’s owner Alex Wrethman has clearly come along way since his first job washing dishes in the restaurant’s kitchen after school. Since February 2007 he has overhauled both the front and back of house operation, updating the menu and look as well as reviewing the pricing structure and staff team. The result is a great neighbourhood restaurant, serving tasty and imaginative modern European food that would give many of central London’s more established venues a run for their money.
Despite the ‘fine dining’ tag, the funky ‘70s soul soundtrack, chalked-up menu boards and thirty-something crowd on our visit were more redolent of a hip London gastro-pub than a white-napkin-and-table-cloth eatery. ‘Brasserie classics’ such as fish cakes and Caesar salad were on offer alongside more adventurous choices, and the assured cooking combined technical ability with a deft feel for contrasting flavours and textures. Baked figs on a toasted brioche crouton paired sweet fruit with a rich foie gras mousse filling; the two perfectly complemented by a sharp apple fig chutney. A salad of crayfish and caviar, celeriac remoulade, potato crisps and watercress showed similar flair, although perhaps didn’t need quite so many ingredients to make its presence felt.
There was no let up in standards with the mains. A fillet of red snapper was beautifully pan fried, and came with an earthy pairing of roast salsify and sweet butternut squash puree. Braised belly of pork with apple puff pastry tartlet and sweet potato batons may have been a ubiquitous choice but was carried off with aplomb. For desserts, a rich and beautifully caramelised crème brulé was given an unusual twist by the addition of basil and cherry; an air-dried basil leaf coated in a light sugar meringue provided a truly original touch. A traditional mascarpone tart with fresh orange and vanilla was equally delicious and perfectly executed. Service was attentive but unobtrusive. Crucially, they let us pour our own wine – a highly quaffable bottle of Sebastiani Pinot Noir 2005.
As for the venue, the ground floor of the restaurant is bright and airy, with views of Ealing Common through large picture windows. The basement level is saved from dinginess by an overhead skylight; and an al fresco dining area offers punters a frontline view of the Common’s assorted joggers and dog walkers during the summer months. Wooden tables, burgundy red napkins and black leather high back chairs afford an air of luxury without it being overbearing or stuffy. Tasty food, attentive service and elegant location – a must for locals and non-locals alike.
M.D. - July 2007
your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne
I love this restaurant and living in Ealing we visit it regularly.
The early Saturday night offer is worth checking out - 3 courses (from the full a la carte menu) plus a cocktail/glass of wine for £25 if you arrive before 7.
The menu changes monthly with new dishes being added and some core ones remaining. my only criticism would be that the vegetarian options are sometimes a bit limited.
It's also worth visiting on a Sunday for the fantastic Sunday lunch menu.
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Sarah - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Friday, June 06, 2008
I was rather disappointed, not really imaginative cuisine, greasy and quite expensive but nice decor.
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Aurelie
Overall rating 
Food 1 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 1
Monday, March 10, 2008
Went there last night for the first time after reading the comments. Honestly the food was average, not very tasty. I Had the Raviolo, it was a bit dry , more sauce would have been nice and the the plaice was a very salty dish. The staff is not very welcoming and they can for sure improve their service. Overall it wasn't that bad but for the price we expected food to be tasty and a friendly service.
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D. MIchaud
Overall rating 
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
I've lived in Ealing for four years but only recently discovered Charlotte's Place. I took my partner for lunch (on a Saturday) and whole experience was enjoyable. The restaurant was very quiet, we were one of three occupied tables but the room has a cosy feel and the background music is laid back and informal. The menu options are enticing and we opted for the incredibly good value £15 for three courses. Most central London restaurants offer a poor selection for fixed-price menus but here we noticed oysters, terrines, venison, risotto on offer. The standard of cooking is very good too. I opted for the chicken and porcini mushroom terrine followed by the salmon and wilted greens. My partner also chose the terrine and then venison for the main course. Food is well presented and the service is attentive without being pushy. Portions are, in my opinion, normal. Neither generous nor stingy. You'll leave the restaurant feeling satisfied rather than stuffed! I would definitely return and recommend to others. There is a distinct shortage of decent neighbourhood restaurants around Ealing Broadway and this is one place where I can bring my family and friends. It just makes a change from my local greek/indian/japanese and the usual chain restaurants. As a fan of sunday roasts, I'm looking forward to trying the roast beef!
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Jason C
Overall rating 
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Monday, February 04, 2008
We went this week, great food, attentive and friendly service. Depsite the other offerings in Chiswick, happy to make the short hop to Ealing.
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RND
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Friday, September 28, 2007
Went for the first time recently having heard good things. We were not disappointed! It could quite easily be said that the food is highly priced but if you give me the choice of cheap and cheerful or expensive but quality then I know which one wins hands down.
I can only comment on what we had but the starters were tasty...fishcake with a lovely butter sauce was a nice preparation for the main course...fish and chips. Might not sound exciting but it is certainly difficult to get good quality fish and chips in London. The portion wasn't great on the chips side but they were good, handcut, home fried chips which beats anything else! The fish was perfectly cooked in a light, tasty batter with no sign of usual chip shop grease!
However, all this being great, there was one additional piece de resistance....the home made tartar sauce. I'm pretty sure this sauce would have made the worst fish taste fanstastic and the whole lot of this together just made for a simply delicious meal.
I'd recommend getting down there and trying this....certainly on my way back there soon!
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Overall rating 
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Monday, August 06, 2007
We went on a friday evening for a friend's birthday, having not had a great experience on a previous visit. However, was pleased that the food and atmosphere was much improved. The food was very good, although the same problem of value for money would be my only negative comment for the evening. Starter of scallops with black pudding was cooked well, but expected more than the 1/4 slice of black pudding. Cod, bacon and green lentils also extremely good.
We will be going back, butduring midweek to take advantage of the fixed price menu. Still a huge question mark about whether Charlotte's Place warrants the high price at weekend's - but close to being the best restaurant in the Ealing area.
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Neil S
Overall rating 
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Monday, February 19, 2007
Fantastic isn't a word I use often but that's exactly what my experience of Charlotte's place was. I took my boyfriend out for his birthday and had a wonderful time. We were made to feel welcome as soon as we arrived and given a romantic table on the lower floor. The food was great and came very quickly given how busy they were. My boyfriend had the Beef Carpaccio with shaved truffle while I opted for a simple Asparagus with hollandaise both were delicious. For our mains we had Rib steak with blue cheese dauphinoise and I had the cod with bacon and clam casserole. I would come again just for that dish! After that I had no room for dessert but we decided to share a frozen strawberry soufflé on recommendation from the waiter and it didn't disappoint a very different dessert and I will save room for my own next time. The service was very friendly and always willing to help with good recommendations for the food and the wine. We will definitely be back
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Jodie
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Disappointing overall. Two of us had dinner there on a Thursday evening. We were seated downstairs as there was a party of 20 upstairs with other diners so the place was packed. After 55 mins (having only had a bread roll and a cocktail) we were both starving. When the meals did arrive they were ok, but not terribly exciting with odd combinations of flavours, and the portions are very small. On asking if our meal was ok our reply was "nice, we could eat it all over again, and still be hungry" - sadly the irony seemed to wash over our waiter! We ordered dessert, which again we waited ages for. When it (hot chocolate brownie with ice cream) finally arrived it looked and tasted like it had been sitting around for a while. We gave it one more try with coffee, but after 25 minutes waiting cancelled it and just asked for the bill, which managed to turn up very quickly! Other diners were also complaining about the lengthy wait for anything, and a broken wine glass on the floor was completely ignored by the waiting staff until one of them accidentally kicked it across the floor!
I don't think we'll return!
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Karen
Overall rating 
Food 5 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Monday, November 20, 2006
We went here to celebrate an anniversary. Starters were great. The mains were mixed - my steak was good but my girlfriend's dish seemed like it didn't know what it wanted to be with too many competing flavours, desserts ok. Service was very good. My problem was that the bill was over £100 with a bottle of wine and that was simply too much for this place. I was a lot happier with Ealing Park Tavern.
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Andrew
Overall rating 
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Friday, November 10, 2006
