Attend and draw near! My lord Edward, once and future of Provence, bids you try his rabbit rabble.

< The Charcuterie plate (clockwise from left)-Pork pie, rabbit rabble, green peppercorn pate, pig's trotter, foie de birds pate and pork sausage.

Perhaps we should just call him Eddie, as in Eddie Neill. He's a guy who's spent the better part of three decades opening restaurants in this town. Rather than providing the expected, he took risks in exploring styles that hadn't previously been found here.

Who would have had a beef daube or other rustic specialties of Provence before Neill opened Café Provençal about 15 years ago?

Neill's latest endeavor implements the English-born concept of the gastropub in the middle of the Grand Center theater district. But Wm. Shakespeare's doesn't merely put a local stamp on a style made popular in England. It fully embraces the savory pies, game dishes, and other essential elements of refined, modern English and Irish cuisines.
The charcuterie platter ($15), is dazzling. It's offered as an appetizer that's meant to be shared, but it's also perfect as a quick pre-event meal.

An assortment of six items is announced when it's served, but a small leave-behind cheat sheet proves useful. "Foie de birds" is a mousse of duck and chicken livers wrapped in bacon. Pig's feet, called "a slice of the trotter in its jelly," features tender, full-flavored chunks of slow-cooked meat going toe-to-toe with powerful hunks of garlic. Shreds of slow-cooked rabbit make up the rabble, with the plate rounded out by a finely textured pork sausage, a green peppercorn paté and chunks of thick-crusted pork pie.

< Homemade breads (from left) Sourdough, whole wheat brioche, epi and french baguette.

Fish and chips is a regular offering, but I was drawn to an appetizer called minnows and chips ($8) that incorporates boneless, lightly breaded smelts. The fish, about nine in our order, were camouflaged among medium-thin French fries, something like lightly fried sardines served in a wire cone lined with simulated newsprint. Tartar sauce and curried mayo formed good complements for the fish and the potatoes.

Monkfish one evening and skate wing on another were the fish specialties. We tried the skate ($22), which was a degree or two less firm than I was expecting but still with good body and a slightly sweet flavor. The well-matched sauce incorporated the citrusy Pimm's Cup drink as well as the vegetal tang of capers.

< Skate wing with pimm's cup citrus butter, fingerling potatoes and braised red chard.

The crusty approach seen in the pork pie again showed up in a pheasant and morel pie ($18), the delicate flavor of the pheasant not at all overwhelmed by the dense mushroom flavor of the morels, with a distinctive presentation of a pheasant drumstick protruding from the center of a rectangular pie. The crust was a bit too thick on its own, but worked better as the starch of the dish when it was broken up and mixed with the creamy texture of its filling.

Fried rabbit ($21) had a piquant mustard coating and lovely moist interior texture. The sweet-tart of pickled onions and slight bitterness of chard made for an excellent overall flavor combination.


< Pheasant and morel pie with root veggie puree, cauliflower and green beans paired with a Guiness.

Our service was attentive but uneven. One server had no idea what was in the mixed grill of lamb. Another marred the extremely well-conceived selection of six artisanal English cheeses by slicing them in a portion that was way too skimpy at $14.

One of the challenges of Grand Center restaurants — parking — has been solved by a lot behind the restaurant. The biggest other challenge faced by Wm. Shakespeare's is familiarity. Game, charcuterie and unusual parts aren't commonplace on the local dining scene, and even though it's in the King's English, much of Wm. Shakespeare's menu may require translation.

But credit noble Eddie and his risk-taking for teaching us about the good to be found in offal, and credit Wm. Shakespeare's for a thoroughly entertaining dining experience.

jbonwich@post-dispatch.com — 314-340-8133