The first sign that the Abbey lives up to its self-proclaimed title of “progressive tavern” is that the place takes reservations. The next is that it’s bringing modern flavour and flair to traditional British pub fare.

Don’t get the wrong idea—there’s nothing overly fancy about the food at the latest venture from chef Andrey Durbach and business partner Chris Stewart (the duo behind La Buca, the Sardine Can, and Pied-à-Terre), who have teamed up with managing partner Michel Durocher. The menu doesn’t aim to be Vancouver’s most inventive; the place isn’t pretending to be something it’s not. But it does offer the kind of high-quality ingredients that food-obsessed Vancouverites have come to expect at mid-range prices in a relaxed room.

Situated in the former home of Wild Rice, it has the same curved staircases and long bar (minus the glowing blue bar counter), but it’s a warmer ambiance with wood throughout: wooden tables, chairs, floors, panelling, and accents. Charles Forsberg’s paintings—backlit panels with swirls of vibrant hues that used to hang at Boneta—here resemble a playful, modern take on stained glass.

Given its location on the western edge of Chinatown, the restaurant is a great choice for a bite before or after a hockey game, movie, or play. You’ll get the best bang for your buck if you show up between 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., when everything on the bar menu is 50 percent off.

You can easily make a meal out of the “drinking snacks” and small plates. Just be careful not to overdo it on rich items like Welsh rarebit, sausage rolls, and mushrooms on toast; they’re tasty but so rich that eaten collectively they will push your glycemic index into the red zone.

Sausage rolls are made in-house with pork and a smidge of beef, and come with a dab of Colman’s English holy-shit-that’s-hot mustard, the kind that produces a wasabi-type nasal sensation. Durbach gets the dough, which is a cross between that used for croissants and puff pastry, from Trafiq Café and Bakery on Main. The same shop provides the thick slabs of white bread for Welsh rarebit and mushrooms on toast. The former is an indulgent plate: cave-aged Gruyère and Quebec Cheddar melted over the bread that’s then topped with slices of pickled whole onions and Extra Special Bitter–spiked Lincolnshire Poacher cheese. Mushrooms on that buttery, white toast, meanwhile, is just that; no drama.

Chicken karaage with spicy mayo is an addictive little dish, the fried dark meat all juicy, the crispy togarashi coating all fiery. Durbach does a milder version for one of the tavern’s three kid-friendly items—remember, minors are allowed in pubs these days—and serves them with fries. (The other two dishes for little people are noodles with tomato sauce, and sausages and mash.) The young’uns with us liked the spicier “adult” karaage better.

Sausages and mash isn’t, thankfully, the bland working-class dish it started out as (better known as bangers and mash) but rather something you could serve Kate Middleton. Charred broccoli, half a roasted tomato, and mashed potatoes loaded with spring onions accompany three thick Toulouse links in a mustard gravy that has some bite.

The restaurant has a daily blackboard with regularly changing features such as line-caught crispy lingcod with basil mashed potatoes; grilled fennel, green beans, and tomato; and caponata.

Blue Goose organic beef is custom-ground for the patty melt and topped with cave-aged Gruyère and sweet Kurobuta bacon (all-natural Berkshire pork from Idaho’s Snake River Farms). Other mains include sockeye salmon paillard, a whole-grain pilaf with veggies from Burnaby’s Sun Tai Sang Farm, and spaghetti with lobster.

Desserts are more highfalutin than what you’d find on Charing Cross Road: peanut butter pie with sour cherries is densely delicious, and the salted caramel pot de crème so subtle it’s best as a stand-alone.

A selection of craft beers—six on tap, six by the bottle—includes a couple of our summer favourites: Red Racer Pale Ale and the light and grapefruity Parallel 49 Radler. The cocktail and wine lists are carefully curated, and then there are the happy-hour pours: Aral­dica Castelvero Cortese Piemonte, Hacienda López de Haro Tempranillo, and even bubbles (Charles de Fère Cuvée Jean-Louis Blanc de Blancs brut), each $5 a glass.

Snacks and small plates run $3.25 (for a sausage roll) to $16.50 (foie gras parfait), while mains range from $18.50 to $24.