Like many New England chefs, Kate and Trevor Smith are passionate about cooking with the seasons. But what really gets our attention is how they use our region’s bounty to recreate the flavors they experienced while working abroad. At Thistle & Leek, their Newton Centre gastropub, they’re turning out a gorgeous array of small plates, each so vividly and thoughtfully composed that you’ll feel transported to the European destinations where the couple once cheffed.

The restaurant, with its dark wood paneling, vintage dinner plates, and old-timey botanical prints decorating the walls, feels like a love letter to British pub culture. But the menu—divided into Snacks, Veg, Fish, Meat, and Puds (desserts)—makes plenty of room for other European cuisines. A hearty Pork Schnitzel, for example, accompanied by fingerling potatoes, cucumbers, and cherry mustard, gives a nod to Trevor’s time cooking in Vienna. Similarly, Kate’s passion for Spain is captured by a smoky red pepper romesco accompanying Charred Leek, braised so that the allium turns sumptuously silky before it’s seared a la plancha.

The peripatetic pair—who also worked at New York’s Le Bernardin (Kate) and Gramercy Tavern (Trevor)—could have put down roots anywhere. But the couple, who met as line cooks at now-shuttered Craigie Street Bistrot and later worked for Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette at Coppa and Toro—knew they would make New England their home. We’re thrilled that they did, and judging by the happy patrons populating the place, we’re not alone.

You’ll see families seated at polished wood tables inside, and gathered on two patios: one sunny and bedecked with flowering plants, the other tucked under the restaurant’s awning. At a cozy slip of a bar, friends meet up to enjoy cocktails and a selection of Old-World wines, beers, and ciders. Our favorite place of all to sit is at the chef’s counter. From that perch, watching all the action of the open kitchen, you’ll feel like you’re on an adventure of your own.