Evelyn's Table at The Blue Posts

While speakeasy bars might be commonplace, secret restaurants haven’t proved as prolific (or perhaps they’re just too well hidden). Giving the Sherlocks among us a run for our money, tucked away under The Blue Posts pub, is Evelyn’s Table. At the centre of the basement space is a single chef’s counter, with room for just ten diners. It’s an intimate, romantically lit space, with a ‘private’ sign on the door, and a name that references Faye Dunaway’s femme fatale in Roman Polanski’s 1974 film Chinatown.

Most surprising of all is that there’s not a hint of pretentiousness. We’ve all been baffled by bucketloads of cutlery and cheffy ingredients at fine dining restaurants, but here the menu is annotated with drawings of which implement to use for which dish, plus each course is accompanied by a detailed explanation of the processes and ingredients which went into its evolution by the chefs who both plate and serve.

At the price - £75 for five courses at the time of writing - we can’t think of a better value restaurant given the level of care in every detail. Plus, this is dinner and a show. The three Selby brothers head up the evening and work as one unilateral well-oiled cheffing machine as you lazily watch from the side-lines.

The menu centres around French techniques paired with Japanese ingredients. Highlights included the freshest mackerel, sliced thickly, and served in a tart plum dressing, addictively crisp tempura oysters with a rich umami mayo and the most amazing venison main. The joint was brought smoking to the counter over pine before being portioned up into perfectly pink pieces accompanied by earthy beetroot, buttery celeriac puree and sweet shaved nuts. Seasonality can be banded about a little too enthusiastically, but this was a true depiction of autumn on a plate. Elsewhere, wine pairings are expertly matched while even non-drinkers are furnished with interesting serves like an acorn negroni.

Pudding was a comforting, warm almondine sponge topped with pear and caramel sauce, plus there was a pre-cursory milkshake and miso fudge in edible wrappers come teatime.

With so many moving parts it’s almost hard to sum up a night at Evelyn’s Table, but without it sounding to cliché – it’s special. It feels like a secret supper club with incredible food, attentive service, and the bonus of being able to watch your meal come together at the hands of three very talented chefs.

Hidden away in the basement of The Blue Posts pub on the edge of London's Chinatown, Evelyn's Table is an intimate chef's table restaurant from the team behind hotspots The Palomar and The Barbary. Having first opened in 2017, the restaurant reopened in 2020 with a brand new team. The kitchen is now run solely by a team of three, namely ex-head chef of HIDE Above and Great British Menu finalist Luke Selby and his two brothers Nathaniel and Theo. Serving a menu which champions British produce and takes its inspiration from Luke's time spent in Japan, Evelyn's Table aims to provide a fine dining experience that's great value for money.

Accessed via a set of stairs on Rupert Court, the small dining room consists of just ten seats around a counter which overlooks the open kitchen. There is little by way of decor at Evelyn's Table apart from a few lamps providing a glow up at the marble-topped counter. Due to the nature of the restaurant there are only two sittings each night, at 6pm and again at 8:30pm meaning that you're likely to be sat up at the counter with people you haven't met before. Who knows, you might even get chatting with some of the other customers.

The five-course food menu, which costs £95 per head, changes every month to make the most of seasonal ingredients. Expect Japanese-inspired dishes such as marinated mackerel served with plum umeboshi and shisho, and squid noodles with a mushroom dashi. Meanwhile sweeter plates might include tarte tatin with clotted cream and miso. The drinks offering at Evelyn's Table comes courtesy of Honey Spencer, who as well as running wine bar The Mulwray above, has curated a list of predominantly naturual wines which has been designed to perfectly complement the flavours of the food.