Under the table isnโt ever pleasant.
Itโs where used chewing-gum is stuck, dodgy dealings are struck, people play footsie, crumbs fall and tiny children hide.
Under The Table. Well, thatโs a different matter. This place is literally the basement level neighbour and sister business to nine-year-old Dundas Street chefโs table tasting menu concept, The Table.
Itโs been opened by head chef Sean Clark and business partner, Paul OโDonoghue, to bring a โmodern European bistroโ to the New Town.
Their investor and supporter, surreally enough, is Marvel and Captain America director and producer, Joe Russo, who is a huge fan of the upstairs venue.
I wonder if any ofย the people eating lunch on our visit are followers ofย hisย blockbusters. Not obviously so. Theย place is stowed out with a smart crew.ย
Weโre enjoyingย theย buzzy vibe, along withย the decor, which is like theย front room of someone who can afford an interior designer.
The menu features plenty of temptation. My eyes grow wider with every line.
In the end, I go for rabbit fritters with courgette (ยฃ8). I was braced for something quite sturdy, but this starter is more sexy Cadburyโs Caramel bunny than Peter. There are five tiny pale nibs of meat, in popcorn-hued cocoons of batter, all surrounding a pile of citrussy courgette ribbons.
Itโs beautiful, though fleeting.
My dining partner has gone for the crab (ยฃ13), which is also rather lovely. Thereโs a quenelle of seafood in a tangy pink sauce, with a black and biscuity tuille on top. The plate also features some crystalline grapefruit gel, with a few elderflowers stuck to it, like decoupage.
Next, Iโm onto the braised beef cheek (ยฃ20).
The meat, which was topped by a fried shallot halo, had been coaxed to its ultimate bovine intensity, so it felt like being stared out by a bull, and the connective tissue was rendered down to feathery collagen. Gorgeous, especially with the addition of a sauce-like whipped coffee polenta, which was velvety and light, with just a very distant tickle of the caffeinated bean.
Weโre also in raptures over the cod (ยฃ21), though it was described as coming with chanterelles and these look like maitake. Still, life is too short to quibble over mushrooms. The cod is beautifully cooked, and draped in a cream sauce thatโs sprinkled with caviar, like a billionaireโs take on hundreds and thousands.
When ordering, we asked if we needed sides, and the server said; โMaybe something greenโ. Thus, weโd gone for the spinach, butter, raisins and pine nuts (ยฃ6.50) - pleasant enough. However, if thereโs going to be one criticism about this fabulous place, itโs the portion sizes.
I get that there is re-calibrating required, when going from fine-dining to bistro.
But, diners, ignore what youโre told and go for pomme frites (ยฃ4), Company bakery bread and butter (ยฃ4) or the pomme puree Robuchon (ยฃ4.50), which, like my veins, runs with 50 per cent butter.
Not doing so was our only regret.
I thought we might have another. Against my instincts, we went for the most horrible-sounding pudding.
They offer Gallic crowd-pleasers including tarte tatin with vanilla ice-cream (ยฃ9) or iles flottantes (ยฃ7), but I was intrigued by the chocolate and maple syrup ganache with sweet potato (ยฃ12, for two people), despite the fact that thereโs nothing less appealing to me than a dessert containing that root vegetable. Still, I had a feeling that this US-style pud might have been something to do with Joe Russo.
My icky reservations were dispatched, Thor-style. You almost wouldnโt have noticed this veg, though it was present in the sugar-dusted beignets. There was also a beautiful brick of dark sea-salted ganache, with an orange heart, and two dollops of lush peanut ice-cream. I kept hoping that his scoop would melt and cross over the dividing line, so I could steal it, like a checkmated rook.
This is a wonderful place. The drinks are excellent too, with cocktails, including our classic pisco sour (ยฃ11) and gin Collins (ยฃ11) with Arbikie Gin, lemon, gooseberry and black pepper.
Surely itโs the best thing you could ever find under a Table.
