Albannach

I first visited Albannach a few years ago just for a swift drink, but had always earmarked it for a return visit, probably with a whisky loving friend in tow. Instead of which it was a special offer courtesy of Telegraph Selected that enticed me back last Friday evening.

On arrival, the welcome was not exactly warm and as we were a wee bit early, it was suggested that we had a drink in the downstairs bar, being that our table was in the ground floor area. I don't think I have ever done a u-turn quite so quickly. The lower level bar was, even that early in the evening, a shrieking mass of young people with the air of a somewhat seedy club (if my memory serves me correctly – such days are well and truly behind me now!) We quickly retreated to the other bar where the service was somewhat better than the initial welcome. It still is a whisky drinkers paradise, but I'm not convinced that the surroundings truly reflect the ambience required for true whisky appreciation…

The menu is somewhat limited, but for once, this is a restaurant that does what it does, well. I could not fault my smoked salmon or steak, both in terms of quality or portion size, but neither represent a particuarly exciting choice. The restaurant does however, have quite a “tired” feel to it, reflected perfectly in the way the menu pages were all somewhat curled, well thumbed and quite grubby. Must be one of the first restaurants I have been to in this price level that had no daily specials or additions to the menu, and overall, the restaurant just feels like an afterthought to both bars. Without the Telegraph offer we would have been looking at a total bill of around £150 – not excessive for central London, but I can think of many other places I'd rather pay that to…

A word of warning, they turn the lights down very low as night falls – I then managed to miss my footing stepping down from the slightly raised platform where we were seated. Fortunately I just suffered some bruising to my knee, hands and pride, but this just added to my overall indifference to the place.

Albannach Bar and Restaurant- Trafalgar Square

‘Trendy’ and ‘Scottish’ are not always words that you find together, however when describing Albannach off Trafalgar Square, these two adjectives are appropriate. Scottish in cuisine and the overwhelming choice of whiskies, and trendy in way that every contemporary city restaurant seems to be these days. However, if in search of a traditional Scottish haunt with tartan kilted bag pipe players, this isn't the place for you.

On arrival I can't quite believe the quantity of people at the venue. I struggle through the hoards that have spilled out into the smoking area just to reach the door, and am led to a table where my contemporaries are already waiting. The small dining area is interestingly situated on a mezzanine type floor overlooking the bar area, and although the arrangement saves you from the crowds of whisky quaffing cityboys, their inaudible din is inescapable. When i specify cityboys I emphasise the lack of females in the establishment, and I am not surprised. Loud, overweight men still suited and straight from the office on a ‘boozy’ Thursday night together would be enough to send even the gold diggers somewhere else. However before i begin a rant about rich city folk, a lively atmosphere is created and I am left in no doubt that this will not be a stiff and starchy meal where the clink of cutlery is louder than the conversation.

To start I choose the scallops with pea and butternut squash purees and lardons. I can honestly say I have never tasted scallops as well cooked as the ones from Albannach, and i was ruing the fact the three of them lasted less seconds than it took for them to be winched up in the dumb waiter. I am always wary of the use of such devices in restaurant service, and i wouldn't be surprised if something happened to the pea puree in that small elevator as it tasted almost unpleasantly bitter. However the butternut squash was excellent and the bacon complimented the scallops nicely. Other dishes of smoked salmon and pickled cucumber salad were presented beautifully in concentric rings of contrasting colour, and the duck terrine added surprising traditional variety. At £8 apiece, these last two starters were very reasonably priced for a London restaurant of this type.

Standing patiently by the dumb waiter, our real waiter could talk, but not loud enough to be heard over the swelling crescendo from downstairs so we just nodded and pointed knowledgeably. For my main course i had indicated with my forefinger that I would have the haggis, neaps and tatties which i soon regretted after tasting as its veal demi glace tasted more like liquid marmite and ruined the good Scottish fayre it covered. I half wish I had verbally ordered and the waiter had misheard me over the house music that had just kicked in around half past nine, as everything else my fellow diners ate was well recieved. Averaging £16 the dishes of monkfish, a hearty burger, and braised rabbit were all presented well with good flavours. It was a similar story with the deserts, in that they were simple with good flavours but didn't have that wow factor that would cause you to return. Banoffee pie and apple tart were amongst the deserts on the table, and some that failed to excite were left partly eaten.

By the time we walked back down the stairs to the exit, the crowd had lessened slightly as the whiskey induced business men probably moved onto more exclusive hangouts that were well known to the rich and famous. Maybe a whiskey connoisseur would say that the amber liquid taking over the bar shelves is the reason to come to Albannanch, but myself as a food lover and serial restaurant diner, its good but not great. The experience was a new one to me and one which i found enjoyable however I can't see myself returning.

I have been to Albannach on many occasions with friends. The restaurant just opposite Trafalgar Square normally was very busy on friday nights and decor is amazing. The service and the food were of a high standard and excellent value for money.
They even have a Lounge bar in the basement where we went to chill out after dinner and overall great place!

have to agree with the last reviewer. I would expect a restaurant to have an off day, so perhaps my really quite lovely experience will need to be tested for consistency, but it's hard to fault such a thoughtful, friendly, creative and deliciously simple experience.

Why do we all want ‘authentic’ this and that? Why not just concede that British – and Scottish – combine a complex mix of cultures, history and evolving ingredients, ever changing!

Which is why I love the fluffy, smooth update on what was obviously a staple fisherman recipe – the Cullen Skink. Or the stunning sausage board which boasts so confidently a variety of the best British bangers. I am going to go out on a limb and even stake a British claim to the sublime macaroni cheese they served up on the set menu – note the fantastic British cheeses out there. My partner's venison dish was equally sumptuous.

And when this gorgeous guy came out to recommend the best whiskies to top off the evening, I thought: this is cool Britannia – deeply founded in our domestic and world experience, beautifully conceived and stunningly executed.

Let's shout about it! Well done Albannach!

Great food, lovely ambience… Things must have changed since the reviews below. I would thoroughly recommend and also suggest you try the Venison, outstanding!

JL

An odd evening of pluses and minuses. On the plus side, the staff are charming and attentive and the food is pretty much OK. The major minus is the fact that this has to be the noisiest place in London. The restaurant is in the bar and the deafening din from a bunch of beer-swilling M&S-suited oiks quite ruined the evening for us.

Great location, great atmosphere, but I wouldn't come back here for a business lunch or dinner when you need good service. Not sure if we were just unlucky and that either there was an insufficient number of waiting staff, or if we got the trainees, but the service was embarrassingly poor. It took ages to get someone to take our food order, food took a long time to arrive, there was no salt/pepper on the table & it took ages to receive these, we ordered chips with our steaks, but we had to ask 3 x before we got them … we thought this place would be slick but that wasn't the case. Would highly recommend the venue though if you're on an evening out with friends or colleagues and it doesn't matter so much about the service, as the atmosphere was buzzing.

We were looking forward to enjoying the 50% discount from Top Table and thought we would be getting top notch food with a Scottish flare for a steal. However, the whole experience was somewhat disappointing. The staff were friendly enough for the most part, if somewhat disorganised, not even knowing which table was reserved for us. The service was distinctly slow. We were a party of four, and were not drinking excessively quickly, as were drinking both wine and water, a second bottle of wine was offered before they had even served the starter! We were also confused by the menu and restaurant not particularly having a Scottish feel to it, with the only Scottish items being from the Scottish speciality section of the menu. The majority of the rest of the food did not even seem to be sourced from Scotland (Icelandic Cod?)

When the food eventually arrived, the starters were quite nice, the warm goat's cheese tart particularly enjoyable. The scallops were well cooked, but unfortunately any flavour was drowned out by the pea puree. We were particulary looking forward to the main course, as two of us had ordered the signature fillet of beef. Considering the price of the dish (before discount) we were expecting something special. However, the cut proved to be somewhat chewey, and although a nice dish, was definitely somewhat short of spectacular. The beef came with just a few (over buttered) vegetables, and potatoes were at an extra cost.

The toilets, although well appointed, were a number of flights downstairs through the bar and shared with the Doon cocktail bar. We decided up until the end, that the food was worth the price we were paying at the 50% discount, but if we had paid the full price we would have been sorely disappointed. The experience was a bizarre mixture of fine dining (the price) and gastro-pub (ambiance).

However, the evening ended on a low point when we received the bill, and the “optional” service charge of 12.5% had been charged at the full price of the meal, not the discounted. We pointed out that this amounted to adding a 20% service charge, which we would have only paid for an exceptional meal. We were rather rudely told that the waiting and kitchen staff had to work very hard, and deserved the 20% tip. We refused to pay it and instead payed at a more acceptable 12.5%. The waitress was not happy about this, and queried it with each of us as we paid with our cards. I am not a fan of adding the service charge to the bill automatically but accept that this is now the norm in most restaurants. Adding a 20% service charge is just cheeky however!

Haggis = Scotland – right??

Expensive – small portions.

Albannach manages to combine all that is risible about going out in central London.

There is so much to dislike it is hard to know where to begin, but let's start with the 12.5% service charged added on to everything …even a standard bottle of wine, ordered at the bar had appreciated in price by £4.50 by the time the cork was removed. The prices generally are high without the cache of one of the more luxurious drinking experiences in London such as The Blue Bar. The cheapest 175ml glass of wine is £5.00 and it was moderate.

However, price and sneaky service charging is not the main reason to avoid this bar. The worst thing about it is the depressingly poor effort to make the self-styled ‘Scottish’ bar in any way authentically Scottish. Having lived in Scotland for five years it did not resemble any bar I ever visited; neither the old fashioned drinking dens, the festival haunts nor the high-end grand hotel experiences around Princes Street. Even if the idea was to recreate some of the rich atmosphere and culture of the country, it still failed. The whole bar is over conceptulaised, with pretentious wrought iron, moody photos of Scotland and a paper machie deer and although it was packed with a post-work office crowd when we went, it still managed a relatively lacklustre atmosphere.

If you are seeking an authentic Scottish experience go elsewhere. If you are seeking a loud, post-work bar with atmosphere go elsewhere. If, however, you really don't care how you spend your money or your free time and care nothing for Scotland, this could be the perfect bar for you.

I went to join friends for drinks on Saturday as being from Scotland this seemed a great place to meet everyone. The drinks were overpriced and the service was incredibly slow and a service charge of 12.5% was added to every receipt even when ordering drinks at the bar. I won't be going back.