York & Albany

We stayed at the York and Albany for Christmas. The package included 2 night's accommodation, breakfasts and Christmas lunch on Christmas day. We were absolutely thrilled with our stay. The room was beautiful, warm, comfortable and individually decorated. Our room overlooked Regent's Park and we had a fantastic bathroom with heated floors and a powerful shower. The staff were warm, friendly and attentive. We ate all our meals in the restaurant and were delighted with how reasonable the prices were, offering a first-class dining experience at pub prices. The food was simple but beautifully done and the menu included pizzas, burgers, steaks and fish. The cocktails are absolute heaven and the restaurant has a fantastic wine list that will satisfy every level of wine drinker. On Christmas eve Santa came and left us a stocking filled with lovely gourmet treats from the deli! We took a lovely walk on Christmas day in Regent's Park and up Primrose Hill before returning to have Christmas lunch.

For us the highlight was how friendly the staff were. There were a couple of waiters who were working the whole weekend over Christmas (had that been me I would have been quite grumpy and inhospitable), they got to know us and greeted us every time they saw us and stopped when they passed our table to check everything was ok. We felt very welcome and like we were spending Christmas with friends. It was our first Christmas away from home which we'd thought would be a sad experience but we're now thinking about spending every year at the York and Albany.
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Emma - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, December 29, 2011

My husband who is a long serving fire-fighter at one of London's busiest fire stations was recently awarded a Ramsay Voucher via his work. We had been very excited, yet undecided which restaurant to use the voucher at. We decided on York & Albany as a colleague of his had recommended it. My husband booked a table for us for 3pm Saturday 29 October 2011. We followed the directions provided on their website and allowed good time for delays and for the fact that I am heavily pregnant and can 'waddle a little slower' at the moment. We arrived at the restaurant a 3.06pm (6 minutes late). The bar staff directed us to the restaurant there were no staff to greet us immediately, however a well-mannered waitress passed us within a minute or so and asked if she could help. Whilst she was ticking us off the reservation list, what appeared to be a 'hostess' moved between us and the waitress, she ignored us and tutted, waggling her finger at the waitress saying "No. No. No!". We were puzzled how she could be so rude to her colleague when we realised she wasn’t criticising her colleague she was insulting us; ignoring us but instructing the waitress not to seat us as we were late. It was now only about 3.08pm. My husband asked what the problem may be and the 'hostess' curtly said without even making eye contact "What time did you book?". My husband confirmed 3pm. She then tutted again and said "3pm? Well you are late and the kitchen is now closed". I explained in a light hearted friendly manner that I am a little slower than usual walking as I am pregnant, and that we were only about 5 minutes late anyway; which is time that could have been swallowed up by us taking time looking at a menu anyway. There were several covers still left in the dining area who were still eating. My husband suggested if they could then contact one of their sister restaurants, who's kitchen was not closed, to see if they had availability and we would pop in a cab there. She completely ignored our request, and us, and reluctantly after speaking with her colleague said she would ask the chef if he would allow us to stay (??!) We both agreed that if the staff didn’t want to serve us and the chef closed the kitchen at 3pm (when our table had in fact been booked for) then we didn’t want to stay and feel uncomfortable and have half hearted input by the restaurant. We were very disappointed. We had so been looking forward to visit. Safe to say that we won’t be revisiting that restaurant. I very much doubt that my husband's work will be using Ramsay vouchers as rewards anymore and I have suggested that they not rush to the venue if any emergency calls are put in! Good customer services cost little to provide if you have the right staff, nevertheless it can cost a lot if you have incompetent individuals who do not take pride in their work, or their colleagues or business’s reputation. Really disappointing and unfortunate manner from an amateurish hostess, which has sadly reflected on Gordon Ramsay.
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0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, October 31, 2011

Went to the York and Albany for drinks and takeaway bar food. Drinks as expected v expensive and arrived after a 20 min wait. Food arrived cold as they forgot to bring it to the table. Sent back. The only thing that was hot was the building that was far too hot!
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2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Monday, September 19, 2011

We had dinner at the York and Albany last night – I guess with it having ‘Gordon Ramsey’ behind its name we walked in with pretty high expectations. We didn’t have a reservation but were promptly greeted and seated which was nice. But that’s where the nice service stopped. We waited patiently for around 15 minutes for the menu. We realised we had been forgotten when the couple just seated next to us where handed their menus immediately. So eventually we asked a passing by waitress who then brought the menus. The level of service continued the same way for the rest of the evening, with our empty dishes sitting in front of us for far too long followed by the long wait for someone to bring our bill and take our money when we wanted to leave. The food was nice – not great, but nice. Price was on the high side but given that it’s a nice looking place with fancy looking diners we accepted that. The major disappointment was the 12.5% service charge that was slapped on the bill with no indication that it is optional. Given that we hadn’t enjoyed the service, we would have paid maximum 10% but we felt too uncomfortable in creating the scene of explaining to the very friendly waitress why we want to pay 2.5% less. So we decided that writing a review with our experience would be a more effective way of expressing our disappointment.
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london foodie
6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Saturday, September 17, 2011

I suppose disappointment would be the feeling after a visit last night. We were seated downstairs, next to the kitchens. Our conversation was therefore punctuated by "service" at 1 minute intervals. I know that in some places you pay for this priviledge. It was cold, but the heating change resulted in it being too hot so we yo-yoed all evening. Service was slow, polite and friendly, but slow. Better to get a table upstairs, we felt a bit "second class" downstairs. Food was very variable. Salt and pepper squid left a pile of overcooked batter and lots of salt, not much spice. Beans and pecorino lovely, Salt beef had lots on the plate (too much?) and lacked a strong mustard. Mains didnt fare much better. One bream was overcooked., the other good. The lamb shoulder with carrots was very nice, the romana sauce with the gnocchi was far too subtle for my taste buds and tasted plain bland. Lemon tart was superb. Wines under £20 were good, we had some house red and a picpoul. Perhaps my expectations were too high but at £200 for 5 I expected a bit more consistency.
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Dr Stix - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Friday, July 22, 2011

Something has gone slightly awry here. What was recently a decent restauant with a very good line in cote de boeuf for two has had its menu dumbed down. The dishes this time came acros more as cooking by numbers than genuinely thoughtful. A dish of asparagus was a mixed mayonnaise-ful pot of bits of aspargus mixed up with potato and crayfish - not really celebrating the quality of the seaonable veg. A still okay cut of beef was now served singly (at increased price) but less satisfying sat in a pool of jus and half a (under)roasted onion.

Others have commented on the staff, who remain amateur but helpful on the whole, but it is the recent change in design and standard of the food/menu which was most disappinting. It's a shame because the dining room is still very nice. The menu doesn't seem to know what it is, offering a limited set of a la carte with a line of pizzas thrown in. Nothing wrong with either but the place has clearly not decided how it intends to reinvent itself and the general quality has slipped. Needless to say the prices have not changed.
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5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Thursday, June 30, 2011

Went here on Sunday 26 June 2011. The food was nice, but not really commensurate with the price we were paying. We paid £100 for a two course meal each with a bottle of wine - not really a bargain by any stretch of the imagination. The food was OK - mains were fair, even if I think the Sunday roast is a little over-rated and oft-boasted about. My dessert was delicious, but as said, at a rate of £50 a head I was expecting something a little more memorable.

So overall summary would be: fairly nice food, but you can probably do better in this wonderful city in terms of value for money.
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Sean Reid
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Monday, June 27, 2011

My other half and I have been considering staying at the York & Albany hotel for our wedding night, as it looks great from the photos and is perfectly located for our reception. However, having read some of the reviews on here, we were concerned that the poor service and poor food on offer in the attached restaurant would be a deal breaker. We needn't have worried.

We went for Sunday lunch this weekend, and had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. As other reviewers have commented, the room upstairs is gorgeous, and sets the tone for a relaxed sophisticated meal. When I ventured downstairs to the toilets however, I noted that there is a whole underground section of the restaurant which was busy and dimly lit - it had the feel of a nightclub... I would recommend asking to be sat upstairs if possible.

Anyway - the food. We were really happy with it. Delicious chewy sourdough bread, followed by juicy sirloin of beef with big fluffy yorkshire puddings, and the most delicious gravy. Desserts were equally yummy, with the Eton Mess and Chocolate Marquis hitting the spot. Service was brisk, but polite and attentive.

Quite a few tables had small children in attendance, which didn't detract from the ambience, actually added to it - there was generally a really pleasant relaxed vibe to the place.

We shall be staying in one of the beautiful suites for our wedding night, and won't be put off by the few bad reviews which thankfully do not seem representative of the York & Albany. Give it a try!
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Jo - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Sunday, June 19, 2011

Went to Y&A for our anniversary dinner. In summary, the food was - well, ok - but the service was truly truly terrible. I have never been treated so rudely and hope never to be again. Our waiter, while perfectly pleasant, served the wrong starter. We politely pointed this out and the error was rectified within a minute or so. Unfortunately, the maitre d then took it upon himself to come over to our table and accuse me of having ordered one starter and then having changed my mind. After a minute or so of waving the unwanted dish in front of my nose, he flounced off. We briefly thought about leaving but decided to stay (given that it was a special occasion). We then sat with our empty starter dishes in front of us for at least 20 mins. The main course duly arrived - with the wrong side dishes. This was pointed out to the maitre d (reasonably politely - though we were, admittedly, a little irritated by this stage) who displayed exactly the same degree of arrogance and utter lack of concern. Luckily me and my husband found the whole episode very amusing. But - given that dinner cost over £100 (without service charge) - had we wanted an evening of comedy I can think of better alternatives. In short, the food is pretty good, but the staff are appalling. There are much much better places in London that you can spend your hard earned cash.
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JH Buchan
3 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Saturday, March 19, 2011

Worst service ever!

We were late for 10 minutes for the booking, and we've waited for 5 minutes until we've got seated, another 5 minutes later, the waiter (without any sympathy or apologies) came over to our table and said, 'sorry the kitchen is closed, no food is available, because you are late!'

We could not believe our ears. I have never been to a restaurant that normally the standard practice is to wait for 15 minutes for the guests, even without customer's notice in advance. Plus York and Albany did not warn us that if we were 10-minutes late, no food would be available!

We were starving but had to find another place in the rain. What a nightmare! This is really a bad experience. Do not know why would any restaurant treat customers like this, shame to be a Gorden Ramsay restaurant!
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King - View all reviews by this user
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Sunday, February 27, 2011