A feeling of generosity in hospitality isn’t always easy to define. There are restaurants and then there are businesses that sell you a restaurant experience. Restaurants can be successful businesses, and many businesses that operate lunch and dinner service can be successful too. Probably the hardest game in all this is the neighbourhood restaurant, with a small number of covers, chefs that cook everything, and which isn’t going to be rolled out. These places — Ffiona’s, Ida, Les 2 Garcons, to name three — rely on generosity, spirit, romance, charm and ideally some celebrity clientele.
The chef Tom Booton, still just 33, is going to give it a try with Ralphie’s, his new Belgravia bistro named after his beloved dog.
