Allan Bosomworth and Kari Gregg, the two chefs in Two Chefs and a Table, have quickly drawn a devoted clientele to their fledging restaurant despite a slightly off-the-map Railtown location.

Credit: Kari Medig

URBAN DINER: Two Chefs succeeds by taking a risk on Railtown

Two Chefs and a Table (305 Alexander St., 604-233-1303, TwoChefsAndATable.com)

Food: 4 stars / Service: 4 stars / Atmosphere: 4 stars / Value: 4 stars (all ratings out of 5)

It’s been two years since Gastown restaurateur Sean Heather whispered plans of a new project. His then-latest place, Salt Tasting Room, had just opened, and he was high on what could only be described as measured optimism. Salt had been an instant success — its reception by Vancouverites was a bit of a shocker, considering its sketchy Blood Alley location — but Heather was already looking beyond the horizon, aiming to leverage Salt’s brand with Pepper, a companion piece that would be located a few blocks east in Railtown.

It never happened, though. After securing a space on the northeast corner of Alexander and Gore, Heather turned away in order to concentrate on other pressing matters, such as moving his iconic Irish Heather gastropub into a new location across Carrall Street. For a while, I thought the Pepper address would continue to lie dormant, figuring it had subsequently been judged too far off the regular restaurant grid for anyone to make a serious go of it.

But, at a time when even the most unthinkable spots are being snatched up, and doubters are consistently being proven too pessimistic, it didn’t take long before someone else took it over.

The two risk-takers in question here are Allan Bosomworth (ex-Feenie’s) and Karl Gregg (ex-Whineo’s), who launched Two Chefs and a Table late this past spring, and their efforts have borne immediate fruit. Open just five days a week for lunch (Monday to Friday) and three nights for dinner (Thursday to Saturday), it quickly secured a regular crowd that packs the place during the day, thanks to nearby office buildings and new loft developments, and has seen its evening occupancy rise steadily. Word has certainly gotten around, and Two Chefs has settled in for what will likely be a long run.

There’s much to love about it, starting with the look. A communal table of eight dominates the small space, with only a handful of tables for two and four ringing it like so many planets around a star. A palette of white with black, gold and brown accents gives it a baroque, Zen-like feel that’s helped by high ceilings and an atmospheric soundtrack. Bosomworth and Gregg are front and centre in their black uniforms, cooking in a homey open kitchen that could have been transplanted from a Martha Stewart farmhouse photoshoot. The corner location gives them large windows facing both Alexander and Gore, so lighting by day is dynamic and natural. Little chandeliers do their job at night, illuminating the white walls with a cozy glow. It feels good to be here.

On the food front, they do an admirable job. The concept is straight-up comforts at lunch, like market-fresh minestrone soup ($5.75) served with quality bread (which marries nicely with $5.50 bottles of Liberty Ale); squat bowls of sharp-cheddar-encrusted macaroni with four-cheese sauce, served with mixed greens ($8); and a selection of familiar sandwiches, from a well-constructed Croque Monsieur made with brie and bacon ($8.50) to fat triple-A beef burgers crafted in-house ($8.75). Two Chefs does a brisk take-out trade at lunch, so even though the room might feel crowded, it’s partly due to the presence of worker-lurkers waiting for their boxed chow. (If it ever feels frantic, it’s an illusion.)

Dinner is comparatively posh, but not off-puttingly so. It would be a harder trade to sustain in this neighbourhood, so they keep things accessible, with duck-confit salad and an herb-treated smoked salmon plate hovering around the $10 mark, and mains like steak frites with tarragon mayo and sockeye salmon anointed with sweetened soy at $22 each. A potato croquette with herbed goat cheese and chive crème fraiche was a big winner, its presentation and flavours clean and bright, but my wife’s pasta dish (a special) was so forgettable that neither of us can remember a single detail of its make-up. Thankfully, my roasted Polderside chicken ($18) was bang on target, freshly butchered and full of juice. Be warned, however, it’s best not to get too attached to menu items, for they seem to come and go quickly.

The beer and wine lists are short but attractive, and the service remarkably apt for a one-person operation.

All told, there’s not a single thing I dislike about the place, and there are plenty of reasons to return, not least of which is the five-course chef’s table meal that sells for just $44 per person.

This is a neighbourhood that’s still very much a bridge too far for many Vancouverites, and anything east of Gassy Jack is still considered a gamble by most restaurateurs, even though lease rates are far more affordable than on the gentrified strips to the west. For many, there’s a stigma attached to these blocks, similar to that which envelops the loaded term “Downtown Eastside.” But it’s false, a trick of mnemonic geography more than a reflection of the realities on the ground. Railtown may not have the cachet of Gastown, but it very well might one day, thanks in part to a handful of restaurants that have read the writing on the wall. Two Chefs and a Table, a smartly run and very sexy little restaurant that oozes a palpable sense of ability and poise, has read it well.