My first review - Charlotte's Bistro, Chiswick, London

Having heard great things about the original Charlotte's place in Ealing and had many an assured word about the quality of dining to be experienced there, it was not long before I wandered along to their new offering on Turnham Green Terrace.

The decor has changed from the Fishworks restaurant that was its predecessor, the layout is the same, and there is still the roof light that allows the summer sun to warm you, should it ever grace our isle with its presence again.

I arrived before my two fellow diners, and was shown to my seat by the perfectly pleasant waiter. I couldn't help but think that given they were less than busy, an offering to hang up my coat would not have gone amiss. I busied myself with the menu during the short wait for my company to arrive.

To start I chose the pear and Roquefort salad, the latter being a favourite of mine, and the quality of the cheese did not disappoint. The pear it was served with was rather lacking in texture and flavour. The beetroot might not as well have been on the plate aside from the fact it brought a bit of colour. Thankfully the bottle of Beaujolais we had ordered surpassed expectations as had the bread, although there was an annoying £1 cover charge for this.

On to the main event, a supreme of chicken wrapped in wild garlic leaves and Parma ham served with dauphinoise potato and spinach, dressed in a morel mushroom sauce. Although this dish did take longer than it needed to, it was worth the wait. The garlic leaves and Parma ham went very well with the chicken and gave it a good seasoning. The cooking was spot on. The dauphinoise soft and creamy within, golden brown on top, the spinach tender and the sauce made with Marsala and chicken consomme, complimented the dish very well. It is in the sauce that my only real gripe with the main course lies. It was not a morel mushroom sauce. There were two tiny pieces of morel in the sauce. Not enough to give flavour or reason to call it a morel mushroom sauce. Having recently seen morels at £50/kilo I can understand why, but it is my belief that morels are at best situated on the menus of fine dining restaurants, where the chef can afford to be generous with them, not on bistro menus just for show.

To close the evening's proceedings, I chose the creme brulee. It is a favourite and I consider it the omelette test of the dessert world. It arrived in the perfect flat, round dish. The creme was of the right consistency and flecked with vanilla seeds, the only thing I could critique was the fact that the brulee part was a bit thin towards the edges. That did not stop me from eating it all though.

The service throughout was good, if at times a little over enthusiastic (they always ask if everything is ok just when you have your mouth full don't they?), but good enough for me to forget about the coat.

I look forward to going back and seeing how the menu changes with the seasons and to see if the restaurant has relaxed into itself a bit more, all in all a pleasant dining experience.

Charlotte's Bistro, 6 Turnham Green Terrace, Chiswick, W4 1QP, 020 8742 3590.