The Charter Oak Restaurant — Restaurant in St. Helena

Not worth it…

My husband and I came here for our anniversary earlier this week and wanted to go all out, so we made reservations for The Charter Oak, which we’ve heard a lot of good things and hype, etc. We noted on the reservation that I have some food allergies, including a fish allergy, plus that we were celebrating our first anniversary.

The restaurant is absolutely lovely, a quiet courtyard setting. The restaurant was very accommodating with us bringing our small dog, too, which is always a bonus!

We opted for the $120pp tasting menu - a very reasonable price for Napa Valley. Whatever I had put in the reservation regarding my allergies was not communicated to the server, so I made sure to tell them what they were and asked if the tasting menu could accommodate it. The server checked with the chef and said it would be more than possible, with a few adjustments, mostly my husband getting a whole dish of caviar to himself. The server rattled off what we’d be getting, including crudités, housemade sourdough bread, Caesar miso salad, and lamb.

We ordered a bottle of wine from the very knowledgeable sommelier, who worked with us to find a 2016 Sancerre that would work with each component of the meal. It was a brilliant choice!

First course was a total hit. The crudité platter and dip was next level, which I normally wouldn’t say about raw veggies, but they were so fresh - you could tell they were straight from the garden. The sourdough bread and stracciatella was phenomenal.

Then… disaster. The salad came out. The Caesar miso salad. Of course, I know Caesar salads are traditionally made with anchovies, so I had to know how they made me a fish-free Caesar, and I was genuinely curious. I asked “There’s no fish in this, right?” The server (someone new who hadn’t been helping our table until now) said, let me check, and went to the kitchen. She returned and whisked the salad away. A new salad came out with radicchio and apples. Our original server said something like “The kitchen sent out the wrong salad, this is the right one for your table.” No apology, nothing! If I hadn’t asked, I could have wound up in the ER and ruined our evening.

The meal continued on… the lamb was OK, and the mushrooms were a bit tough and too chewy to really enjoy. The white beans were wonderful.

Dessert was only fine, too. The mochi cake is nothing to write home about, although we did get a candle stuck in it for our anniversary. I’m actually a bit surprised that it wasn’t acknowledged before. We dropped well over $400 for this dinner and nobody so much as sent out glasses of champagne. I know margins are as tight as ever for restaurants right now but it felt a bit weird to have a field in the reservation form to input information like that and then nothing being made special other than a candle. I don’t usually care much about this stuff, but I care enough to write about it here I guess.

The servers here seem to be very educated on how to interface with customers in a specific way. All the non-confrontational and passive-tone language, from “Let’s have a conversation about the wine list,” to “If this is something that’s comfortable for you” (when discussing the tasting menu), is completely moot when clearly very basic details, like life-threatening allergies, are completely glossed over. I also noticed that the second we committed to the tasting menu and bottle of wine, our servers (yes, plural) seemed far less attentive/concerned with us and may have only cared about the selling of a few big ticket items and then leaving us to deal with the meal.

The check came, and had three extra items on it other than the two tasting menus and the wine. They were just itemized there. I’m glad I caught it because we could have been out for another $100.

This restaurant seems like it could be incredible, it just appears there’s a few basic things that need to get sorted out, before someone with far worse allergies than me pays the price. I’d be happy to come back eventually if I knew some of these issues...

Ideally, I'd give this place a 3.5/5.

The Charter Oak offers a beautiful setting and a menu that showcases high-quality ingredients. While the experience has its strong points, a few inconsistencies kept it from being a slam dunk.

The restaurant's interior boasts a grand atmosphere. High ceilings and an open layout create a sense of airiness, while exposed brick (on the outside and plush seating add a touch of warmth. The dedicated meat-cooking area allows guests a glimpse of the culinary action and adds a touch of visual intrigue.

We opted for a selection of dishes to share: the signature Charter Oak bread, the Flannery 14-day dry-aged ribeye with brown butter hollandaise, the black roasted cod with daylily pesto, and the upside-down cake for dessert.

The bread and house-cultured butter were a clear winner. Warm and crusty bread paired perfectly with the rich, salty butter. However, the sides served with the bread were a bit overdone, offering a touch of unintended bitterness.

The Flannery ribeye was a huge letdown. While cooked to a good degree overall, the silver skin remained somewhat tough, making parts of the meat chewy. Additionally, the lack of pre-emptive inquiry about our preferred doneness felt like a missed opportunity. The richness of the meat could have benefited from a touch more salt to complement the tangy brown butter hollandaise. For being the most expensive dish on the menu, this was a major letdown.

The black roasted cod, on the other hand, was a triumph. The fish itself was cooked perfectly – crispy skin gave way to a juicy and delicate interior, expertly deboned for a seamless dining experience. The citrusy daylily pesto complemented the fish beautifully.

The upside-down cake fell a bit short. While the cake itself was alright, the tartness of the yogurt overpowered the sweetness of the cake, resulting in an unbalanced flavor profile.

The service was efficient and friendly. Our meals arrived promptly, and our server was attentive throughout the evening. However, neglecting to ask about our preferred doneness for the ribeye felt like a minor oversight in an otherwise attentive experience.

The Charter Oak offers a beautiful dining experience in Napa Valley. The stunning ambiance, high-quality ingredients, and fast service make it a strong contender. However, some inconsistencies with the steak and the imbalance in the dessert detracted from a perfect experience. For those seeking a stylish setting with delicious, well-sourced options, The Charter Oak is still worth a visit but maybe steer away...

3 stars because our server was good, the food was fine, but then had a strange experience at the end of our lunch (felt like discrimination).

Went on a Friday afternoon with some girlfriends. We had a reservation at 1:00PM and called to say we were running 10 minutes late. The restaurant sternly informed us that they'd only reserve our spot for 15 minutes. Got there in time, and were seated outdoors in a back corner around no other tables. I thought "pandemic times, better that we're seated over here".

Pros: -Simple menu with good food. (ordered the Beef Tartar to start the table off, then the halibut with rice for the main) -Beautiful outdoor seating (pandemic safe) and great ambiance -Servers and staff in masks (Christopher F. was our server and he was outstanding - definitely asked to be seated in his section)

Cons: (this is where it got strange) -After we finished our meal and got the bill, we were chatting for about 5 minutes still at our table. A male worker walks over to our table, doesn't say a word - no introduction, no "how did you like your meal today", nothing. He then touches my water cup - doesn't clear it, doesn't ask if I want more water, just touches it like he's going to pick it up. Then he let go of my cup, picked up the menus off our table and then starts collecting our napkins. I understand when a restaurant is busy and they're trying to turnover tables for more guests, but this wasn't that. It was about 2:45pm almost 3:00pm there were other free tables - so space wasn't an issue. This odd interaction felt very much like we were not welcome there. He was definitely telling us to leave without saying any words. We still don't know who that was. After that, I felt like if we white, that probably would not have happened to us. It was all very strange. -limited food menu (3 salads, 3 sandwiches, 3 mains, 3 sides to choose from) -Not very friendly on the phone

My friends and I went to Napa to celebrate, and that whole situation at the end of our lunch at The Charter Oak left us all puzzled and unwilling to recommend this place to friends. Good customer service matters to me, and this place is lacking...