Price, quality, and some of best local and organic produce I have ever had. The Charter Oak is by far my favorite restaurant in all of St. Helena.
Why did I fall in love with The Charter Oak? They’re attempt at honest food is spot on. Everything is pure and done with purpose from the ingredient selection to the decor and handling of the food. They only choose to highlight one or two ingredients at a time. Simplicity at it’s best and that’s exactly how I like my cuisine when I’m at home. I try to keep my number of ingredients to just a few, so as to not overtake the taste of the olive oil, scallion, or whatever the ingredient may be.
The restaurant was highly recommended to me by Brian who curated my Napa Valley itinerary, the General Manager at my stay, The Ink House. The Charter Oak is managed by 2 chefs, one of whom is the second American-born chef and third-youngest chef to receive three Michelin stars—Chef Christopher Kostow. The other is Chef Katianna Hong, the first female chef de cuisine at a Michelin three-star restaurant in America.
The restaurant is located across from Pizzeria Tra Vigne, which Pat and I had visited the night before. In fact, The Charter Oak is currently located in were Tra Vigne’s original building used to be. A lot of Tra Vigne’s original structure is still there from the old brick, wood, steel building, and two old lion statues guarding the front entrance. However, the interior has been completely reimagined to bring the heart and local culture of Napa Valley to life in it’s most simplest manner. Whether it’s the food or the integration of local artisans work and woodwork, you can really get a sense of local Napa Valley culture.
The inside seating of The Charter Oak The outside seating of The Charter Oak
One of the features that really stood out to me till this day was the functionality of the oak tables at The Charter Oak. The restaurant’s aim was to be casual, but I think they managed to do so with a touch of artisanal design. Each comfortable leather seat at the thick oak tables has its own pitcher of water and is equipped with personal utensil drawer. If at any point during the meal, I needed a new spoon or fork, I just needed to open my utensil drawer and take a new one right out. How clever!
The menu is handed to us in a hardcover book entitled The Oak Collector. Another simple yet relevant touch that I very much enjoyed. Our menu was tucked in between the pages for us to read. The menu contains three sections: starters ($8 per portion), mids ($16 per portion) and mains ($24 per portion).
The hearth at the heart of the restaurant has a wood-fire burning, grilling meats and roasting veggies and other products that are hanging on the side of the blackened steel unit. The smell of burning wood gives an extra touch of hospitality and down to earthness to the place.
Our waiter brings out house made bread and butter, I have a soft spot for homemade bread and this tasted like something my mother would make from scratch. Simply put, gluten-ously amazing.
We were originally going to pass on the starters, but our waiter insisted we try the heirloom tomato salad that was in season while we were there in September. He said we would not regret it and we did not. The tomatoes were so sweet they reminded me of the tomatoes I would uncontrollably indulge in in Sicily. Super simple, just some olive oil, heirloom tomatoes, and one other ingredient, but god where they good! Now the price…was well…quite crazy for just a few tomatoes, but I was on vacation so I overlooked the outrageous price of $22 for a salad appetizer. The cost was basically as much as our main dish. If you want good taste an are willing to spend, I would overlook the price as well and just order it!
Everything from the appetizer to the main dishes is served family style. As our main, Pat and I ordered the pork shoulder ($28) and smoked beef rib ($28) with a side of french fries ($8) and hearth roasted carrots ($12). The price may seem high, but everything was organic and to be quite honest, out of this world savory. In fact, my favorite meals of the night were the carrots and heirloom tomatoes believe it or not.
At The Charter Oak, keeping the food limited to just a few simple ingredients means making sure that they are of the highest quality and flavor. A lot of the produce comes from Meadwoods garden, but they try and mix as many local and artisanal ingredients as possible. They let the produce speak for itself rather than masquerade with a ton of different ingredients.
The Pork Shoulder The Smoked Beef Rib and Fries The Heirloom Roasted Carrots
After all the food we ate, we really and I mean really badly wanted to try the dessert. But we were way to full to justify spending another $20 on a dessert. They definitely made it hard to say no to though. A dessert cart would walk around during the evening with a selection of desserts. Guests would then on the spot be able to order what they wanted as the chef prepared it for the m table-side. Some mouth-watering desserts included: Buffalo Milk Ice Cream and Pavlova (this is what I would’ve ordered within a heartbeat!), Date Cake, Upside Down Apple Tart, Pavlova filled with Olive Oil Custard atop House made Strawberry Jam, and more.
The dessert cart that would make it’s rounds during the evening
All in all, the price is expensive and that I will not deny. But the food is some of the best food I have had in America to this day. It was almost on par with what I had in Sicily. Simple organic fare with attention to taste, technique, and consumption. If you’re looking to taste the Napa Valley terroir, head here now.
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