Alba

Having been there for an enjoyable lunch a few months ago, I went there for dinner at the end of last week. The restaurant was almost empty, which I don't mind provided that the service is not slow, which it was on occasion. The starters - gravadlax and crusted goat's cheese - were good, although I thought that almost £8 for what was essentially a slice of goat's cheese was a little OTT. On the other hand, the salmon came in a good helping. The mains, ox cheek and risotto were excellent: however, again, the ox cheek came with no greens (none had been offered or separately listed in the menu) which at the cost was not good. I had ordered a side salad for the risotto, which was good but was charged at an extortionate £6 (not listed on the menu). However the real issue was with puddings, which were tiny! How you can justify serving a sliver of tart at £7 is beyond me, when places such as The Boundary serve an enormous and excellent tarte tatin for £8.50! Affrogato - two tiny scoops of icecream in an enormous glass and an espresso - was also £7. I will not be going back, not because the food was not good, but it was overpriced for what it was. For the same money, there is much, much better in London.
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5 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, February 08, 2011

A new chef and a new menu at this smart restaurant which focuses on Piedmontese cooking of north West Italy (Juventus country for football fans).

A good mix of fish and meat dishes-excellent risotto and sea bream ravioli;as well as stuffed boneless quail and veal ossobuco.Desserts are luscious with a warm zabaglione that is creamy and laced with marsala.

Excellent wine list with some of the lowest mark-ups in London. Given the collapse of sterling (thanks again to our Scottish pm and Scottish chancellor who are doing their braveheart best to bankrupt England) the prices for these wines are a steal.
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A.Friedman
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Friday, October 09, 2009

Alba is an OK Italian restaurant, which gets some extra points for being in a neighbourhood with a distinct shortage of decent restaurants of any kind. It offers a wide-ranging menu, with some good value selections on it, and the food is fairly good, although hardly inspired or inventive. I found the service a bit annoying, especially as the waiter hovered by the table (seeming impatient) as we looked over the menu and tried to decide. The rooms look nice - elegant and sleek - but the atmosphere is ruined by the music they play. At these prices (£40 a head), do we really have to listen to some Bryan Adams clone, singing Italian-language versions of American power ballads? Worse, the music seemed to have been recorded off the radio, so between songs there was chatter and other forms of unwanted noise. The managers should really turn that schlock off.
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Harry
6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 7
Sunday, September 06, 2009