RESTAURANT REVIEW

YORK AND ALBANY
127-129 Parkway, London NW1 7PS
T: 020 7388 3344

We ate at the York and Albany last night. It seems to me that it's a restaurant that has almost (but not quite) got it right.

The first two people we encountered to were unable to find our booking despite them having called me the previous Friday to check we were coming. (Ramsay restaurants are very hot on checking up and if you want a group booking for six or more, you have to sign a contract, give them a credit card number and let them take your children hostage.) After a nail biting few minutes where Big-J anxiously paced the bar asking me what we should do if we couldn't eat there - "eat somewhere else" I said, the bright and smiley Ms Restaurant Manager appeared and told us, wryly, that “you just can't get the staff”. We rejected the first table (right under the air conditioning unit) and were seated at a nice round one although the person on the outside seat was asked to move several times during the evening in order for chairs to be pushed by and for staff to gain access to the wine cupboard.

There were highlights and lowlights.

So, to the highlights: the service was really friendly and very efficient and even amusing – in a good way. The food we ordered was, in general, excellent. The pace of service was also very good – not too fast and not too slow.

The lowlights: (1) The first basket of bread brought to the table was stale. I'm perhaps being unfair, I'd say that it had probably been cut in the morning and left to dry out but by the time it reached us, it was totally inedible (unless you fancy cracking your expensive porcelain crowns) and we had to send it back. Really not what you expect from a Ramsay establishment – must do better. On the upside, they replaced it very quickly with a fresh basket. (2) The wine list is outrageous moving seamlessly from the one or two reasonably priced bottles at around £25 up to very overpriced offerings starting at £50. We estimated a 300% to 400% mark up on most of them. (3) The lighting (absolutely fine when we sat down) was then turned down so low that it became difficult to read the menu. (4) The menu itself was quite difficult. There was really only one starter and two of the main courses that I fancied. (5) My summer salad starter, whilst delicious, was absolutely teeny weeny. A minute, nouvelle cuisine, doll's portion which was a shame because every single tiny morsel tasted completely delicious. I could have done with a portion at least twice the size.

We all opted for the Côtes de boeuf (I told you the menu wasn't easy) and it really was excellent. Perfectly cooked and served with a delicious braised endive, the like of which I've never tasted before. Lovely.

We didn't have dessert, we drank one bottle of reasonably priced wine between 4 (two of our party were on some sort of mad ‘detox’) and at £115 per couple we thought that was pretty expensive for what it was. Because of that, we won't be rushing back.

Murano - it's a 'must'

I must highly recommend Murano, that's the restaurant and not the small glass blowing island near to Venice although please don't misunderstand me, that's a pretty place to visit too - for glass. The food's better though at London's Murano restaurant.

Yes, it may be part of the ubiquitous Gordon Ramsay group and yes, we'd all love the excellent restaurants that we adore to be small, independent entities but, Murano must take some beating.

My husband is, as those who know him will attest, a generous spirit. He's also ever so slightly barmy and when those two personality traits collide, it can be a very dangerous and hazardous combo. I say that because he invited a group friends to a lavish dinner at this Michelin starred restaurant to celebrate both our birthdays. How often have you had a invitation like that?

We were lucky to get our table for eight at Murano because they don't really do tables for eight. Gordon Ramsay restaurants apparently think that a table for more than six people is horribly vulgar. They don't say that overtly but I'm told it's just that those 'in the know' know.

Our table was a great. A big round one at the rear of the restaurant although we were just opposite the door to the kitchen but, as we were eight and the conversation was flowing, it's didn't disturb us. Anyway, it was nice to glance into the kitchen from time to time. No shouting, no flying saucepans, no Gordon-type theatricals in evidence here. Perhaps it's because the chef is a lady. It's Angela Hartnett's restaurant and she's doing a brilliant job. The menu is fabulous with a great choice and even a full vegetarian menu as an option which was music to our ears as two of our guests were non-meat eaters. With the fish choices on the main menu and the added bonus of the vegetarian menu, they had more choice than they are used to. They actually got a bit over-excited.

I started with Scottish sea scallops served with apple and cucumber salsa, pata negra, pumpkin purée, and candied walnuts which was quite simply drop dead delicious and followed that with a perfectly cooked Gressingham duck breast to die for, served with parsley root purée, creamed Savoy cabbage and confit leg. The portions were small but perfectly formed leaving room for dessert - the best bit. I chose a Plum crémeux and spiced caramel parfait with a feuillantine crunch and roasted plum which was perfect - until I clapped my beady-greedy eyes on the pistachio soufflé with hot chocolate sauce (that another of our party had opted for) which was even more perfect. I've never seen such a quintessentially voluptuous, impeccable soufflé in my entire life and, hovering menacingly with my spoon, I barely waited to be invited before plunging in for a taste. It was utterly spectacular and I wished I ordered it too - along with the Plum crémeux! It was that delicious, I could have eaten both.

Other highlights included well, everything. I could go on in detail about the white onion risotto, Scottish venison loin, Winter vegetable sald or line caught sea bass but suffice it to say, our whole party was agreed that it was some of the best food we'd eaten in London in recent memory.

If I was to be an icky-bicky bit picky, I'd have to say that the wine list is über expensive. My advice, stick to Italian wines as the French wines on their list are second-mortgage worthy. The service was also a tad slow although all of the staff were very friendly without being intrusive or in any way snotty. It didn't matter to us as we were up for a whole evening out but our table was booked for 8pm and we eventually rolled out at just before midnight. At just under four hours, it was a long dinner. In their defence, it was the night before Valentine's day so they were running a special eight course Valentine menu alongside of their à la carte and the restaurant was full to capacity.

It's not cheap and not somewhere to go everyday but for a special occasion and for Mayfair, it's not extortionately, ludicrously expensive either. The dinner menu is priced at £60 per head for three courses, the only supplement being an £8 charge for cheese (which I don't fully understand). We didn't stint ourselves. We started with a bottle of Prosecco and followed that by a bottle or two of white and three or four bottles of red. With all of that, we felt we'd had good value.

Murano offers a set lunch at £27 per head. If you like lunching, that'd be a real bargain. And if you want company, I'm free!