St Alban

I went to St Alban shortly after it opened and din't enjoy it. However, I have been back a few times recently and I have to say it has become a favourite. The food is excellent, interesting, well priced and well presented. I have not had any problems with late delivery or confused orders. The wine list is inetesting and well priced with plenty of wines by the glass. The staff are efficient and charming. Importantly there is a wonderful atmosphere in the dining room; the tables are spaced far enough apart for comfort but near enough to create intimacy. The clientele ranges from young to (very) old and is clearly sophisticated. One of the most pleasing aspects is that it is not too noisy.

Altogether one of the best restaurants in London.
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Brian Clivaz
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, August 23, 2007

We had post theatre dinner here last night, excellent vibe.

Particularly enjoyed the menu, wanted to eat everyhing on it! The Gazpacho soup was divine as was the soft shell crab. They do a great pizza but the star was the liver and bacon followed by rice pudding, such comfort food!...very reasonable too

Great crowd, Danny Devito the star although seeing Harold Pinter and Anthony Sher was wonderful for theatre nuts like us.

Lovely staff and a contemporary room that really clicked with us, without doubt the sexiest toilets in town too, a nice bonus. You could fall asleep on the sofa style chairs they were so comfy.

All in all a wonderful buzzy evening out which at 10.30 at night is hard to find in London. We shall be back to try out their Sunday specials , paella here I come!!
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CJ - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Thursday, July 12, 2007

We went to St Alban for dinner with friends a week ago.

The first thing that struck me was how the room was decorated in what someone had clearly been taught was "cool". Weird shapes outlined on walls, bright orange seats... not cool at all! The place was too brightly lit and reminded me of the Gordon Ramsey Fword show...

The maitre d came over and seemed very nice and capable to start with. The wine list is great, dont be afraid to try an unknown as the wine waiter is very helpful there. The way in which the wine is rationed out over the meal drove me INSANE! I dont mind if you keep the wine in a bucket near the table, i don't mind if you prefer to fill the glasses ... but do it! Don't leave us gasping for a drink! And why, when we had finished a bottle didn't they tell us?! Very strange.

Now for the food. After a 30 minute wait the starters arrived. My starter was the grilled squid. Not great, quite gritty and a very large portion. The salad was dressed with the squid ink which wasn't mentioned in the menu and didn't impress me. My main was fantastic, pork belly with a thin and perfectly crisp crackling. It came with a potato fan of some sort which tasted great but was a pain to actually eat (you'll understand if you order it). My poor fellow diners were all left waiting for various components of their meals (late salads, wrong vegetables)...not what you'd expect in an emptying dining room. It was about 10.45 by this point. Finally the desserts were pretty good.

I was underwhelmed by the entire affair. By the end of the meal the heda waiter had let himself down, becoming snootily faux-knowledgable about the wine and too familiar.

I enjoyed the company and most of my meal, but I shan't return. Magdalen in London Bridge accomplishes far more and provides a more relaxed environment.
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- View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 6
Sunday, June 10, 2007

We went to St Alban on Friday for our wedding anniversary. I cannot fault the service which was attentive, friendly and professional. We also really liked the ambience. Even though we were eating early the place was buzzing with everyone enjoying themselves.

However, we were disappointed with the food. My starter of Pigeon and Pearl Barley salad was a really good combination, especially with the addition of fresh peas and baby broad beans. However, it was drowned in an overly oily dressing which made it really hard going and I wasn't able to finish it.

My husbands starter of Courgette Flowers stuffed with Bacalao was OK though the stuffing was overly creamy and processed until really smooth, which again made it slightly too rich.

My husbands main course of Rump of Lamb was a fantastic piece of meat, cooked rare and accompanied by some excellent crushed carrots with fennel and cumin. A lovely dish and plently of it, which was fortunate as it gave me something to eat after I had sent back the green salad which had been drowned in an overy vinegary dressing and the Sardinian seafood stew which, quite frankly, smelt off.

The relacement of Papardelle with Duck was also not up to scratch. Both the pasta and the sauce were really well executed but there was more sauce than there was pasta and it completely overpowered the dish and again I couldn't finish it.

The service throughout was fantastic and our plate with truffles and macaroons that came with the coffee had happy anniversary written in chocolate around the edge. The service, combined with a free glass of champagne helped lift the evening but I was disappointed that what could have been a fantastic meal was spoilt largely by someone in the kitchen having too heavy a hand with the oil, vinegar and sauces.
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Jo
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Monday, May 21, 2007

We took some clients over there last night. Overall it does what it says in the decor. Good food but not great (nothing too spectacular or exotic on the menu), good service and buzzy atmosphere (which was nice for a tuesday evening).

Good selection of wine by the glass and the prices were reasonable I thought.
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Olivier Peltier
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Yet again a great meal! Six of us and not one person disappointed. Courgette flowers to start were delicious.

Would thoroughly reccommend.
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- View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, May 11, 2007

St Alban has become one of my favourite London restaurants, both for lunch and dinner (perfect for after theatre). The decor lifts the spirits and a civilised acoustic means you can actually hear what your companions are saying! The service is perfect in the great Corbin-King tradition; the menu and the quality of the cooking is deliciously diverse. A joyous addition to the city restaurant scene.
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Howard Schuman
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, April 06, 2007

One arrives at this rather trim minimalist styled place..broad black slate entrance steps and a dominating internal wall of vertically hung riven black slate sets the tenor for the decor.

After a brief wait our table was ready. Sitting in the angle of the L shaped room enabled us to view the whole place and watch a very professional team run the place.

I much preferred the choice of food here to the 'other place' on Piccadilly..none of that funny eastern European stuff thankfully. This is modern Mediteranean. My Broad beans with chorizio was pretty OK, although ithey werent the youngest of broadbeans and the sauce was a tad dominant for the mildly flavoured vegetable- [not quite that exquisite sensation one has in Rome in the spring with young Broad beans in a dash of olive oil, parmasan and a good grind of pepper.]

The rack of Cumbrian lamb was excellent- very tender, a delicate flavour and delightful with spinach and very wicked cheese infused mash potato- I didnt quite catch the lengthy Italian name for it, but it tasted great and avidly preyed upon by my hosts !

We all indulged in the puds which illicited the greatest of praise- the souffle won ! My baby pineapple was as wished !

Our meal was accompanied by a very fine Condrieu- pure nectar.

I would definetly go again, especially as I was'nt paying !!

PS The service was so exemplary it went unnoticed- they were just there. not obvious but just attending discreeetly.
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Adam H
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Just not as good as The Wolseley in my opinion.

The restaurant is interesting in itself: low (ish) ceilings, art deco/minimalist feel (which I could not help but think will date quite quickly), but does not captivate like its sister restaurant.

The food was good but not amazing (I must say that the spagetti al vongole was actually quite poor - oversalted and swimming in about a cm of oil) but the service was spot on.

I am glad I have been but I would not go back out of choice.
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Rick Brown
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Thursday, March 08, 2007

The restaurant is interesting in itself: low (ish) ceilings, art deco/minimalist feel (which I could not help but think will date quite quickly), but does not captivate like its sister restaurant.

The food was good but not amazing (I must say that the spagetti al vongole was actually quite poor - oversalted and swimming in about a cm of oil) but the service was spot on.

I am glad I have been but I would not go back out of choice.
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Rick Brown
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Thursday, March 08, 2007