Chef-patron Roberta Hall-McCarron developed her career working in two of the Scottish capital’s top restaurants. She spent three years working at Tom Kitchin’s Michelin-starred The Kitchin, and then moved on to become head chef at her mentor Dominic Jack’s Castle Terrace.
It was during her time there that Hall met Shaun McCarron, who previously worked at Simon Rogan’s original Roganic pop-up in London, and subsequently became restaurant manager at Castle Terrace. The pair went on to run The Abbot’s Elm in Cambridgeshire together, before eventually deciding to open their own restaurant at the top of Edinburgh’s Leith Walk.
Named for Hall-McCarron's love of sailing, The Little Chartroom started life as a cosy little bistro (only 18 covers) but in 2021 moved to larger premises to be a 'more grown-up destination' (the original site is now home to her restaurant and wine bar Eleanore). The new restaurant might be larger but its ethos is still the same, serving a simple, seasonal menu of British-style dishes with a French accent. Menus are concise, with only three options available per course, but Hall-McCarron's cooking shows great confidence and imagination.
The Little Chartroom is low key, but has been well thought through with clean lines, a mixture of dark and light tables and light wooden chairs that lend it an air of modernity.
