The New Watering Holes — Charlotte

The décor is an eclectic mix of mid-century modern meets the '70s, with a Polynesian twist that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

“There was a palm couch that kind of spiralled us into the Tiki flair we have — it sent us down a path,” Cruickshank recalls. “The core management team went to flea markets and vintage stores to look for things — as an early team-building exercise.”

He points out two low-seated, bright orange armchairs — once a fixture in the IBM waiting room — as one of his own finds.

“It’s a splash of colour and a unique purchase that doesn’t tie into anything else in the space, but there’s a story connected to it,” Cruickshank says. “The chairs have been in the city for 30 years; Maxwell’s was here for 30 years; it’s a homage to that time period.”

When Pure Kitchen opened its second location on Elgin Street, the former owner of Maxwell’s intended to keep the second floor, Cruickshank says. But those plans fell through — and Pure Kitchen was asked to purchase the whole building.

“It was never part of the plan,” says Cruickshank of Charlotte’s opening. “It was a dream built out of necessity because we had the space — and it was too expensive for a storage unit.”

It seems rather serendipitous, since there’s always a wait-list crowd for Pure Kitchen, the popular vegetarian restaurant and juice bar on the main level.

“That’s kind of what took us to the lounge concept,” Cruickshank says. “None of us [management] were very excited about opening another bar on Elgin street — being here till 3 a.m. and getting people drunk to make money.

“We’ve had so much success with Pure Kitchen because of the quality of the products and the approach to a unique product; we wanted to find a way to take those things that have made Pure Kitchen so successful and transfer them into a bar concept.”Customers at Charlotte may or may not notice that food items are vegetarian — even though pepperoni pizza is one of the menu offerings.

“It’s such a similar taste profile that it does the trick,” Cruickshank says of the vegan pepperoni pizza.

Since there’s a shared kitchen for Pure Kitchen and Charlotte, there’s a firm rule on no meat, although Charlotte does cook with eggs and butter.

“We’re not letting ourselves be as constrained by the vegan, gluten-free concerns,” he says. “We’re mindful of them and we have options, but it’s not our guiding principle like it is at Pure Kitchen.”

The cheese boards are by far the most popular item, says Cruickshank, who plans to add hummus and halloumi to the boards. Other offerings include homemade house kettle chips, bar nuts, charred broccoli served with chilis and cashew cheese, and a couple of in-house desserts.

Beyond nibbles and Flaming Homers, Charlotte’s cocktail menu has much to offer.

“It’s a neat mix of classic cocktails, creative plays on modern classics, and then the tiki ones,” Cruickshank says.

For those looking for wine, in-house sommelier Pamela Giannandrea is always on hand to offer up suggestions and plans are already afoot to launch both wine and beer clubs at Charlotte.

“Our wine list is very much oriented towards natural wines, biodynamic, family-oriented producers,” says Cruickshank, adding that all beer offerings are from Ontario craft breweries.

He feels that while the cocktails are in the limelight now, the beer and wine offerings will move up the rankings and become even more exciting to Charlotte’s customer base.

“There’s a great thing happening in Ottawa right now, where instead of a race to the bottom it’s a race to the top; like Citizen and Town and Bar Lupulus and Bar Laurel — we just wanted to jump in with that scene; I feel like we’re all challenging each other now to have the coolest beer lists.”

Perhaps the biggest compliment comes from customers who liken Charlotte to the sophisticated cocktail and wine bar scene of Toronto.

“So many customers have told me, ‘This place is so Toronto in its vibe — but with none of the attitude,’” Cruickshank says with a laugh. “It’s nice that it feels so cosmopolitan — you think you’re in Toronto, but everyone is so much nicer.”

Charlotte
340 Elgin St., Ottawa, Ont.
charlotteottawa.com, 613.421.0669