Long time Frost readers may remember that we reviewed Charlotte’s Bistro at the beginning of 2013. It was one of our favourite reviews and we were very keen to go back.
Charlotte’s Bistro is just a couple of minutes walk from Turnham Green tube station. It has a vibrant and lively atmosphere. It always seem close to full even in the middle of the week. We started off with some delicious home-made bread which set the tone for the rest of the meal. For drinks we had two mocktails. The Bare Necessity made from fresh orange juice was particularly good.
Our first starter was a pumpkin soup. It was delicious, and the little croquets were a great contrast.
We also had the gin infused salmon which was incredible, it had a wonderful flavour and a beautiful texture which held together. This was a very accomplished dish. I loved the sharpness of the pickled vegetables and the little sweetness of orange on the salmon was divine.
For our main course we had confit of Lamb’s breast, braised lamb shoulder, broad beans and baby gem. This was a truly stunning dish of the very highest quality. The lamb was beautiful, the lamb shoulder had an incredible intense salty earthy flavour. It was the best lamb we’ve had for an extremely long time. The creamy broad beans, braised gem lettuce and delicious sauce were all superb accompaniments. This was a wonderful dish and is a customer favourite for good reason. We would urge everyone to go and try it, you won’t find anything better.
Our other main was a beautiful piece of 28 day aged rib eye steak. We asked for it to be well-done and the chef cooked it extremely well. Despite it being well-done it was juicy, tender and delicious. It was also accompanied by some excellent chips and a tasty Bearnaise sauce.
For dessert we had a raspberrybavoir. Wow, this was another knock out dish. It looked amazing and tasted even better. It had an intense raspberry flavour and a beautiful texture. The soft creamy ice cream and delicious sweet, crunchy biscuit base were a perfect complement to the sharp raspberry.
We also had a brioche doughnut, apple compote, salted caramel and Calvados cream. Doughnut, apple, caramel and cream. What a brilliant combination and it was beautifully executed. The brioche doughnut was light and not too heavy, the apple compote was excellent as was the Calvados cream. A magic combination and everything a dessert should be. Simply superb. Charlotte’s Bistro has taken its puddings to another level.
This is an outstanding restaurant producing some of the best food around. It’s not stuffy and has a fun and lively atmosphere. The service staff are warm and professional. It’s not surprising to see why house prices in the surrounding area are so expensive! We will be back, hopefully not before too long.
Charlotte’s Bistro food changes with the seasons – click here to find out what’s on the menu
Charlotte’s Bistro
6 Turnham Green Terrace, Chiswick, London. W4 1QP
020 8742 3590