Albion

We went for breakfast, having seen it listed as a recommended breakfast destination. We liked the decor and atmosphere, and there is some lovely-looking stuff in the shop area.

I ordered kidneys on toast and Mrs Backdrifter had porridge and prunes. Everything was good quality, but overpriced. I got a fairy generous helping of kidneys, way out of proportion to the one meagre little piece of toast. For £8.75 they could stretch to a scond piece of bread, couldn't they? The porridge was very good but again, £6.75?

The star of the show was the superb fresh-squeezed orange juice, and at just the right refreshingly cool temperature (too many places give you room-temperature juice).

I'd buy stuff from the shop but probably wouldn't go back to eat at Albion.
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Backdrifter - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Saturday, May 28, 2011

I have been here twice (both times, breakfast) and as others have noted this place is a classic example of style over substance.

The food was perfectly acceptable both times, and as somewhere to sit and eat and chill over a newspaper or catch up on emails, it's nice, but the attitude of the wait staff bordered on arrogant. Service with a snarl of the "I'm way too cool to be serving you" type.

They really need a kick up the......

Something must be tragically wrong higher up at Conran when so many people on this site - and others - say the same thing but no one in management bothers to do anything about it.

It could be great. But it isn't.
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Will Henderson
5 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Friday, October 08, 2010

Had a tasteless fish pie... The food here is not as good as they make it out to be. Bread is superb though...
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5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, March 23, 2010

I had meant to come to Conran’s new eatery since Time Out awarded it 2009’s “Best Cheap Eats” in London but only made it with Dr G nearly a year later, for a late brunch last Saturday.

I was impressed by the understated elegance of the building and décor – as a former light industrial building, some of its interesting features were maintained (or sympathetically incorporated) like the refectory style cream tiles, the factory lights, and the large windows which let plenty of natural light into the Café.

I also loved their food shop and open plan kitchen – the large baskets of fresh bread, cleverly positioned at the entrance of the building, welcome you into the Café and help to draw in even the most reluctant of punters.

The menu is reassuringly simple with some British classics and “caff” style dishes that will appeal to anyone. Prices are not bad either with most dishes costing less than the £10 mark.

I was pleased to see Greenwich Meantime beers on their menu @ £3.75, one of my favourite brewers in the country. I was lucky to attend a private tasting by this fantastic, independent beer house a couple of years ago, and was completely stunned by the quality of their beers and the passion of the founder/speaker. I always order GM beers whenever I see them available, my favourites being London Porter, Union and the coffee beer.

Dr G and I ordered a couple of staple dishes – I went for the “Full Albion Breakfast” @ £9.75 while Dr G had “Kedgeree” @ £9.50.

I would have liked to continue the complimentary tone of my review and say that our food was as great as the décor, food shop, and beers, but unfortunately both dishes were rather disappointing.

My breakfast looked great but did not taste it – the saving grace was the streaky bacon which was delicious, and the perfectly cooked eggs. With the exception of the baked beans, which were in fact not properly baked, and were very hard and nearly inedible, everything else was just passable.

Dr G’s kedgeree was an interesting choice – I cook kedgeree at home sometimes (one of my favourite brunch dishes) but had never seen a version like Albion’s before. It was not a kedgeree, it was a risotto style dish made with basmati rice and cream. It had no discernable pieces of fish, be it smoked haddock or salmon - the fish had been I guess “pulverized” as there were no “flakes” to be seen.

It was basically a fishy rice dish with cream, and was seriously lacking in seasoning. After the beautiful décor, the lovely bread, the charming service, expectations were high - I was gutted.

As I waited for my food to arrive, I envisaged bringing some of my overseas friends and relatives who normally visit me in London for a taste of British cuisine - but judging by these two dishes, I would rather take them elsewhere.

Tom of TomEatsJenCooks recommends the The Modern Pantry when entertaining visitors from outside London for both a good brunch and the wow factor, but I still have to try this Clerkenwell place. I will report back as soon as I do.

The total bill was £30 for two, including 12.5% service. This is not bad (£15 = main + beer) although for once I will have to disagree with Time Out as I can think of quite a few places where my 15 quid would be better spent.

Verdict – Another classic example of style over substance – great décor, efficient staff, gorgeous looking food shop but seriously mediocre food. A possible Shoreditch choice for tea, cakes, or Greenwich Meantime beer.
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The London Foodie - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Saturday, January 16, 2010

i had lunch at the Albion café, the atmosphere and the déco is nice and warm.

We had an omelette which was undercooked, sausages not good at all. To finish i had a burnt cream which seemed to be the translation of the french creme brulée served with a thick caramel paste on top of a vanilla cream, again disapointed.

We did not finish the omelette, not even 1 sausage .....at no stage were we asked if anything was wrong with the food.

To finish i think it was honestly one of my worst lunches in the east end
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3 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, November 25, 2009

I tried the Albion for the first time last, having previously eating downstairs at the Boundary when it opened. I walk past the Albion most days and it always seems busy.

Having read good reviews about this place I was dissapointed. The service was terrible and everything was slow. The menu was confusing and the food was not very good, especially the beef dripping chips which were undercooked and what seemed to be oil not dripping.

I wouldn't go back to either for a while.

I would have expected more from a Conran restaurant.
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astroboy
4 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Friday, May 29, 2009

I went to the Albion after being charmed by its glittery facade, and the delightful looking cakes on display. I have never been so disappointed in my life! I ordered a cake and a coffee - I had to go and physically point out the cake myself, the service was so slow. Looks great, shame that you actually have to eat and drink the stuff they sell. The cake was dry, sugary, and obviously had been bought in; the coffee a bog standard filter blend that you can get anywhere in the area for half the price. My partner had a glass of apple juice, which was straight out of a carton (being a Conran, it was presented in a beautiful glass though).

We thought we would give the much vaunted shop a go and take some bread home. I have to say, supermarket bread is much better than the stuff we had. Much like the cafe itself, all style, no substance.

Come on guys, we had such high hopes for this place. I was at the Albion at a really quet time of the day in the middle of the week, and it was really a bit horrific. This place needs to realise that it is a place to eat and drink, and that local people do want something more than a glossy exterior.
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2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Thursday, May 28, 2009

We are huge fans of The Boundary and the Rooftop restaurant, but the Albion really is poor we are sorry to say. Should have called the two places Chalk & Cheese. The wait for a table was not too bad. The menu was limited and at 3pm they surely should run out of items on a already limited menu. They forgot my wine twice, forgot part of my order and charged me, ran out of limes for our drinks. Countless times we had to get up and actually go to the dummy waiter (excuse the pun) to speak to the hostess. The food was OK but truthfully we were not impressed. The Boundary wins hands down in both Food and Service department, so where did it all go wrong Mr Mannering for The Albion.

Loved the atmosphere, the decor and the whole 50's style

Finally on way out we decided to buy some cakes in the store. Having purchased the carrot cake we thought at least we should enjoy that. When we got home we were yet again disappointed. The cake was dry and the cream was so synthetic YUK!. Sorry guys
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Mike P
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Went to Albion on Saturday with two others. We were shown to a communal table and after a long wait our orders (including a bottle of wine) were taken. Waited ages for the food which was in sight on the pass. When the food eventually arrived at the table, my chips were a mix of tepid and hot. Fish was fine. My husband's kedgeree had a good flavour, moist underneath, but had obviously stood under a hot light, or, possibly been reheated in a microwave. We asked for spiral bread and our waiter, having asked, was told he couldn't serve us any. There were several loaves of this bread in the shop behind us and we'd had it on previous visits. We asked a waitress when we might expect our wine (we'd already been served our food) and her answer was 'I'm sure it'll arrive soon'. It did eventually. We certainly weren't keen on the communal butter dish thing at all. No separate butter knife, so you can imagine how uncomfortable it was to try to get butter with a knife that's been used for fish and chips.

Our waiter was quite attentive and pleasant, but I felt the waiting team was distracted for the most part.

I think Albion is perhaps taking its customers for granted. It's a relaxing place to sit, but the overall impression is that as it's a Conran venture, customers should accept what's offered.
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6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Sunday, May 03, 2009

Such a shame the food doesn't live up to the decor. A comfortable, easy going cafe that is beautifully designed - from the staff uniforms to the amazing red coffee pots, I'd recommend it as a nice place for a cup of tea or a glass of wine however, having eaten here many times the quality of the food is incredibly hit-and-miss.

They have serious problems with over salting, the batter on my whitebait made them near inedible and my gammon was swimming in salty water which soaked through my chips, making the whole meal a mess. Their sandwiches are deliberately simple, sorry - 'charmingly austere' - ham, cheese etc. A great idea, the reality - giant doorsteps filled with pretty tasteless ingredients, a ham and cheese sandwich came absolutely drenched in a mustard mayo not mentioned on the menu, that had to be scraped off before eating. The first time I ordered the breakfast I was told that my request for omelette (again, excessively salty ) instead of scrambled egg might not be well received by the chef who apparently doesn't take kindly to special orders. If you can't specify what you want in a fry-up you know you're in the wrong place. If only the fantastic Aroma cafe on Commercial St did all day full English.

On the up side the freshly baked bread that, depending on how the staff feel, sometimes turns up unrequested is a nice touch and absolutely beautiful. The beef dripping chips are the best thing on the menu and the fish and chips are pretty good too as are the tea n' biscuits on the dessert menu.

It's such a shame that they still haven't stepped up the quality of the food, I persist with the Albion purely because it's a great place to just sit down and relax in an area that's full of manky internet cafes (Brick Lane) and generic world food chains (Spitalfields). However, it's been open long enough to have gotten over the teething problems, the place is starting to feel like a bit of a bad deal.
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5 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 5
Monday, April 27, 2009