Charlotte Bistro & Bar

The prices are relatively high for odd/​unusual fare. They might have gotten two stars if it hadn’t been for the horrible stomach cramps afterward.

Food was excellent. Very tasty. Ambiance was perfect. The only reason I knocked it down one star was the portion size was very small. My husband and I had an appetizer two entrées and one drink our bill came to $ 60. MY husband went home and ate two sandwiches and I ate a muffin. After spending $ 70 with the tip you shouldn’t go home hungry.

So excited about this restaurant! What a great «redo» of an old, somewhat tired place-​that was my first thought when walking in. Next I was thrilled to see the menu-​creative, fresh, and so many gluten free options in Groveland… what??? I couldn’t believe it-​was so surprised and pleased. My friend and I entered at almost closing time but we were welcomed and were not rushed. The food was amazing-​loved the brussel sprouts and the chicken dish and cannot remember what my friend had but she loved hers as well. Looking forward to having dinner there again on my next trip up. Yay!!! What a treat!

Overall average experience — 2 ½ stars. Dinner started out great with the well seasoned tortilla espanole and house made ginger ale then quickly went south to the heavy handed gnocchi and terrible chocolate cake for dessert. We went on a Saturday night and the place was packed. The staff did not seem to know how to manage the tables well and pressured people to leave/​kept people at the bar too long. With a little better focus on the food execution and improved front of the house skills, this place could be so much better.

This restaurant is pretty much the only decent place to eat in the immediate area. Only open for dinner while we were in town and we ate there both nights due to not only a lack of other alternatives but because the food was great. Our server who is here for the season was excellent both times, though we did get a little attitude from the bartender when I asked to try a sip of the local wine they carry as I am a bit picky about wine I drink. They don’t offer flights, otherwise I would have paid for that no problem, so I didn’t appreciate his questioning whether we are going to buy a bottle to justify the ml of wine poured. And am glad I did try it because I didn’t like it at all and the excellent server helped me the next evening to find a local wine that I really enjoyed and I so appreciated her patience and desire for me to enjoy my wine with the meal.

The food was delicious and staff friendly. However the portion sizes are small and the price is on the expensive side.

Staying @ Hotel Charlotte in Groveland on a Living Social deal & this is the very cool little restaurant in the hotel… Absolutely fabulous food & lots of veggie & gluten-​free options on the menu which makes me, the vegetarian very happy! Small portions, which I like cause with most place I usually feel completely stuffed afterwards. Hubby had a linguine duck dish with a egg yolk to break over the top for carbanara which he said was delicious. I had the small plate of the parsnip risotto but the thing not to miss is the crispy brussel sprouts… amazing!
Also…let us sit at the tables in the Lobby area so our dog could hang with us during dinner :)
Interior is all reclaimed wood & tin with a cool bar… can’t go wrong with a place where the motto is Sex + Love + Truffles = Salt + Pepper!

My husband I had the pleasure of dining here March 2^nd and we herald it as one of our most memorable meals! Situated in a small town in the Charlotte Hotel and seconds from our room there, we can’t believe our luck in having found this gem. We had the smoked duck salad to start, followed by the venison, both off the rails yummy, and for dessert we had the smoked duck salad AGAIN it was that good! The wine list is terrific and affordable as well and they also have craft beers. The best part was the beautiful yet causal ambiance that allowed us to be as private or as social as we wanted. We met a delightful brother and sister from the UK, and the owners, chef Aaron Haas and Aimee were approachable and generous with their time. You can tell they love what they do. If you are heading to Yosemite, you want to fast track to Groveland and eat here. We are DEFINITELY going back!

What a wonderful find this is in our small town. This is certainly a return to many times to come.
Thank you Aimee & Aaron for your wonderful hospitality & food.

My sister, myself, and our boyfriends spent a joint Valentine’s Day weekend at Yosemite and stayed at hotel Charlotte. We had such a delightful experience with both the food and hospitality here and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. I would definitely love to come back and highly recommend booking here if you’re looking for a clean, dog friendly, affordable, and homey getaway!
Since it was v-​day, the restaurant had a special 5-​course prix fix menu. The best part was that it was only $ 55 (incredible deal for someone who lives in SF!). Additionally, 5 different wine pairings for each course cost only $ 10 more for $ 65. Wow!
Needless to say, we loved the food or I wouldn’t be writing this review! The highlight for me were the Ling Cod and venison dishes. Who knew that deer could actually taste so good? Everything was super well seasoned and cooked. :)
The pace at which each course came out was a bit slower than we were used to, but it wasn’t like we needed to go anywhere after so it was fine. It was kind of cool that the restaurant was literally a 30 second walk away from our bedroom! Service was super friendly and it felt like we were at home.
5 stars!

The Fork and Love restaurant, under new ownership and head chef Aaron Haas knocks it out of the ballpark. The food is organic and from sustainable sources. Original and exotic menu yet with some down-​to-​earth choices. Don’t come here if you want hamburgers and fries because Aaron takes real pride in serving up a dish that delights the palate as well as the tummy.
New chef has huge job of overcoming negativity about this restaurant from previous chef but I think he’s doing a helluva job and we wish him the best of luck.
Love the Tapas Trivia Thursdays! What a kick!

So often we find on that leaving American cities for the small towns, the quality and range of dining options drops considerably. But a fantastic meal a year ago brought us back all the way from NZ to stay at Hotel Charlotte and eat at this restaurant (Fork & Love) again (twice).
While the gnocchi wasn’t quite as good as I remember it, the meals we had this time were still very very good. The highlight was the chicken main with mushrooms in a sherry sauce and dirty rice. Super tasty. The starters were also good although the pomegranate seeds were omitted on our kale salad. The desserts need work to come up to the standards of the savoury plates, the chef seems to lack the same passion/​skill to match the perfectly balanced meals. The s’mores pie, for example, is rich to inedible and lacked refinement — less really is more for the heavy stuff. And more sauce needed generally on the sweet plates.
Minor points aside, a real credit to the owners and chef to make the effort where maybe they could churn out the sub-​standard small town fare in bulk quantity and still make money, it is appreciated by some!

Awesome chef and welcoming staff. Loud, fun atmosphere. Delicious dining. Nice IPA on tap when I was there.

I had the pacific snapper. The spices were so outlandishly hot that I could not enjoy the fish. If the coating was toned down about half the intensity, I am sure it would have been a delightful taste. The presentation was excellent. The entire feeling for the place was lost with all the little kids screaming and crying. If you want the bistro to be a kid friendly place that is ok, but serve kid meals and let people know when they want an elegant restaurant they should go to another place to eat. This was my first time there in the 10 years I have lived in the area. Truly a disappointment especially when your trying to deliver a high end gourmet meal. Service was slow in the beginning, then all of the sudden were were rushed between courses. Then it took a long time to pay our bill and leave.

Really pleasantly surprised by this place. For a small town, Groveland is lucky to have it. We had the kale salad, which was superbly balanced with a pomegranate vinegar reduction and squash – an unusual combination that worked very well. The mushroom risotto needed salt, but otherwise had a great flavor. It came out immediately, which means that it was made ahead of time and reheated, but tasted delicious. The lamb meat balls were perfect – crisp on the outside and juicy and pink on the inside. We had a baked apple desert with macha green tea powder – another pleasantly surprising combination. The dining room is attractive and comfortable, and the noise level good considering the place was full. The wine list is reasonably priced as well, featuring local wines from a region that is gaining in reputation. Recommended.

We first went here last summer when we vacationed in the area. We really wanted to come back and finally did when we were back in the area. This bistro is really worth a side trip. Original, fresh, light, and just simply very tasty fare in a contemporary, yet casual setting that’s part of a very charming, modern boutique hotel. Friendly staff too. Highly recommend!

Doug, Jen and the friendly staff made our dining experience truly wonderful. Our group of 10 diners ordered a cross section of small plates and each dish was delicious, portioned nicely and beautifully presented. From there we continued on to the large plates where we had the same experience. Beautiful, delicious food. The meal was finished on a high note when we shared a selection of desserts. Glen our server was attentive and humorous striking the right balance of a more formal dinner service with genuine hospitality and warmth.

Ordered the kale salad… «with cojita cheese, a pomegranate vinaigrette & braised kabucha squash.» Asked to add chicken. $ 18.
The salad came out with some sort of fried chicken nuggets on it. Okay, I didn’t specify, but doesn’t this seem like an odd way to cook chicken for a salad? Apparently it was the only chicken they had. They took it back and added pork in its place, as this was apparently the only meat they had which wasn’t fried. The pork came out cold, however, straight from the fridge, as they said they had no way to cook without using a great deal of oil. (Somehow I’ve managed well at home, but hey, I’m no professional chef.)
The kale tasted like cardboard — i.e. Safeway or Cosco rather than farmer’s market. At the end of the day it was $ 18 for cold pulled pork, a few cojita sprinkles, and cardboard kale.
½ star for quality and ½ for customer service. I should have listened to the boyfriend and ordered tacos next door.

Awesome restaurant ! The food is excellent and the service is great too !!
If you are near Yosemite stop by this place it is wonderful.

I don’t know how they did it. But they make mac n cheese (Kid’s menu) that is a lot like Kraft (which is what I really want when I’m trying to feed a 6 year old.) But better… maybe it is Kraft but with cream?
Everything else was great. We had the Poutine & the BLT. Scarfed all of it. Good Moscow mule as well.

You should eat here! The food was simply amazing. I had the pulled pork tacos and stole bites of the yam gnocchi and s’mores dessert from my friend and it was all really delicious. Service was fast but not rushed and the staff were super friendly. Will definitely be stopping here on all our trips to Yosemite!

4 ½ stars would be about right for this visit…
This was our second time in, and everything was as delicious as the first time! The only reason I would take a half star is the de-​constructed carrot cake and pricing on the appetizers and deserts.
We started with the trout deviled eggs for $ 8, when we asked how many eggs, the waitress (very nice and attentive) said 4. I assumed that meant 4 eggs (duh) cut in half. It actually meant 4 HALF eggs, aka 2 eggs. They were delicious, but I think $ 2 for a half egg is a bit much.
For our entrees I again had the phenomenal pork tamale with mole; no complaints at all! My partner had the honey pineapple chili chicken with cole slaw, also phenomenal and no complaints (on taste or price).
Then we had the carrot cake… for $ 11… «OK,» I thought, «maybe it’s just the best carrot cake ever, and it will be a giant piece we can take some home…» Not so much… It was good carrot cake, but the «deconstructed» fashion it was presented in was kind of annoying. The frosting was not on the cake, but on the side, and the frosting itself seemed to be deconstructed. The cream cheese was in a big scoop on one side, and sugar/​spice mixture that would normally be incorporated into the frosting was drizzled across the bottom of the plate. The walnuts were also on the side as were some carrots and a thin carrot purée. Altogether, everything tasted good, but it felt a little like I was the one preparing our desert. If the chef put it all back together again (and lowered the price a touch) it would be great!
At any rate, this is one of my favorite places to eat anywhere, and you would be smart to give it a try!

Wow!
Tucked in a small town of less than 100 just outside of Yosemite, this restaurant serves some kick ass fantastic food. The price is low given the quality of the food, and the amount of attention they put into the details is quite amazing. The chili pineapple chicken is very savory, with a large bed of marinated salad underneath. The pork cutlet is Huge, and very, very soft. The lamb meatballs was also very creamy and juicy. The calamari was unlike any I’ve had elsewhere, with artistically applied pesto sauce.
All the dishes were served in a hand-​held chef plate. Classy
Finally, they also serve locally brewed beer – both the stout and the pilsner beers of the day were very refreshing.
Add to that a fancy interior décor, with a old-​town vibe, wooden furniture, and dim glass-​lamp lights, and you’ll find yourself having a good meal and a great time.
Definitely recommend coming to this place

My experience was just okay, but this place has a lot of potential and is probably the best (only) option for fine dining in Groveland. The food is very unique and seems well planned. However, the execution of the food wavered for me.
We sat upstairs on the patio which was lovely (except for the terribly loud motorcyclists from time to time). The service is slower up there which makes sense because it’s a long ways from the actual restaurant, so just prepare yourself for that.
We ordered:
One glass of each of the two $ 6 per glass red wines. I liked the first one on the menu the best.
Tomato & grilled red pepper soup with grilled cheese — the soup was interesting but it had a weird flavor that I didn’t totally enjoy. Also, the grilled cheese didn’t make a strong impact on my palate. For a $ 10 serving of soup and grilled cheese, I wanted this to be amazing and it fell short.
The Hoppy Farms Mixed Vegetables in Green Curry — the spices were good and the carrots were amazing, however it didn’t seem like the zucchini took in all of the curry flavors. Basically, it felt like I was eating zucchini with green curry sauce on top, it didn’t feel integrated and I didn’t like that. Other guests at our hotel said they ordered this dish on both Friday and Saturday night and it was much better on Friday… So maybe there is a different Chef on Friday that can teach the Saturday chef how to make it better.
The Honey Pineapple Chicken — this was a showstopper and was absolutely amazing. My husband and I absolutely loved this dish and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.
For dessert, we first ordered the carrot cake. I have never sent anything back but I sent back this dessert. It was not good. The cream cheese whipped cream that the carrot cake was laying on tasted salty and gross. I had one bite and asked for a new dessert. The server was very kind and gladly brought us a the peanut butter chocolate mousse at no extra charge. This was better, but it still wasn’t something I would order again. It also tasted a little salty which is an odd thing to taste in a dessert. The cacao chips were very bitter. The only other dessert option was passionfruit pudding or something which doesn’t sound like something I would like, so I would probably skip dessert until they change their menu.
I would hesitantly recommend this restaurant. I think it has a lot of potential but they need to work on some of their recipes. It sounds like the food was very different on Friday night (better food) than Saturday night (worse food) so if they had different chefs on those nights they should look into training their Saturday night chef better.

Amazing tapas with spectacular bright flavors and twists. The garlic soup was snappy and complex. The lamb meatballs on with a fresh pesto and pecorino. The pineapple chicken was on top of a kale, fennel, green onion and mango salad with the lightest of spice to the dressing. Yam gnocci with texture with two sauces one truffle oil was probably my favorite presentation of gnocci ever. The truffle potatoes probably were over shadowed but certainly nothing to complain over.
Our server was a beautiful young woman with an eye for detail and just a pleasant person to have been acquainted. She described everything with passion and joy and the rest of the servers back each other up beautifully. We were never left wanting.
Stop in here you should be very happy!
If you are inexperienced with Tapas, and high end dining and are of the insane belief the hand crafted boutique organic foods should be cheap heaping gobs, I suggest you fly to Portugal where they keep a slice of bread over your wine to keep the flies out. At least the cost will be cheap.

Really loved this place. New ownership since our last trip through Groveland. Complete remodel– dining room has warm, rustic feel with contemporary flare. Service super. Sincere and attentive. (pet peeve though– I wish young folk would quit saying «no problem» — can we start a movement?).
Great menu. Unique dishes. Food amazing. Stuffed dates, pineapple chicken especially noteworthy.
AND they have a pet friendly section in the lobby. Love it!
AND we hope to stay at the hotel next time we’re in town.

Quality food in a small town. 5 stars on all accounts. Food, ambience, staff, service and drinks. Very unique menu offering and to top it all the food is organic and made fresh. Try the lamb meatballs and compressed strawberry and chard salad.
If you are staying with them the breakfast is complimentary it’s simple but awesome.

Chef Doug Edwards, may be transplanted to Groveland, CA or the one-​time western frontier. He too may have been transported over one century and a few decades, & from Italian descendants and possible culinary masters, to his influence on a masterful menu. He chooses the freshest ingredients, mingles & minces them so considerably and offers a colorful and creative fare. The restaurant features tapas style cuisine, local beer and wine (with some high notes) and a deconstructed and delicious smores.
Visited September 2013