There are two guys named Paul at Paul’s Kitchen, the newcomer that took over Haven’s recently vacated location and opened on September 29. The first is owner Paul Miller, who also owns two suburban restaurants called Union Kitchen. The second is chef Paul K. Lewis, the chef most recently at Osteria Mazzantini and, before that, Cullen’s and Quattro at The Four Seasons Hotel.

The first thing you will notice when you walk in the door at Paul’s Kitchen is that all traces of Cove, chef Randy Evans and Philippe Gaston’s edgy raw bar, have been erased. It’s a more traditional bar area now with booths and big-screen TVs, and the exposed brick here and throughout the restaurant, along with stenciled advertising and butcher block table-tops, give the place a casual almost pub-like feel.

The menu, however, is far more ambitious than mere pub food. The dinner menu is divided into small plates and large plates, and you are encouraged to mix-and-match when ordering your meal. As guests of the owner, we began a recent sampling with a country plate ($14) of shelling pea hummus, marinated feta, pimiento cheese and Benton’s country ham out of Tennessee. Bread is from Slow Dough. We chatted with sous-chef Matt Lovelace (previously at Osteria Mazzantini and Triniti), who told us that, going forward, he will be curing all sausage, bacon and ham in-house.

You could describe the menu here as international – after all, the chef is British – as filtered through a Southern sensibility. At dinner it includes roasted Gulf oysters (topped with herbed chile and garlic butter, $9), “pork scratchin’s” (chicharróns to you, $5), braised goat empanadas ($12), arugula and carrot salad with herb-laced goat cheese and green charmoula dressing ($6, photo below), Hawaiian-style tuna poke ($18), fish and chips ($21), lamb tangia served with preserved lemons ($26) and a long-cooked pork shoulder (think: Mother’s Restaurant in New Orleans, $28) with sweet potato puree and roast onions. Sides, which are served family-style, include a skillet of braised mustard greens with homemade bacon ($6) and roast cauliflower with golden raisins and toasted pinenuts ($6).

The lunch menu offers many of the same dishes as the dinner menu with the addition of “Big Salads” (such as a grilled steak salad, $14), sandwiches ($12 to $14) and pizzas ($13 to $15).

Turn over either menu to learn the sources for many of the products used in the kitchen, from Frixos Chrisinis of Blue Horizon Seafood to Mark Kuehl of Brazos Valley Cheese. In fact, while we were eating, who dropped by our table but Glen and Honi Ann Boudreaux of Jolie Vue Farms who were at a nearby table. Interesting note: Chef Paul Lewis has cooked several times for the Outstanding in the Field outdoor dinners held at Jolie Vue near Brenham.

There is also a surprisingly robust wine list offered. If you like, ask that your party (up to four people) be seated at the chef’s table (more like a counter) that looks into the kitchen. It might be a little too warm some times of the year, but just the thing during the winter. The chefs and GM Robert Kelly will put together a paired tasting menu for you.

PAUL’S KITCHEN, 2502 Algerian Way (near Kirby/Hwy 59 intersection), 713-360-2002, PaulsKitchenHouston.com