Charles Inn

One of the best meals I’ve ever had. Enjoyed a tenderloin special with shaved white truffles and foie gras. Crème brûlée for dessert was perfect. Definitely will come back during wine tasting weekends!

Very reasonable price for the excellent service and good food!
Various choices of wine
Shepherd’s pie was very tasty, they used beef tenderloin instead of ground meat.
Great music they play
Quite, nice décor

Love it here. Very friendly, cozy and great food at breakfast. We spend our Niagara wine tasting weekends at The Charles and will always come back.

My husband and I made a lunch reservation for a Saturday. We didn’t realize that the Ice Wine Fest was going on right down the street that day. The neighborhood is historic and beautiful, so arriving at the Charles Inn was a pleasant journey. (We’re from Buffalo, NY so it was about an hour away from home.)
Once inside, it’s quite clear how historic the building is. They did a great job making it appeal to the modern guest while still retaining all of its historical value. The receptionist was delightful and showed us across the hall into the eating area. It was 100% empty! We chose a table for two right in front of the fireplace. The room is just beautiful, with lots of antiques, nostalgic pieces, and comfortable seating.
Our waiter was very pleasant and attentive. Our lunches were out in no time. We ordered the hand cut french fries with aioli, my husband had the roasted grain-​fed chicken, and I had the shepherds pie with a glass of local wine. We thoroughly enjoyed our meals, not a crumb was left behind on our plates! The serving size, which may seem small at first glance, was actually quite filling! I’ve read a few negative reviews regarding the size of the meals, but what we ordered was just right.
All-​in-​all, this restaurant is worth every penny spent. The people are very nice, the ambiance is comfortable, and the experience was enough to bring us right back next time we want to take a little drive across the border.

Five guys went here for lunch during November’s Fabulicious event. I had the Butternut squash risotto to start, which was well prepared and presented, if a little light in amount. (however it was a $ 25 three course lunch!) My main was the crisp-​skin salmon with fingerling potatoes and parsnip purée. Very nicely done, as agreed by others having the same. Dessert was crème brûlée, nice and light to end the meal. With a pint of beer and coffee and tax the bill was $ 39.
All in the group thought it was good value.

A year after my first review, I would still say the best food in NOTL but service was inattentive and restaurant isn’t as clean as it could be. A five course meal with wine pairings was beyond the waitstaff ‘s expertise to manage, despite the best of efforts. Chair seat cushions were stained and our menus were spotted, assumedly with dried food. At this price point, service and cleanliness are not acceptable

Food was very good but quality inconsistent. We went twice, for dinner the appetizers were great and the foie gras divine, but my salmon arrived undercooked and slightly raw inside. Lunch on the patio was good, nice salad and good cocktails but my burger was way overcooked and dry. They use very good quality ingredients, nice presentation and service but somewhere in the kitchen things go awry.

As a threshold matter, we were seated in a dark corner in the middle of the restaurant, literally right next to the service stand where they set aside used dishware and decanted wine. Ten minutes in, we noticed some dark specks on the wall next to us. Turns out it was about half a dozen fly-​type insects (see picture). Gross. About a dozen insects acted as our dinner companions throughout dinner. And we saw far more of those bugs than our server.
I expect this type of thing to happen at a local diner or dive, not a «fine» dining establishment where you’re paying about $ 100 per person. Makes me worry about what goes on behind closed doors. Word to the wise — do not order a bottle of wine at this restaurant and let them decant it for you. We noticed the staff tried to place a napkin over the decanter for a bottle ordered by another table that sat right next to us. It attracted a number of curious creatures as well, particularly when the napkin fell off. This leads to me to believe they’re fully aware of the problem, and just don’t care. You’re better off trying to find a wine which has a screw top or skipping it altogether.
As for the food, it was decent, but certainly not good enough to make up for the «ambience.» It’s supposed to be ‘modern French with a regional flare’ but it didn’t strike me as remotely French, having just been to France early this summer. Most disappointing was the «72-​hour» short rib portion of the $ 38 beef entrée I ordered. My wife’s looked ok, but mine turned out to be just a charred lump of fat (see picture). I tried to eat the meat parts of it, but it was pretty disgusting overall. I’ll be a darned if they cooked that for 72 hours properly so that the fat rendered, much less used a proper cut of meat. What a shame.
And another thing — the iced tea. Most places will give you a refill without asking. Here, our waiter just took our glasses away and never even asked if we wanted another. Overall, I’d try any of the other great-​looking dining options along Queen Street before I ever came back to this place. They’re probably cheaper, and much less buggy. Like I said, the food wasn’t bad on the whole, but the combination of everything pretty much ruined the experience.

Really love here. I just spent my lunch at the patio. And I really regret that I didn’t take the dinner menu. The lunch menu is a great value, too. Most are around $ 10. What I mean is that after tasting the lunch menu, I think I really should try the dinner cuz it is sooooo good. The soup du jour is a little rich, but the duck sandwich is amazing, they do have the duck on the dinner menu from which you could have more duck meat. And the dessert crème brûlée is certainly one of the best I had ever. Moreover, this is really a beautiful place to dine.

We went here recently as a part of the Niagara Vintage Wine Tours dinner package. The service was exceptional and the food was really good. Only down side for me was that it was a set menu so our options were a little more basic, and very limited. Wines were paired well with each course. Location is great if you are staying at NIagara-​on-​the-​Lake. I would definitely go back here to eat from the full menu if I were in the area.

The best dining experience we have had in a very long time! The fois gras was truly exceptional if you’re looking to splurge. We had the tenderloin and the chicken which were also both absolutely amazing! We also had a look at the lounge menu which they serve in the lounge/​bar area for both lunch and dinner and it looked so delicious we may have to go back! The service was excellent and the server also told us about a pub-​style night they have on Tuesdays where the chef puts a fine-​dining twist on traditional pub fare. We will be back!

Food was worth 10 stars, staff are excellent, our waiter Dylan was excellent. Wife and I stayed for a one night get-away.even though it was extremely cold, being January, we loved it and plan to return in late summer. My reason for four stars instead of five, room was warm, but bathroom was an ice cube.

Superb food, service and décor. I’ve eaten many a meal in NOTL and the Charles Inn is simply the best. A more limited menu than many American diners might be used to but understand the inn’s interest in using Ontario, and ideally Niagara Region, produce.
Insiders note: The large, chandelier-​lit dining room also has a small, rear alcove in a more intimate, contemporary décor that might be appealing to some diners but disappointing to others seeking out the historic décor and grand dining room sense of occasion the inn is so good at. Purely personal taste.

The Charles can be a bit pricey but if you sit in the lounge it is perfectly reasonably priced and super food. A small but ok draught beer selection but nice cocktail selection. Try the shepard’s pie. It is to die for! The Charles is situated about a 5 – 10 minute walk from the theaters which is simple but also makes if slightly less crowded than some of the downtown spots.

For our anniversary, my husband and I had an excellent dinner from the tasting menu with wine pairings. This is a beautiful setting with excellent menu offerings and outstanding service — great for special occasions. The food’s presentation was impeccable, our server was very knowledgable on the entire menu and wine selections and transitions times between courses were very smooth. The dining experience at Charles Inn was simply stellar on all counts. You won’t be disappointed!

I came here for dinner last Saturday night. I felt like I was the youngest in the room, but the dinner space was full. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their meals. It was mainly older couples dining here.
I started off with the gnocchi which melted in my mouth. It was excellent. For my main, I had the Pickerel which I enjoyed very much. My only complaint was that the crust on the fish was a bit too salty for my liking. However it was a delicious meal. My boyfriend ordered the Chicken breast with the bacon-​scented polenta. The polenta was a bit too rich for our taste, but the chicken was nice and tender. We didn’t have any room for dessert, but definitely enjoyed our dinning experience very much at the Charles Inn.
Service was spot on through the entire night, our entrees took some time to come out, but that was alright. One thing I did enjoy was that we would receive new cutlery for each course. That’s a sign of a good restaurant.

As part of our wine tour with Niagara Vintage Wine Tours [
we were taken to Charles Inn for a really memorable dinner. The atmosphere was very romantic, the service swift and responsive and the food well executed.
They were able to accommodate Gluten-​Free/​Dairy Free with notice (and some reminders– a mistake was made but rectified quickly).
I had the Ontario Beef which was cooked perfectly to medium rare and was enjoyed thoroughly. The wine pairings we were given were generous pours for each course and nicely matched the food.

Excellent food and service at Charles Inn. My boyfriend and I stayed at a near by Bed & Breakfast and the package we got came with a three-​course meal at this restaurant. We got to each choose any appetizer, main course, and dessert. It was divine. We had an artichoke purée amuse-​bouche, the scallops and bacon appetizer, foie gras appetizer, beef tenderloin main, pork tenderloin main, and we both had the crème brûlée with an ice wine pairing. Absolutely delicious!
I would definitely come back here and I would recommend this restaurant to anyone. Mind you, this is a four-​diamond restaurant and the prices can be quite hefty. Our meal came with our B&B package, but normally it would cost ~$ 100 each person for appetizer, main, dessert, drinks, taxes, and gratuities.

The lounge menu is the best deal in town. We were staying at a B&B nearby but didn’t feel like paying an arm and a leg for dinner. Luckily, another visitor at a winery pointed us to Charles Inn.
As we waited for our food to be served, we played cards and read magazines.
I had the Parmesan Mac & Cheese with Truffle Oil and Wild Mushrooms and it was rich and fantastic. The bf ordered the Sheppard’s Pie and the beef was so tender and delicious. Both dishes were excellent interpretations of classics and each dish was only $ 15.

Wonderful place. The rooms are spotless and full of charm. The apple room small but cozy. Highly recommended for a nice little get away.