The Little Chartroom — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

Refined Excellence at The Little Chartroom

From the moment I stepped through the door, there was a quiet confidence in the air — a sense that this would be no ordinary meal. By the end of the evening, that instinct proved correct.

Creativity The standout of the night was, unexpectedly, the cheese course. A goat’s cheese mille-feuille layered with damson jelly — each bite a dance of texture and flavour. The delicate pastry gave way with a clean snap, revealing the gentle tang of the cheese balanced by the sharp, fruity depth of the damson. Easily one of the most inventive and memorable cheese courses I’ve had in recent years. Watching it assembled in front of me only added to the theatre.

Wine Pairings Each wine was considered, elegant, and genuinely enhanced its pairing. There was thought and restraint in the selection — nothing too clever, just spot-on matches that elevated every plate without stealing focus.

Main Course The duck dish was generous in portion and bold in execution — a smart, modern take that veered away from the usual clichés. It had a richness and clarity of flavour that spoke of precision and confidence in the kitchen. It’s a rare thing to see a familiar protein treated with such originality without overcomplicating.

Dessert A choux bun filled with leaf mint ice cream closed the meal. The fresh mint cut beautifully through the chocolate, delivering lift and clarity where most desserts tend to lean heavy. It felt like a nod to classic patisserie, but through a clean, contemporary lens.

Service Impeccable. Sean, the host, set the tone for the evening — warm, genuine, and completely in tune with the room. The rest of the team followed suit, striking that rare balance between attentiveness and discretion.

Reflecting on it the next morning, I couldn’t find a fault. From the oysters through to the final spoonful of dessert, it was a composed, creative, and quietly brilliant meal.

And just when I thought it couldn’t get better, they offered a petit four of white chocolate fudge with blackberry powder — a sweet, sophisticated finish to an already impeccable evening.

I’ll be back,...

Nice classy exterior with a blue grey exterior, modern interior, minimalistic with black tables and beech coloured wood chairs and black laminate floor and is air conditioned for summer. There is about 30+ seating with a chef table for about 5 persons with the view of the 6chefs prepping the food. Seating at the wall on a long chair with padding with cushions as back rest, was Slightly uncomfortable after 90minutes.

Cutlery was paint brush handle designed ( thin!) Firstly the noise level for extremely high - lack of soft furnishings and there was the then a competition to talk louder and louder.

The layer negroni, a take on the classic tasted very good. A combination of sourness from the grapefruit and sweatness of the orange apperitivo, shame about the headache afterwards.

The bread with butter was excellent, was a cross between a brioche and sour dough

The oysters from loch fyne again excellent- great taste but must say it over powers the oysters so good if one is somewhat squeamish of oysters

Fermented carrot hot sauce had hints of Tabasco and fennel and green chilli ponzu

Starters: Duck liver parfait Duck dish interesting as slightly on the livery side , a mousse of the liver pate, not quite foie gras with sliced cherries and crunchy puffs . The brioche bread was interesting as it had pulled duck meat in it .

Then somewhat of a long pause to Mains , perhaps even 20mins. The cod on fregola with olives, heritage tomatoes, was a very well put together dish with a lovely sauce. The fish could have been slightly less undercooked. The fish dryness was helped with the sauce.

Desert: Elderflower flavoured Panna Cotta at base with layer of sliced strawberries then a layer of crumble and sorbet on the top. Above average but not outstanding.

Service was friendly. There was a 12.5% service charge which i disagree with, it’s the average London service charges and should be lower...

Summary - Amazing food and great service in a relaxed and casual environment.

Came here for a NY day’s lunch. Wow! Everything was amazing. Ordered some oysters as a supplement (£8 for 2), one natural, one fried. The fried one was my preference. unexpected and full of flavour and texture.

The mushroom truffle mousse starter was probably my favourite out of all the dishes. Smooth, crunchy, sweet, salty - it had the umami flavour with different mouth-feel - AMAZING! On top of that, it was served with this sticky brioche that helps you mop up every bit!

Beef shin pie had a great thin pastry with a generous amount of tender beef shin. I love a pie that is well-filled. This was also a mouth watering dish! Came with salad and fries.

Monk fish with Singapore mussel sauce was very well balanced. soft texture of monk fish with the concentrated mussel sauce. Packs a punch of flavours!

Dessert was a rich and smooth chocolate mousse with a salty miso ice cream. Great play on sweet and salty flavours.

Can’t highly recommend this place enough. will definitely come back...