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Avec is a long, narrow room with communal cedar-wood tables, exposed beams, and a warmth that comes from both the wood-burning oven doing most of the cooking and the general density of people who are clearly happy to be there. It's been on West Randolph since 2003 and remains one of the best reasons to eat on Restaurant Row. The format is Mediterranean-leaning small plates and the philosophy is straightforward: very good ingredients, handled well, shared generously.
The chorizo-stuffed Medjool dates are the dish that built this restaurant's reputation and they've been on the menu for twenty-plus years because nobody has figured out a reason to take them off. Fat dates stuffed with spicy-sweet chorizo, wrapped in bacon and crisped in the wood oven, served on a warm piquillo pepper-tomato sauce. They're salty and sweet and a little smoky all at once and the sauce underneath ties everything together with an acidity that makes the whole thing feel lighter than it has any right to. Order more than you think you need. We also had the potato and salted cod brandade, a creamy, garlicky spread served warm with crostini that could easily become the thing you return for on its own. The short rib hummus, braised short rib piled over good hummus, is the other dish that keeps showing up at every table. Between these three things and a couple of glasses from the strong wine list, a full and genuinely satisfying dinner assembles itself without any effort at all. Tuesday nights are half-price bottles, which is worth knowing.
Service is fast and knowledgeable and doesn't waste time. The communal tables mean you're occasionally seated close to strangers, which some people love and others don't. Either way it's part of what gives the room its particular energy.