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The Albemarle (∗)

Address:Brown's Hotel, 33 Albemarle Street W1S 4BP
Tel:020 7493 6020
Email:
Website: Visit The Albemarle website
Price: £60.00 Wine: £21.00 Champagne: £60.00
Opening Hours:Mon-Sun 12N-3pm (Sun 12.30pm- ) 5.30-11pm (Sun 7-10.30pm )

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It’s all change in the august dining room of London’s oldest five-star hotel: the former Grill at Brown’s has been renamed The Albemarle, legendary maître d’ Angelo Maresca has retired, & new chef Lee Streeton is working to a revised menu designed by Markw Hix (former chef director of Caprice Holdings). This means seasonal British ingredients are now to the fore, & simplicity is the kitchen’s watchword. A generous chunk of halibut comes with nothing more than butter sauce, sea purslane & sea spinach, while a velvety sirloin steak arrives completely unadorned, its béarnaise sauce brought separately to the table. Other time-honoured fixtures remain, with trolleys still circulating at lunchtime, dispensing roast suckling pig or beef Wellington. Likewise, the recent addition of modern photographs has done little to alter The Albemarle’s enduring old-school charm, which comes complete with slick, deferential service. Set lunch & pre-theatre menus are £25/30 for two/three courses.

Wine List: This list excels in classic fine wines. Champagne, Bordeaux & Burgundy stand out, with some interesting buys from Italy & Australia. Older vintages provide the real interest, including a few extremely rare bottles you just won’t find elsewhere. Prices are reasonable, with the occasional startling bargain – 1945 Quinta do Noval port at £200 is less than its auction value, as is a magnum of Dom Pérignon rosé at £480. Best Buy White 2005 La Rocca Soave, Pieropan, Veneto, Italy, £34. Best Buy Red 2003 Bourgogne Rouge, Domaine A-F Gros, Burgundy, France, £45.

Chef: Mark Hix

The past year has been Mark Hix’s most exciting to date. After leaving Caprice Holdings in late 2007, he formed Restaurants Etc Limited with business partner Ratnesh Bagdai and launched Hix Oyster & Chop House in Smithfield and Hix Oyster & Fish House in Lyme Regis. Roles under Anton Edelmann, Vaughan Archer and Anton Mosimann at the Dorchester preceded his first head chef job at the Candlewick Room in London, aged just 22. From there he became head chef at Le Caprice, stepping into an executive chef role in 1990. His hearty British cooking is among the most recognisable in the capital, and, as well as penning a weekly column for The Independent’s Saturday magazine, he has written six cookery books. The latest, British Seasonal Food, was published in autumn 2008.

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Reader reviews of The Albemarle:

Jonesy
Silver Reviewer

Jonesy (30s, Male, London)

The waiting staff at The Albemarle are trained to a high standard and ooze proficiency from every pore. They were not intrusive yet managed to provide a level of service that stopped just short of cutting our food and hand-feeding us. This degree of professionalism doesn’t come easily and I must doff my Trilby to them.

The food wasn’t quite up to par though. We were dining from the pre-theatre menu priced at £25 for three courses. A starter of cuttlefish and black pudding was a tad off the mark; the cuttlefish was slightly overcooked, injecting an element of disappointment into this otherwise well balanced dish.

A Lancashire Hot Pot for a main didn’t have enough of a potato layer, but the beef, kidneys and mushrooms were deeply flavoured and very pleasing. The accompaniment of pickled cabbage was too acidic for my tastes. The Pollack we tried was plump and juicy but way over salted.

For dessert, a rhubarb tart was quite delectable, as was the buttermilk pudding with blood orange segments. Water, tea and coffees were priced at £4.95 each, so a £25 meal deal quickly turns into £45 a head, and that’s without the wine.

While the food was acceptable if underwhelming, the service surpassed the cooking throughout the evening. The dishes were well thought out but the execution didn’t live up to the standards that I was expecting. If they can raise the bar of cooking to match the service, The Albemarle will be an excellent venue.

17 April 2009
Overall:5
Food and Drink:6
Service:9
Atmosphere:5
Value for Money:6
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R.R.Gill
Gold Reviewer

R.R.Gill (30s, Male, United Kingdom)

The Albemarle in my opinion has improved so much since the revamp. The restaurant seems to have a lighter feel to it with a few more contemporary touches to it than in it's previous incarnation. The menu is still hugely extensive and will certainly give you problems with so much to choose from. For my starter I settled with Dorset dressed crab with landcress – very fresh and tasty while my partner was persuaded by me to try the Potted Morecambe Bay shrimps (One of the specialities from my original locale). My main was the Blythburgh pork cutlet with apple mash and Cumbrian black pudding and was absolutely superb. Feeling like a little bit of a pig we finished off with some fab Bramley apple pie then a selection of cheeses. Prices are very reasonable taking into account you are dining in a Mayfair Hotel. The set lunch menu and pre-theatre dining menus also look a bargain at £25/£30 for 2 or 3 courses. Atmosphere can be mixed depending on the residents but was generally pleasant and relaxed. I'd definitely suggest stopping off at the Donovan Bar afterwards for a couple of cocktails.

13 November 2008
Overall:7
Food and Drink:8
Service:8
Atmosphere:6
Value for Money:7
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Robert B.
Gold Reviewer

Robert B. (40s, Male, United Kingdom)

First time I have eaten there since the recent…ish refurbishment. Fabulous room, classic proportions, contemporary feel and the best size tables in town! It’s a formal style of dining but not stiff, the staff are very good indeed, courteous, well informed and smiley. The set lunch offered interesting choice including the trolley which changes every day, on the day I went it was carrying a terrific looking beef Wellington. The menu is traditional English. Dining companions likely to be mature and well heeled. The food was cooked beautifully, oh and the bread was the freshest I have tasted in a London restaurant.

18 September 2008
Overall:8
Food and Drink:9
Service:9
Atmosphere:7
Value for Money:8
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Felix's Guide

Felix's Guide (40s, Male, United Kingdom)

Good food and execution but very much what you would expect at a top London hotel – good for your more formal clients. Tables well spaced so good for meetings.

9 September 2008
Overall:7
Food and Drink:7
Service:8
Atmosphere:5
Value for Money:5
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