Small plates are everywhere. But done badly they're just expensive tapas — too little food, too much theatre. Done well, they're one of the best ways to eat. Here's how we think about them at Fable.
The small plates format has been adopted so widely that it's easy to forget why it works when it works. Sharing food changes the dynamic of a meal — it's more exploratory, more conversational, more generous in spirit. The problem is that most small plates menus are built around the format rather than the food, which gets things exactly the wrong way around.
At Fable, the evening menu was designed from the ingredients outward. The question wasn't "what can we put on small plates?" but "what flavours do we want to build the evening around, and how should they be served?" The sharing format followed from that, not the other way around.
The rules we set ourselves
1
Every dish has to work with a drink in hand
The evening menu exists alongside a cocktail list. Every plate was tested against the drinks — not just as food, but as something that makes the whole experience of an evening more enjoyable. If a dish only works on its own, it doesn't belong on an evening sharing menu.
2
Generous portions, not generous prices
Small plates shouldn't mean small satisfaction. The portions at Fable are sized so that two or three dishes between two people constitutes a proper meal — not a series of amuse-bouches that leave you hungry and lighter in the wallet than you expected.
3
Bold flavours, not complicated ones
There's a temptation in small plates cooking to layer in complexity — multiple techniques, unexpected combinations, dishes that require explanation. We prefer bold and clear over intricate and puzzling. A dish that tastes unmistakably of what it is, done very well, is harder to achieve and more satisfying to eat.
4
The menu should tell a coherent story
A collection of unrelated dishes isn't a menu — it's a list. The Fable evening menu is built so that the dishes make sense together, with variety in texture, temperature, and flavour that rewards ordering across the menu rather than sticking to one or two safe choices.
"Small plates work when the kitchen is confident enough to let the ingredients do the talking. Restraint is harder than complexity, and more rewarding to eat."
— The Fable kitchen
What's on the evening menu
The menu changes with the seasons — which is how it should be. But a few dishes have become anchors, returning in different forms as the produce shifts. Honey chorizo, referenced in our story from the beginning, is one of them — bold, generous, and exactly the kind of dish that works with a cocktail and a good conversation.
From the evening menu
Honey chorizo
A Fable signature — sweet heat, bold flavour, made for sharing
Signature
Seasonal small plates
Rotating dishes built around what's best right now — ask the team
Rotating
Sharing plates for two
Two or three dishes between two — the sweet spot for an evening at Fable
Recommended
Kitchen specials
What the kitchen is excited about this week — always worth asking
Ask us
How to order
The best way to eat the evening menu is to order a couple of dishes, see how you feel, and go from there. Resist the urge to order everything at once — the menu is designed to be explored gradually, ideally with a drink in hand and nowhere to be for a while.
If you're unsure where to start, ask. The team knows what's good tonight, what pairs well with what's on the cocktail list, and what to try if you're coming back for the second time.
Come and share something good.
Small plates, cocktails, and an evening worth staying for — Fable, Station Approach, Kew.
Reserve a table at Fable
.webp)
