The first time I traveled through England was before London put Paris on notice by racking up its own Michelin stars, before the glare of the food world's klieg lights hit the Brits, and other such Ramsayfications. Back then, the only halfway decent fare you could find was in Indian restaurants, Middle Eastern establishments and a few very special pubs. Those pubs popped into mind when I walked into Press 626 Café and Wine Bar.

First there's the look. A gray townhouse in villagey Ghent with a curved, double-front staircase and evocative picture windows, its exterior could pass for a Dickens set piece. Inside, tables –– high and standard height –– seat about 30 people throughout two rooms, but the bar consumes much of the casual, attractive space; a neighborly conviviality flows from it. And the reasonably-priced menu (no dish over $20) lists the kind of nurturing food that can cozy you up on a wintry day. All very pub-like.

But beyond those first impressions, Press 626 possesses contemporary American verve. There's an emphasis on local and green along with a shout out to globalization via international influences. Bread is supplied by Virginia Beach-based Real Bread Shop (which mills organic, chemical-free grains daily) and diners' leftovers, thoughtfully labeled, are placed in recyclable containers.

While 626 refers to the address, Press' premise is just that –– pressed items. Pressed sandwiches for lunch or dinner will call to mind Italian Panini and Dutch tosti, organic coffee arrives at table in a French press and there are pressed grapes (a.k.a. wines) –– more than 50 under $50 (with a third by the glass) as well as 23 half-bottles and, for bonus-baby bankers, 25 splurges topping out at a relatively modest $165 (namely the Robert Parker darling Ramey Jericho Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon '05). Even the olive oil in a number of first courses/small plates and main courses is highlighted as cold "pressed." Crispy chicken ($15.95) features candied garlic and herb "pressed" free range chicken breast, and the soup or salad with a half sandwich ($6.95, at lunch only) is titled "Pressed for Time Combo."

It's a clever theme to wrap an eatery around, and one that never feels cloying, cute or forced. Probably because Andrés DeMarchena, Press' creative executive chef (formerly at Harbor Club and, more recently, Beale Street), and owners Lindsay and Ed Bennett, put great care into their work. Theirs is the kind of menu where everything sounds so good, you just want to gobble up all of it. Crispy vegetable spring roll tempts, Indian spice shrimp intrigues, and beer-battered fish and chips, with house-cut fries, pickled jalapeno lemon tartar, malt vinegar and sea salt sure sounds fun, doesn't it?

Besides wine, both purist and specialty cocktails such as Southern Tea ($10), showcasing South Carolina's all-the-rage Firefly Tea Vodka, and an array of champagne cocktails tantalize (and reflect Lindsay's history as bar manager at Todd Jurich's Bistro). There are hot toddies and a smattering of interesting bottled beers, ports and dessert wines. Pressing matters, indeed. You'll want to come here for lunch, dinner, pre-theater, post-theater, heck, during-theater when the show drags.

Get the delicious tomato soup ($2.95/small, $4.95/large), chunky, beribboned with basil, as kicky as a good gazpacho; it alone makes you hope this Press is permanent. Little pencils on the table, like you find at sushi bars, are for you to compose your own salad (mark up to 10 items on a sheet listing lettuces, veggies, fruit, cheeses, proteins, croutons, nuts and seeds for up to $10). With more than 3 dozen options –– fresh mozzarella, dried cranberries, candied pecans, sweet grape tomatoes, applewood bacon –– combos are mathematically mind-boggling.

Fresh mesclun comes with delightful sandwiches such as Turkey Breast Press ($8.25), house roasted, thinly-sliced turkey, Vermont sharp cheddar, crisp pears and Dijon spread on Dakota bread, a multi-grain variety. Soup, fruit or addictive home-cut fries may be substituted for accompanying salad greens for $1.75. Four cheeses –– Vermont cheddar, Swiss, pepper jack and goat –– ooze out of buttered bread, stringing and straining as you bite into the cockily (but arguably accurately) named Best Grilled Cheese –– Ever!! ($7.75).

A panoply of eggplant, zucchini and other vegetables tops pre-cut slices of the pizza-esque ratatouille and feta tart ($7.95), a first course suitable for sharing, its sticky balsamic reduction and caramelized onions lending sweetness to tease the feta's salt. Main courses (served only at dinner) include a piping hot seafood pot pie ($16.95), scallops, shrimp, peas, pearl onions and a fish du jour (perhaps tilapia) in a tarragon-tickled béchamel (white sauce) beneath a billowy pastry crust, and Bayou shrimp and chicken pasta ($16.50), bowties pleasantly embellished with sun-dried tomatoes, peppers, onions –– less spicy than the Bayou descriptor would lead you to believe (and less spicy, too, than that endearing tomato soup). A side of petite corned beef and cabbage ($6.95) charms with its crispy, flash-fried cabbage, sautéed Brussels sprouts and salty little cubed beef beneath a tepee of fries.

A few wrinkles need ironing. While some veteran waiters hit every mark, other servers are less proficient (though offset technical shortcomings with ebullience and energy). An excess of cream, er, creamed asparagus soup. Salad dressings are laudably house-made but some, such as balsamic vinaigrette and maple vinaigrette, proved sludgy and too recalcitrant to dress with. Rib-eye steak ($19.95) was cut thinner than a Brazilian model, making it near-impossible to deliver on a medium-rare request, although its crispy, fresh-cut, sea salt-speckled sweet potato fries proved how nice extra starch can be. And romaine in a create-your-own-salad was more thick rib than from the heart.

Yet how can you not love a place where the chef thoughtfully floats not just any old croutons, but cinnamon-raisin, in a roasted butternut squash soup? And where his mother, "The Dessert Diva," makes irresistible sweets like a dreamy cheesecake ($6.50), alluding to amaretto, topped with real whipped cream just to press the point, and jumbo cupcakes ($4.25 – add a cold glass of milk for a dollar) like the champagne flavored one with lemon curd icing and a raspberry-kissed filling, pretty as a wedding cake.

Press is such a delight, you won't want to gulp your food, but if ever you're going to avail yourself of the Heimlich maneuver, this would be the place to do it, what with Sentara/EVMS across the street (and especially on Mondays and Tuesdays, when those in scrubs enjoy a 15% discount). There's more, but I've got to dash…it's press time.

Press 626 is located at 626 W. Olney Rd., Norfolk. 282-6234. Open Mon.-Fri. from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sat. from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Smoke-free. Catering available. Free delivery for $50+ orders. http://www.press626.com/