Edible Food Find: Enchanté
Photos by Linda Campos
With the flip of a switch, a bright pink neon sign announces the transformation of Honeycomb, a warm and lively bakery and café in Hamilton during the day, into Enchanté, a welcoming and casual French-inspired bistro on Friday and Saturday nights. Lauren Moran opened Honeycomb in 2017 with her husband, Billy Moran (owner of Cornwall’s in Kenmore Square), after working as an executive pastry chef at several legendary Boston area restaurants, some of which she helped to open. The experience of helping open a restaurant made her realize that she wanted her own one day.
A few thriving years after starting Honeycomb, the Morans began conceptualizing another location. They explored several other properties but hadn’t quite found the perfect spot. Lauren notes that often during that time, after working Honeycomb’s closing shifts, she’d sit at one of their tables with a glass of wine as the sun went down, making lists and thinking that she’d like to also fill the space at night. They’d hosted some cocktail receptions and private events over the years, and she noticed that the space elegantly transformed from day to night. Simply by moving furniture around, changing the playlist, adding candles and wine glasses, dimming the lights and setting the tables, the space became something totally different from the daytime café.
Meanwhile, friend and talented fellow chef Jason Hanelt had begun working at Honeycomb. Hanelt, who worked for Gordon Hamersley for over 20 years and is classically French trained, had also been thinking about opening a restaurant. He and the Morans soon discovered that they shared a common goal—bringing bistro-style elevated small plates, natural wines and beers to the North Shore. The perfect location to test that concept, they realized, was literally under their feet. Enchanté opened in the space in January 2024 with Henalt as its chef.
“Jason has been an integral part from the onset,” Lauren emphasizes. “The food is all him at Enchanté. I do bread and pastries on the menu with my team but the food is his love here. He is such an incredibly talented chef. He cares deeply about where all our ingredients come from, sourcing from local fishermen, cheesemakers and farms. He has such a beautiful restraint in how he adds flavor. We are so lucky to have him.”
Enchanté translates to “delighted to meet you” in French, Lauren notes, and the couple used the phrase often when they visited the cafés and bistros of France during their honeymoon. The goal with their bistro was to mimic the feeling of those French bistros—to be a place for relaxing, socializing and connecting with one another in a fun, upbeat, come-as-you-are atmosphere.
“Enchanté came together as a collaborative effort amongst friends,” Lauren says. “When I opened Honeycomb, I was trying to do it all—general manager, chef, designer, even the general contractor when ours moved away mid-project. Billy took on the roles of electrician, plumber and beer director, among many others. Fast forward, and we now find ourselves surrounded by an extremely talented group of like-minded people. Creating Enchanté was fun, collaborative and exciting. It doesn't just belong to us. Our small, dedicated team poured themselves into this project as well. Our huge, loyal following of Honeycomb customers packs our beautifully welcoming space on Friday and Saturday evenings.”
When I interviewed Lauren about Honeycomb for this magazine in 2018, she noted that one of her goals was to bring the community together both day and night. With the opening of Enchanté, she and her team have now accomplished in the evening what Honeycomb does so incredibly well during the day. “I can’t do it alone,” Lauren emphasizes, “and I don’t want to do it alone. It’s way more fun to have these awesome, talented people around me that want to create with me.”
248 Bay Rd, South Hamilton
enchantehamilton.com
This story appeared in the Spring 2025 issue.
