A sign of the times at La Fromagerie

Strolling through Selfridges (mainly to see their diamond-covered Mini), I decided to buy some fragrance for the women in my life, only to discover that perfume is now named after the oddest people: J-Lo, Britney, Paris. Perhaps you just need a strange name to qualify. It made no sense to me.

A couple of days later I had arranged to meet an international lawyer for lunch. She was bored with the traditional kind of restaurant she always gets taken to, which is flash with cash, and, to be truthful, I get a little jaded with them myself. You know the kind of venue: all starched napkins the size of duvet covers and waiters looking at you disapprovingly if you dare to ask for a sprinkling of salt.

So where to take someone who's eaten just about everywhere that's anywhere? Somewhere unpretentious and different, because unpretentious is currently the coolest thing in town. And where better than just off Marylebone High Street, where the villagey atmosphere confounds the fact that teeming Oxford Street is just minutes away.

La Fromagerie is part of a growing trend to attach an eating house to a shop and serve what's being sold next door (as Villandry does). You can't book and the place is tiny, with one long communal table and three smaller tables. This, too, is a trend - you create demand by decreasing supply.

Just like at the Donmar, where, of course, tickets are like gold dust and change hands for obscene amounts; the theatre only seats about four people. As it was, there were streams of people waiting - like a queue for an execution, as they say in Scotland. Fortunately, I got there early enough to bag a spot. It made me feel as if I was back at school.

The lawyer was ten minutes late, during which time she'd probably earned at least another grand, and so I sat on a bench at the long table (very Northern Lights) and ordered a plate of cheese while I waited. It's that kind of place. No rules. No particular order. All the food is set down in the centre of the table and you just choose what you want. And the room smelled of spice and temptation and not at all cheesy, which was surprising considering the vast selection they carry.

Perhaps cheese should have its own celebrity backers, as perfume does. A tasteless Cheddar Lite fronted by Victoria Beckham maybe. Or Red Leicester sponsored by Gary Lineker (the city's most famous son). Cashel Blue (which sounds rich) could be backed by the Conservative party, while Labour could just give a cheesy grin and deny all knowledge of celebrity backers.

At last the lawyer burst in, past branches looped with lights that resembled illuminated reindeer antlers, and said how twinkly and seasonal the room looked.

Just at that moment all the fairy lights blew and the room erupted into a childlike 'Oooh!', which always makes you feel so cosy and communal, especially in London.

Where does the law stand on smells, I wondered - knowing that there was bound to be a legal definition, even though it's such a nebulous and subjective topic.

I was right: 'Nuisance by odour' is the term they use under tort law. This means you can complain about a foul smell next to your home, but not if you knew that your neighbour was a pig farmer when you signed. Isn't the law amazing? I wanted her to tell me all about her most famous client (who is very famous indeed) but infuriatingly, she was textbook discreet.

With my pasta bake, I ate black rice, slow-roasted baby vine tomatoes with toasted pine nuts and mint marjoram, while the legal eagle opted for salad of roast organic chicken with pumpkin, green beans and truffle oil.

Yes, it's one of those too-much-information menus, but the food was really very good and it changes daily. If you're reading Northern Lights, then it's just the kind of place where Lyra would come for afternoon tea.

We stepped on to the pavement feeling glad we live in London. La Fromagerie isn't just warm and cosy, it serves up the kind of food and lifestyle that is beginning to define these times. Simple, but unmistakable. The modest but sweet smell of success.

La Fromagerie Café
2-4 Moxon Street, W1U 4EW