I’ve had a great experience every time I’ve dined here. Amazing food, friendly and warm service, beautiful decor and location. Char is an eccentric and fascinating host.

Wow. I couldn’t be more surprised by the three negative reviews. My husband and I dined there recently and had a great experience. True, the prices are relatively steep. And true, the French bistro-style seating means you may have to listen to a half-drunk patron two feet from you ramble inanely. But the food was fresh, imaginative and perfectly prepared. The service was prompt, efficient and warm. Char herself hovered about, keeping an eye on things.
The amuse bouche (smooth herbed goat cheese piped onto a crisp, cold cucumber slice) was a work of art, and I’m not even a fan of goat cheese. I ordered escargot fricasee — delicious, not rubbery, and without a speck of sand. I also had the pasta-and-seared-scallop dish and raved to my husband about how perfectly prepared those little suckers were. The drink special (a blood orange-infused martini) was sublime. The front of the house was spic-and-span clean; no dust visible on the whimsical blown-glass art.
I recently met a woman who said Char’s Bella Mundo is her favorite restaurant hands down.
You know, I always wonder what people’s standards must be when reading glowing reviews of restaurants that are clearly third-rate and circling the drain. I think, “They must be clueless. How could they have enjoyed THAT?”
Perhaps Char’s made some improvements between 2007 and ‘08. I enthusiastically recommend it.