Charleston

My girlfriends took me gear for my birthday. The restaurant has a great atmosphere, the service is top tier and the Chef Cindy Wolf offers delicious menu. The service was stellar and everyone on the team worked together to make sure each guest had a great dining experience. Our head waiter was fabulous and knew the menu very well. The portions are just right and the menu is not extensive but still offered a variety flavors. My favorite dish is the VERMONT GOAT CHEESE AGNOLOTTI! The flavors were perfect! I also loved the purple haze cheese that was served between dinner and dessert. I would absolutely suggest experiencing Charleston.

I gasped when I tasted the scallop and the smoked salmon. I don't like usually like salmon, and the one I had here was so delicious I took some home to enjoy later! The scallop was incredible; the best scallop and mashed potatoes I have ever tasted. The atmosphere was very calm which is just what I wanted. And I'm not a big fan of alcohol, so they made me a sprite with peach syrup mocktail! The first taste I had was a soup with butternut and I could not have asked for anything better. It was an experience I will never forget. I have to come back to try everything!

Every city has its own unique fine dining experiences. The Charleston is the one you want to try when you are in Baltimore. It is a beautiful restaurant that elevates its diners upwards to another level. Their menu is prix fixe. You can choose between a three course meal and up. The rich lobster soup was divine and similar to many well prepared lobster bisques, but with the added touch of curry. A very smart and delicious idea. My wife's carrot & tomato soup was also a wonderful concoction. My pan roasted scallops was a good dish, but not my favorite. Bacon wrapped sea scallops are hard to execute in a way that seems elegant. My wife's arugula salad was very well seasoned and the dressing was especially simple, yet good. Next was my bison tenderloin which was prepared extremely well. It had iust the right amount of heat to balance the delicious flavor. My wife's shrimp and avocado was a bit simplistic and bland. I did not enjoy my chocolate cake. It ate a bit dry. The wine pairings with each dish were okay, but not earth shattering or exciting in any way. Don't get me wrong, the wines were great. The pairings were okay at best. The star of this restaurant was actually the olive bread. Between me eating at this restaurant and writing this review I have eaten at several amazing restaurants. A three star Michelin restaurant, a top chef restaurant, and so on. I cannot stop thinking about this bread. Kudos to whomever decided to have it as part of the bread selection and kudos to whomever baked it. Finally, the staff was superb. The chef and owner(s) should feel proud to have a front of house team like they have at the Charleston.

We rarely splurge on fine dining experiences, but it was a special occasion and Charleston has had a special place in my heart for years. I finally returned for my first meal since COVID and unfortunately, the experience didn’t live up to the memories. I really wanted our night here to be magical but it was a major disappointment instead. My dishes had one of two distinct flavor profiles: salty or sour (vinegary)- it lacked depth. The octopus was overcooked and chewy. Everything fried had the same tempura which was quite greasy. The cocktails were unimaginative and flavorless. The service was attentive but not the quality I remember pre-covid. It was moderately busy and there was a lot going on so it was hard to concentrate on our experience. The waiter topped my glass with tap water - too bad I was drinking sparkling water. However, another waiter came to ask if I wanted my water glass replaced right away. (We were charged for the sparkling water.) we had to wait a little while for our dessert, so by the time we got to enjoy it, it was past closing. As we were wrapping up our meal, the staff had begun congregating in the middle of the dining room chatting while others were cleaning and ironing the tablecloths. It made me fell rushed to leave. I still love Charleston and would recommend you to try. However, make sure to tamper your expectations as to not be severely disappointed.