Review: Chef's Table, Chester delivers the dinner of dreams

Since falling madly in love with Netflix’s own Chef’s Table series, it was only a matter of time before I discovered a restaurant with the same name, just a short drive from us. We’ve watched over the years as Chef’s Table in Chester has grown in strength and physical size. Once located in Chester’s Music Hall Passage, Chef’s Table now takes pride of place on Pepper Street, neighboured by their sister restaurant, twenty-eight.

The space is clean, minimal and contemporary. There’s an obvious ode to their farm, Growing Field 28, with some upholstery featuring bold fruit and veg-inspired prints and pictures of the team foraging for the very ingredients on your plate. While it’s clear this will be a refined dining experience, the team did a great job of making us feel right at home, as if we were talking to friends. It was clear by chatting with them that they also LOVE to work at Chef’s Table, which is always a win.

Shawarma roast beetroot. Photo: Lost in CheshireSo, I mentioned a farm: Chef’s Table and their sister restaurant, twenty eight, are fed by their own farm, Growing Field 28. Both restaurants are heavily led by the seasons and what their crops can produce at any given time in the year, which makes both the creativity and execution all the more impressive. Almost everything on your plate will be from their growing fields; some ingredients they need to source, but the vast majority will be homegrown - If that doesn’t scream supporting local, I don’t know what does.

What was on the menu for us? To begin our evening, we went for the shawarma roast beetroot, served with beetroot falafel, a rich and moreish labneh, pistachio, pomegranate, zaatar spiced lentils and Daresbury leaf. And for my guest, butter poached Furikake Scottish scallops. They were served with grilled stone bass, tempura soft shell crab, sweetcorn and globe artichoke chaat masala broth. While there was clearly a lot of finesse and skill within the dish, we did find the broth slightly overpowering the delicate scallop - thankfully, the broth was delicious.

Wild halibut loin at Chef's Table, Chester. Photo: Lost in CheshireOn to the main event for the evening. A meaty, flaky, glistening wild halibut loin for my friend, served with smoked salmon and brown shrimp beurre blanc, sand carrots, a decadent sour cream mash and charred sesame broccoli. She’s still raving about it. For me, a banquet of beef: the roast togarashi spiced beef fillet. The flavours were deep and dark and tasted like autumn on a plate. Along with my pink beef fillet came Wagyu neck, slow-cooked in XO sauce - knife optional for this one; it fell apart to the touch. Also waiting patiently on the side for me: a crispy Wagyu spring roll, fresh UK-grown wasabi, puffed rice and Tokyo turnips. This is a dish I could eat every day of the week through the cold evenings of winter.

A selection of sorbets and honeycomb. Photo: Lost in Cheshire We’re now fit to burst, so that must mean it’s time for dessert. Eton Nest for my guest and a selection of sorbets and honeycomb for me. Both were excellent and just what we needed to finish our dinner of dreams.