Behind restaurant review: The perfect balance between formality and familiarity

It might have won a Michelin star after just 20 days of service, but, writes Molly Codyre, east London’s Behind has managed to shake off all the stuffiness that comes with the award

The menu changes daily, depending on what the fishermen pull off their boats (John Carey)

Behind is an exercise in numbers; 20, 12, one. Twenty refers to the number of days they were open before the lengthy third lockdown; 12 is the number of courses we were served; one is the number of Michelin stars they have received so far (I don’t doubt there will be more).

It is, of course, a grand achievement. Numbers appear elsewhere – a few courses come in duos, the wine list has an achievable entry point and, perhaps most importantly, the overall cost is pricey, yet reasonable. I say this because a tasting menu is not an intrinsically affordable concept. In fact, it is potentially one of the most expensive ways to dine, and yet I don’t believe you could find an experience more suitably priced than this in the entirety of London. The bill doesn’t feel like a punch in the stomach. Instead, it feels proportionate to the meal you’ve just enjoyed; the kind to which you almost couldn’t attribute a price tag.

I was understandably intrigued to visit Behind. What kind of place wins a Michelin star after just 20 days of service? Never mind the fact these 20 weren’t even all at once – 10 before the second lockdown, and 10 in the short gap before the third (the one I have nicknamed the “Christmas lockdown”, like a guest who long overstayed their festive welcome). I mean, all I can say is, I agree with that little ivory-toned, cylindrical tyre man. The star was well deserved, and I genuinely admire the team’s resourcefulness for wrangling a booking in such a limited time period.

Seating is arranged in a semi-circle shape, with the kitchen acting as the focal point of the restaurant (John Carey)

Like most mere mortals, it has taken me until now to nab a table. I am not genetically predisposed to the kind of organisation required to keep a steady calendar of restaurant reservations, and my general preference for spontaneity has had to be tucked away in favour of a desire to have some semblance of a social life. This was one mark on my calendar, however, that I anxiously anticipated. Crossing off the days in the lead up like a kid looking forward to the arrival of Santa. I had high expectations, something which can often end up being a sure fire way to be disappointed. Instead, Behind exceeded these with the kind of confidence only achieved by someone who truly believes in what they’re doing.

Chef Andy Beynon has honed his craft with some of the best in the biz, including a lengthy stint in Jason Atherton’s development team. When I was doing my pre-dinner research I stumbled across an Instagram post from his wife. It mentioned that nine years ago, Andy had said he would have a Michelin star by the time he was 30. It is exactly this kind of gumption that makes Behind what it is. You simultaneously feel like you’re in a close friend’s dining room (oh to have a friend that could cook like that) and yet equally understand no average person could pull off a meal like this.

Oysters come in two ways: in the shell and dressed, or poached and topped with Gentleman’s Relish (Molly Codyre)

As we took our seats in the industrial-meets-Scandi style space, we were told they like to leave the lengthy menu a bit of a mystery, each dish coming out as a surprise and explained as it’s set down in front of you. You can see them being created, of course – seating is arranged in a semi-circle shape, the kitchen acting as the focal point of the restaurant. Watching the chefs arrange each plate was almost mesmerising, like tweezer-wielding artists, each element is so perfectly considered and you can see the concentration echoing across their faces by way of furrowed brows and focused stares.

It is difficult to condense a 12-step extravaganza into an 800-word review. Especially as the menu changes daily, depending on what the fishermen pull off their boats that day. It is largely seafood-focused, deceptively simple explanations failing to account for what is surely an exhausting level of innovation. Oysters come in two ways, for example: in the shell, fresh and dressed with cucumber oil and horseradish (lacking in the punch you may expect, but providing necessary depth); and poached, swaddled in an oyster leaf and topped with Gentleman’s Relish, the resulting mouthful is tangy, acidic and briney, the relish imbuing it with a lively hint of sweetness.

The Scottish crab isn’t served how you’d expect, but the flavour and texture is divine (Molly Codyre)

There was Scottish crab, but not how you would expect. The brown meat is extracted into a liquid which is then set into a jelly-like consistency, serving as a base for the flakier white meat. What I just described should not taste nice; essentially crab jelly. And yet, it was divine. The fatty, punchily seafoody flavour had been heightened in this concentrated form, and the consistency was like velvet, mingling with the fleshy meat to create a textural powerhouse.

In fact, eschewing expectation seems to be a running theme throughout our meal at Behind. This shows up in the food, both in the dishes discussed above and others – mussel tartare atop an English muffin, lightly smoked trout roe, even the mashed potato, so arduously softened it resembles more a sauce than a side. It is not, however, just about what shows up on the plate in front of you. It’s about the experience as a whole. Behind has a Michelin star, but has managed to shake all the stuffiness that can come alongside this honour. Andy Beynon moves around the space with ease, plating up one minute, serving you the next. As he set one course down, I asked if the award had changed the way they operate. His answer was essentially a lengthy way of saying no, of course not.

As I wrote this review, munching on my Behind bun handed out at the completion of the meal with a throwaway “breakfast is on us” comment, I thought about his confidence in saying this. In this little corner of east London, Behind doesn’t need to change itself to suit it’s recent honour. Beynon wants to utilise the space next door to turn it into a spot for locals to pop by for a glass of wine or two, perhaps a snack. It is this perfect balance between formality and familiarity that puts Behind in a league of its own.