Ma Tante Carole

Ma Tante Carole is a new restaurant in Old Chelsea upholding a seasonal and local cuisine philosophy. This is made apparent from the floor to ceiling chalkboard in the center of the restaurant thanking local farmers to the minimalist menu featuring proteins and produce sourced locally.
I was really excited about a new restaurant in Old Chelsea. There has been a lot of successful small business in Chelsea — Les Fougeres, La Cigale, L’Oree Du Bois, Bougie Douzy Candle to name a few and perhaps this left my expectations just a fraction too high. These businesses have been around for a while, are well oiled machines, have mastered customer service and their product. Ma Tante Carole has the foundation for a successful business, that’s for sure, they are involved in some progressive cuisine (just google them!) but my experience was mixed.
A plus — My appetizer, a caesar salad with fresh greens from Juniper Farms served with mackerel. Really an unassuming dish on the menu but it was so surprisingly fresh. The greens were sweet and crunchy and lightly dressed with an interesting bite (raw garlic?). Parmesan had been freshly grated on top and the fish was perfectly seared with crispy skin. However, I did not have the same experience with my main and dessert. For the entrée I had beef shoulder served with roasted seasonal vegetables. Dessert was a ricotta cheesecake with fresh fig. Both had the comfort of a home cooked meal but lacked a layer of seasoning and flavour.
Another plus — The chef came out of the kitchen and checked in with each table to see how they had enjoyed their meal. This I loved. It is hard to come by a chef that can set aside his ego, to acknowledge the customer, and to accept feedback. This attentiveness to the experience of the customer was not wholly matched by the front of house which was at times abrupt and other times kind of sloppy.
ANYWAYS, I’m definitely going to go back in a few months because I know it has the potential to be great!

My friends are newish to the area and were pretty excited about this addition to the food scene. We went with them last night for an early dinner and I can see why they are so happy. The front patio is covered and far enough away from the road that you can see everything going on but have some intimacy. The inside décor is nothing fancy but certainly bright and cheerful. The same could be said for the waiter who was attentive without hovering.
They have a nice wine selection and while they have limited beer options they are diverse. The 4 of us split the foie gras appetizer and it was ample. The foie was obviously rich but they included some duck confit and jam which all worked well together. For the main I got a burger which was top notch and came with a potato cake that was meh and a nice salad. The wife got scallops with pork belly and a corn salsa which was all cooked perfectly. It had a weird starchy thing which we could have done without.
It is definitely more expensive than a pub, but it’s not over the top and the price difference is totally worth it for the quality you get. I highly recommend it if you are in the neighbourhood.