Albion, Clerkenwell

1 Reviews on “Albion, Clerkenwell”

• Alice Gee

  The two of us attended the discounted soft launch for dinner at the new Albion on Clerkenwell Road.It’s a big space with high ceilings that feels airy and bright. Both music and light is at a comfortable level. The atmosphere looks casual with industrial exposed ventilation pipes running across the ceiling, laminate tables and casually dressed staff. However, service is actually quite formal. Between courses, someone brushes the crumbs off the table and new cutlery is provided. The round tables for 2 are a little uncomfortable because the legs, being near the centre, are quite close together. Perhaps I am being picky as I have just had knee surgery, so I object to table legs that limit the positions my legs can assume. Next time I will ask if we can spread out over a table for four if it is not crowded. The square tables for 2 look a little tight too.Food was very well executed but not everything was too my taste. As we sat down we were brought tap water and soft white bread with butter.My companion had a starter of green asparagus, dressed with a little lovage and a boiled egg. Egg was not overcooked, but not runny enough to make a sauce. Asparagus was well cooked and a good firm texture, but I prefer my asparagus grilled or roasted rather than steamed. My starter of razor clams with samphire and nduja was quite heavy on the nduja which was the dominant flavor. It was very tasty and I really liked this dish, but if you really want to taste razor clams you will be disappointed. I liked the fact that the nduja was from the meaty rather than spicy end of the flavor spectrum for that ingredient. Razor clam was well cooked, being tender and not chewy. I got extra bread to mop up that lovely sauce of melted nduja.Leg of lamb steak ordered medium was quite perfect. Very tender and cooked to order. The thin slices of cucumber had been dressed with mint and olive oil instead of vinaigrette. Seasoned this way it was a really nice crunchy partner for the lamb. I didn’t particularly care for my Denver steak tartare. It was a nice texture, being hand cut but I found the sauce too acidic and too sweet. I prefer it when acidity and sweetness is limited to little explosions of chopped capers and sweet gherkins (which were both present), but this tartare was too uniform in flavor. I missed the sharpness of chopped raw onion, which I wish had been served on the side. The chips and salad which came with the tartare were both excellent. The greens were all very young and tender and unusual–mostly wild rocket and lovage. The chunky chips were crusty on the outside and fluffy within. We had a side of cauliflower with cheese which was good. The cauliflower still had a little crunch despite swimming in a rich cheese sauce spiked with both mustard powder and blue cheese.All in all, a dependable spot for cooking that is technically faultless but not particularly astonishing. Come here for perfectly executed classics. A bottle of house red is an affordable 17.50 at full price.

  September 19, 2016, 9:42 pm

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