If you’re like me and the sort of restaurant goer who loves perusing a menu, agonising over the pros and cons of every dish before making a choice, Chez Moi is not for you. There is no choice here, you get what is given to you and, on occasion, what you’re given is very brilliant indeed. The drinks options are similarly limited – tap or Brita water – and red wine, Châteaux Nisa Local.
But what it might lack in variety or culinary consistency, it more than makes up for in hospitality and warmth. And no one bats an eyelid if you show up to dinner in yoga pants and a lightly stained hoodie from a day of crafting with a toddler. Big bonus in my book!
This particular night I dined at Chez Moi, I was greeted by my charming host who showed me to the table – a fine example of Scandinavian flatpack with a wipe-clean vinyl tablecloth. He presented me with a cocktail in a juice tumbler filled with heart-shaped ice cubes – I asked what it was. “Our booze cupboard is getting a little bare, so it’s spiced rum, a dash of bitters, some bottled lime juice and what’s left of the maple syrup.” Surprisingly delicious.
To start, we tucked into hummous (made with kidney beans as there were no more chickpeas in the cupboard) and crudités whose slight bendiness made me hope that a fresh veg box delivery was scheduled to arrive in the next couple of days.
The main course was “Heinz Baked Bean Bolognese”, a nod to the dual British and Italian heritage of the chef (also the host). Quite unexpectedly, it was a masterpiece of store cupboard cooking, helped in no small part by the mountain of Gruyère piled atop.
My host invited me to relocate to the sofa for pudding, a delectable tasting plate of leftover Easter chocolate, including mini eggs and the head of a gold foil-wrapped bunny. We greedily devoured every last morsel, both of the chocolate and of the penultimate episode of Tiger King. Guilty pleasures abound at Chez Moi.
Despite the appearance of some unexpected ingredients, and a culinary style that leans towards Delia’s “How to Cheat at Cooking” rather than Larousse Gastronomique, I will most definitely be back. It’s extremely local, I just can’t help but love the staff, and the price is ALWAYS right!
