The Fine Cheese Co has expanded on Motcomb Street by launching a new restaurant, À Table. Owner and director John Siddall tells us more…

What prompted the expansion?

We realised soon after we moved into number 17 [the original space] that it was not big enough for our ambitions: more covers inside and out and a dedicated cheese tasting and training room. Number 16 became vacant and Grosvenor asked if we were interested.

What can diners expect from the À Table experience? 

Breakfast and lunch – and soon dinner too. Drinks, pastries, cakes, cheese and charcuterie boards in between. We have a motto: ‘Seek out the best and when you’ve found it, keep looking.’ We use only the highest quality ingredients we can find, and our chefs treat them with the respect they do not extend to anyone or anything except their knives. And they present the food they prepare as artfully on a plate as Matisse would have done. Service is professional, but the atmosphere is relaxed. Our guests are well-travelled and are used to the best, and we aim to please them by seeking to match the food quality of our Michelin-star neighbours but without the commitment that this can sometimes entail.

What was the inspiration for the menu? 

France – who is not in love with French food? C’est une affaire de goût. Oh and Italy, since our head chef is Italian. Think Cannes to Portofino and you won’t be far away. And light dishes with the occasional touch of luxury. Well this is Belgravia!

Presumably cheese will have a central role to play too?

Yes but we are not a cheese restaurant. Not everybody loves cheese as much as we do – or even at all. But we have strong personal relationships with cheesemakers and affineurs across western Europe and we specify, select, import – increasingly exclusively – and mature cheese as close as possible to perfection. There is much interest in British cheese but so many of our customers are looking for the cheeses they associate with their homeland abroad.

What can you tell us about the wine list?

It’s exclusively old world and predominantly French, in keeping with the food and the terroir with which it is linked for, as they say, ‘What grows together goes together.’ But not at prices that separate you from your wallet.

À Table is located at 17 Motcomb Street, SW1X 8LB – just  7-minute walk from Knightsbridge tube station. 

#WELCOMETObelgravia