You may or may not subscribe to the theory that gastropubs are a played out beast, with their beard requisites and charcuterie plates. From the farm-to-table eats to the velvet damask wallpaper, no detail goes unattended at this faux English countryside retreat, aside from the irony of the Burger King, movie theatre, funeral home and massive highway that surround it.

It could have a humbler locale, as with 'hood peer Longman & Eagle, and its two-flat calm. But working with what they’ve got lies their biggest successes, harmoniously lacing the local slow food movement with hard-core nerdome for a bygone over-the-pond era, materialized in everything from CSA veggies to Slagel farm meats, and a brass-buttoned leather chair and fireplace to soak it all in.

The one caveat is the price shock at something so simple as a pint and meat pie, pushing near $20 with a tip. But by pint they mean an English 20-ounce standard, cherry-picked by an in-house cicerone. And by meat pie, they mean the freshest disc of phyllo, covering a toothsome savory mound of braised short rib and sweet vinegar and curry kissed cauliflower, put together by kitchen talent poached from MK to Alinea.

Average cost: $21-$30

Centerstage Reviewer: Gavin Paul