Chef’s Table Chester

“Foodie heaven”, exclaims a fan of The Chef’s Table – a “great independent restaurant” that ticks all the boxes when it comes to location, service, taste and visual appeal. The kitchen makes excellent use of local and seasonal ingredients for an “interesting and varied” menu in the modern idiom – think slow-cooked pork belly with crispy pig’s ear, macerated apple, lime, vanilla and apple consommé or roast halibut with mussels, golden sultanas, samphire, curried potato and a smoked haddock, coconut and lime broth. Desserts are equally elaborate concoctions, and they’re guaranteed turn heads – try the ‘glitterball’ (iced nougat parfait with marshmallow, dark chocolate, coconut and passion fruit) or ‘macaron and cheese’ (white chocolate macaron, white chocolate and gin cheesecake, passion fruit sorbet and passion fruit jelly). The layout is suitably modish, open-plan and casual, with wooden plank tables, white walls, exposed brickwork and bare floors. It’s “great value for money” too.

Chef’s Table is a small, independent restaurant just around the corner from Chester’s stunning cathedral. Having opened in 2014, Chef’s Table serves a modern European menu, and aims to use only the best local produce available with a focus also on making sure that the ingredients are all sustainably sourced. This results in an ever-changing seasonal menu, full of beautifully presented, appealing dishes.

Hidden away down a small passage, Chef’s Table is unassuming from the outside with its painted black façade and long window allowing you to see right into the restaurant. The interior is similarly simple with its wooden floor and muted colour scheme; plain black chairs and tables are dotted around the room and a small bar sits at the far end. This lends Chef’s Table a relaxed but romantic ambience and makes it a great spot to get cosy and enjoy the food on offer.

A reasonably priced lunch menu costs just £24 for three courses and features starters such as Scottish brill Veronique. Lunchtime mains might include roast guineafowl, whereas for dessert you can expect classics like apple pie and chocolate fondant.

In the evening you can begin your meal with dainty appetisers such as burrata arancini and parmesan gougeres. Starters include sugar pit pork and smoked eel served with a bacon dashi and for main course you might be tempted by the Cumbrian hare pie, with mulled wine pear, haggis and swede mash, and chestnuts. To finish your meal, why not go for poached rhubarb served with blood orange, orange liquor, and lime sorbet.

On top of all of this, there are also roasts available every Sunday at Chef’s Table, as well as separate vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free menus available. This makes Chef’s Table a wonderful place to visit for many different occasions and you can be sure there’ll be something on the menu for everyone.