The Charleston, Bakewell: A Star Is Born - Restaurant Review

The Charleston, Rutland Square, Bakewell DE45 1BT. Brunch served daily 9am-4pm. Brunch dishes £8.95-£22.95. Cocktails from £12. Coffee from £3.35. Dinner also available.

For well over a year, anyone walking through the centre of Bakewell has probably found themselves slowing down outside the old Royal Bank of Scotland building.

First it was the builders. Then the scaffolding came down. The Charleston sign appeared above the door. Illuminated menu cases were mounted outside. Festoon lights were strung across the courtyard. Every time we wandered past, something new seemed to have appeared and, with each visit, the curiosity grew.

Today, we finally stepped inside.

The Charleston officially opens to the public this weekend, but we were invited along to experience brunch ahead of launch. It isn't often a new restaurant opens in the Peak District with quite this level of anticipation and, if we're honest, our expectations were already pretty high.

Walking through the front door, the first thing you notice is the bar stretching out in front of you. It immediately feels different. Glamorous without trying too hard. Warm rather than intimidating. Elegant, but still unmistakably Bakewell.

Being Bakewell, of course, we barely made it six seconds before spotting people we knew. Parents from our son's school. Familiar local faces. A couple of hugs with Longbow Venues founder Rob Hattersley, Operations Director Stephen Atkinson and General Manager Josh Butler, who many readers will recognise from nearby sister venue The Ashford Arms. It felt less like arriving somewhere brand new and more like turning up to a community celebration.

Considering we were in the middle of a heatwave, the whole team seemed cool as cucumbers. The restaurant was busy, everyone was finding their feet and opening day was only hours away, yet there wasn't the slightest hint of panic. Service was warm, polished and relaxed throughout, while the strategically placed air conditioning units dotted around the dining rooms were very gratefully received by anyone who'd just walked through Bakewell in thirty-degree sunshine.

Then there is the interior. What can I say? It's gorgeous.

Inspired by the glamour of the 1920s, The Charleston manages to feel luxurious without becoming theatrical. A sweeping pink Art Deco chandelier catches your eye above the staircase, velvet curtains frame enormous windows, polished brass sits alongside dark timber and richly coloured walls, while every corner seems to reveal another thoughtful detail. Bold wallpaper, eclectic artwork and playful nods to the Roaring Twenties give the restaurant real personality rather than simply making it look expensive.

Even the cutlery has a story. It's made by Legacy Silverware, one of the last remaining manufacturers still producing cutlery entirely in Sheffield.

There's a baby grand piano downstairs ready for the live jazz, soul and swing evenings planned throughout the week, and even the loos deserve their own paragraph, perhaps even their own separate review. Dramatic floral wallpaper, geometric floor tiles, brass mirrors and glowing pink neon somehow combine to create what might become one of the most photographed bathrooms in Derbyshire.

We were shown upstairs to a lovely table beside the window. After spending a few minutes slowly roasting in direct sunlight while pretending everything was absolutely fine, my husband gently suggested I might like to shuffle a little further into the shade. A wise suggestion, as it turned out.

Not that I needed long to study the menu. I'd already read it several times over the previous month.

Brunch here isn't your standard bacon sandwich and smashed avocado affair. Alongside familiar favourites are cured scallops on English muffins, tea-smoked duck Benedicts, shakshuka with quail eggs, steak and eggs, buttermilk chicken waffles and cocktails that make a very persuasive argument for brunch lasting all afternoon.

Speaking of cocktails, I started with the Spicy Margarita (£13). Patron Silver tequila, Cointreau, fresh lime, agave syrup and fresh jalapeños, finished with a chilli salt rim and a tiny red chilli bringing a splash of colour.

It was, without question, one of the best spicy margaritas I've ever had. Ice cold, beautifully balanced and fresh enough that you could still taste the lime cutting through the heat before the chilli gradually crept up behind it. The sort of drink where you immediately know another one will probably follow.

It did. Oops.

Meanwhile, my husband, performing his (usual) designated driver duties with admirable restraint, ordered a Frobishers Apple & Mango juice (£3.95).

During brunch we chatted briefly with Stephen Atkinson, who explained just how much work had gone into the cocktail menu. He, Josh and several members of the team apparently spent around eight weeks making every cocktail over and over again, adjusting ingredients, refining recipes and practising until they felt each one was exactly right. Rob then became chief taste tester before a few final tweaks were made. It sounds gloriously exhausting, but the result speaks for itself.

Now, about that chicken waffle.

Many years ago, while living in New Zealand, my husband and I had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the lake in Queenstown. I ordered a chicken waffle sandwich and, for reasons I still can't fully explain, it's remained one of those meals I've thought about ever since. Nearly ten years later, I can still remember exactly how happy it made me.

So when I spotted The Charleston's Waffle Sandwich (£14.95) on the menu, there was never really any question what I was going to order.

Buttermilk fried chicken. Maple streaky bacon. Guacamole mousse. Coffee and bacon jam. All sandwiched inside two crisp golden waffles.

Reader, it was every bit as good as I'd hoped. The contrast between the sweet waffle, salty bacon, crunchy chicken and silky guacamole somehow works perfectly, while the bacon jam ties everything together without dominating the plate. It's comforting, indulgent and completely brilliant.

I suspect I'll be thinking about this one for another decade. Fortunately, I won't have to travel quite as far to get another taste.

Across the table, my husband chose The Benedict Twist (£13.95), featuring tea-smoked duck pastrami, perfectly poached eggs, chimichurri and toasted English muffins. He admitted afterwards that it wasn't something he'd normally order, but ended up loving every mouthful.

Naturally, I stole some.

The duck is unlike anything I've tasted before. The gentle smokiness from the tea comes through beautifully, while the chimichurri adds freshness without overpowering everything else. Then the yolk breaks, coating the plate in exactly the way every good Benedict should.

It feels inventive without becoming complicated, and that's perhaps what impressed me most about the menu as a whole. There's plenty here that feels exciting and different, yet nothing appears to exist simply for the sake of novelty.

By the time we'd finished, dessert simply wasn't happening. Not because the menu wasn't tempting. Quite the opposite. Homemade Bakewell Tart, pistachio and mango cheesecake, flourless chocolate brownie and The Charleston Gourmand, a tasting plate of miniature desserts, all remain firmly on our list for next time.

As does Sunday lunch.

Dinner.

And, if I'm honest, another spicy margarita!

As we were leaving, Rob smiled and said, "This is where the hard work really starts."

He's probably right.

Opening a restaurant is one thing. Building somewhere people return to week after week is something altogether different.

But after spending a couple of hours at The Charleston, it already feels as though Longbow Venues has created something Bakewell hasn't had before. Somewhere you could meet for coffee, linger over brunch, celebrate with cocktails, listen to live jazz or simply enjoy being in a beautifully designed room with good food and people you like.

We'll certainly be back. In fact, we were discussing date night plans before we'd even crossed the threshold. That's probably the best review I can give.

Disclosure: We were invited by The Charleston to experience brunch ahead of the official opening. As always, all opinions are entirely our own.