Restaurants James Pembroke

THE CHEF’S TABLE, CHESTER

The very first restaurant in Paris, said to have been established behind the Rue de Rivoli in 1765 by M Boulanger, was intended to allow Parisians to make fresh acquaintance over a restorative broth. I’m told one can still find the original room, behind a kebab shop. And large it ain’t. In the late 19th and 20th centuries, the aristocracy of court and theatre decided they preferred a little distance from the rest of us, and aircraft-hangar brasseries with private rooms or banquettes, like Kettner’s or Quaglino’s, became the norm.

But which of us doesn’t yearn for the small restaurant, where, cheek by jowl yet unabashed, we’ve held a hand across a table, nearly burning ourselves on a dancing candle? I’m daydreaming about the bistros of the Seventies and early Eighties, only too aware that the forty per cent increase in business rates in the West End will soon see their heirs disappear. Richard Beatty, founder of the Polpo restaurants, told me it would be impossible to launch such small independent restaurants now, so these are the ones we need to support.

Honey & Co is just such a place, an eavesdropper’s paradise where you can devour London’s best Middle Eastern food. The owners, Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich – try saying that with a mouthful of baba ganoush – are a reassuringly plump couple whose dishes have been imported from their childhoods in Jerusalem. There’s no doubting

their finesse or their promise to have created ‘an extension of our home’. They’ve also set up a new grill restaurant, Honey & Smoke, in Great Portland Street, a falafel’s throw from Oldie Towers. Both restaurants offer anxiety-avoiding set menus of a massive selection of mezze plus any main course, any side dish and any pud for around £30 at lunch or dinner.

In October, we held a Literary Lunch in Chester. Our hipster friends David and Alex Abberton told us to meet them at the cathedral’s main door at 7pm the night before. We then scurried down a passage and, through steamed windows, we could discern a well-lit single room with an open kitchen and enough well-spaced tables for 24 covers. The lunch the next day was a great success, but a return match at the Chef’s Table is the main reason we are returning this October. They delight in serving up to five samples of any meat.

Fortunately, the Abbertons eat like birds to maintain their bandy legs and strokeable beards, so they’re the perfect dinner companions for those of us who want to eat one-and-a-half dinners. I challenge anyone north of Watford to find a better value European lunch than theirs at £22 for three courses, plus a glass of Negroamaro for just £3.80.

Honey & Co, 25a Warren Street, London W1T 5LZ; Honey & Smoke, 216 Great Portland Street, London W1W 5NN (dinner only); www.honeyandco.co.uk; 020 7388 6175 for both. Lunch/dinner three-course feast for £32.50 and £34.50.

The Chef’s Table, Music Hall Passage, Chester CH1 2EU; www.chefstablechester.co.uk; book on 01244 40 30 40. Lunch £22 for three courses.